# Trial & Error (2017)

> A green New York lawyer defends an eccentric poetry professor accused of murdering his wife in this mockumentary spoof of courtroom drama.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/60733

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 23
- Episode runtime: 22 min
- Status: Canceled
- Genres: comedy
- Created by: Matthew Miller, Jeff Astrof
- Network: NBC
- Cast: Nicholas D'Agosto, John Lithgow, Kristin Chenoweth, Krysta Rodriguez, Steven Boyer, Sherri Shepherd, Jayma Mays, Amanda Payton
- TMDB rating: 7.9/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5511512/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: earnest, breezy, absurd, deadpan

## What critics say

Audiences found this mockumentary-style comedy about a first-year lawyer's murder case a bright, quirky spoof with a likable cast, though it never reached a wide audience.

## Synopsis

Trial & Error (2017-2018) is a American network mockumentary sitcom created by Matthew Miller and Jeff Astrof for NBC. Bright-eyed New York lawyer Josh Segal (Nicholas D'Agosto) takes his first big case defending an eccentric poetry professor, Larry Henderson (John Lithgow), who is accused of murdering his wife. Josh is a rookie who wants to prove himself, and the obstacles pile up quickly: a case full of oddball witnesses, a flamboyant rival attorney, and a legal team that barely knows what it is doing. Kristin Chenoweth plays Lavinia Peck-Foster, Krysta Rodriguez plays Summer Henderson, and Sherri Shepherd and Jayma Mays round out the principal cast. Each episode is a short, brisk outing built from awkward interviews and courtroom detours, and the show runs across two seasons and twenty-three episodes before its cancellation. Its tone is earnest, breezy and absurd, a spoof of courtroom drama that plays its murder trial for farce. Fans of The Office and Arrested Development will find kinship in its deadpan confessionals and its affectionate mockery of legal convention.

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