L.A. Law TV series premiered on September 15, 1986 — 30 years ago, today. (Photo: Shout Factory.)
Hop into TV Series Finale’s time machine and travel back to Monday, September 15, 1986. When L.A. Law first premiered on NBC, thirty years ago, today, viewers met the Los Angeles-based lawyers and staff of McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney and Kuzak. The legal drama series threaded its oddball humor throughout storylines featuring hot topics of the 1980s and ’90s, including sexual harassment, gay rights, HIV, capital punishment, and abortion.
L.A. Law‘s large ensemble cast included: Richard Dysart, Alan Rachins, Corbin Bernsen, Jill Eikenberry, Michael Tucker, Susan Ruttan, Harry Hamlin, Susan Dey, Jimmy Smits, Michele Greene, Blair Underwood, Larry Drake, and Sheila Kelly.
Do you remember the L.A. Law TV series theme song?
Watch L.A. Law, season one, episode 1.01, “Pilot.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQr01IMqhH4
TV writers like to joke about the easiest way to write a character off of a show. Do you remember how Diana Muldaur’s Rosinland Shay’s exited L.A. Law? It’s a classic. Watch.
No one told Muldaur her character was being killed off. She found out by reading the script. Watch her discuss refusing to do the stunt, herself.
The L.A. Law TV series finale, episode 8.22, “Finish Line,” aired Thursday, May 19, 1994. In it, Leland McKenzie’s (Richard Dysart) retirement announcement throws the firm into chaos and Jane Halliday (Alexandra Powers), takes a despairing Arnie Becker (Corbin Bernsen) to church.
The L.A. Law reunion, L.A. Law: The Movie, first aired on Sunday, May 12, 2002, on NBC, eight years (minus a week) after the series ended. While Blair Underwood (Jonathan Rollins), Jimmy Smits (Victor Sifuentes), Amanda Donohoe (C.J. Lamb), and John Spencer (Tommy Mullaney) did not return, much of the TV series cast did, including Bernsen, Dey, Drake, Dysart, Eikenberry, Greene, Hamlin, Rachins, and Ruttan. Watch it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlW5pbjxeDk
RELATED: Steven Bochco Is Working on an L.A. Law Series Reboot!
What do you think? Are you an L.A. Law fan? What are some of your favorite L.A. Law moments? Do you hope the reboot gets ordered to series? Tell us.
