Lincoln Lawyer

The Lincoln Lawyer is a solid example of why legal procedurals remain one of the most popular genres of show on both network and cable television.

Clever enough and compulsively watchable, The Lincoln Lawyer is competent entertainment from one of the kings of the procedural. There’s a reason why legal procedurals tend to draw ratings; The Lincoln Lawyer is an example as to why that model works. While Netflix’s version of The Lincoln Lawyer doesn’t have the star power of the big screen version, it has the advantage of time and breathing room, which allows these side characters ample opportunity to grow and develop along the titular Lincoln-loving defense attorney. The title character of a show needs to be a strong, compelling argument for why it should be watched, and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo overrules any objections. The Lincoln Lawyer has all the ingredients to be a success behind the camera, and with Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, the most important character in the show, Mickey Haller, is in safe hands. The opening episode of The Lincoln Lawyer sets the tone for the series right away.

Manuel Garcia-Rulfo opens up to The Times about childhood summers in Jalisco, quitting acting and bringing cultural specificity to his character.

Emotionally, I really dug deep for my character in “Sicario 2.” I don’t know if I did a good job or not, but that was emotional for me because it was very close to what we live in Mexico, with the violence. I was in Mexico, and it was over Zoom, which was the worst. Definitely this one, for the amount of work that it was to learn legal terms and huge monologues in the courtroom — long hours of work. I started shooting a short film, and then the pandemic happened. I actually quit in Mexico. In one of the films I made there, I was too young and I was miscast. I had to audition, and it was during the height of the pandemic. I went back to Mexico, and the agent was like, “You have to be here.” I decided to move here. You fall in love with a character in a project that you really like, and you’re there for however many auditions, for however many months, just pouring your soul into the thing, and you get three or four callbacks, and then they might decide it’s not you. I went to the ranch in Mexico and started a lime plantation. The funny thing is that the first film I shot in Mexico, called “La última y nos vamos” (“One for the Road”), was selected for a film festival in Denver, and they invited me to come. It was with [Darren] Aronofsky for “Mother!” It was for the part that Javier Bardem eventually played. We talked after, and he said, “Manuel, if you ever want to come to work in Hollywood, I can introduce you to my agent.” The next time I came to L.A. to visit, I met with this agent, and the next day she sent me to an audition, and I got it, which was “Bless Me, Ultima.” I did that film.