After airing only two episodes, it’s safe to say that USA’s new hit series Fairly Legal is fairly addicting. As a former lawyer at her father’s firm, Kate Reed (Shahi) is trying to make things right as a highly sought after mediator. But with her father dead, her evil stepmother as her colleague and her ex-husband the Assistant District Attorney of San Francisco, everyone else’s problems seem more easy to solve than her own. Her Louboutins aren’t hard to notice either.
“It’s like if Law & Order and Sex and the City had a baby, it would be my show,” said star Sarah Shahi in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. Shahi is no stranger to the small screen after starring in shows like The ‘L’ Word and NBC’s Life, but was hesitant about making the return to television after Life was given the axe. Shahi showed up at her two-round audition for Fairly Legal in her husband’s clothing, the only pieces that would fit her after just giving birth five weeks prior. She was hired for the part after letting the producers know that she didn’t want to play a character who was spoonfed scripts, but had an actual say in the story lines.
And that’s much like Reed herself. What viewers will admire most about her is her ability to stand up for what she believes in and to put in the work to get the results she wants, especially if it concerns the well-being of those who don’t deserve
legal punishment.
However, Shahi says that Reed is more whimsical and immature than she. Living on her father’s boat, Reed’s personality is “feisty” and “flirty.” Her idiosyncracies include a frequent dose of black and white cookies and neatly assigning those closest to her to a character from The Wizard of Oz. Viewers will find Reed all over the place, both geographically and on the emotional spectrum, which contributes to her overall charm.
The only caveat about the show is the sometimes unrealistic scenarios Reed finds herself in, where she is sandwiched in
between bizare situations outside the office, such as stopping a teen from holding up a local deli or two men ready to kill each other over coffee. She embodies her work in every aspect of her life.
According to hollywoodreporter.com, the show’s premiere garnered 3.9 million viewers, falling behind MTV’s Jersey Shore, FOX’s American Idol and below the network’s averages.
However, it is the first series from USA to make a winter debut. Despite her killer looks, Shahi says that the show has been reeling in more female viewers. “I feel like Kate is a character that women can relate to because of all of her faults,” Shahi said. Reed portrays a modern-day super woman of the law world that both men and women can appreciate.
Fairly Legal is the type of dramedy (drama/comedy) that is hard to resist. Offering eye candy to both audiences and engaging plots, the show is undoubtedly the next big thing.
