by Luis Reyes
Bluff City Law is a new one-hour legal drama starring Jimmy Smits about a father-daughter legal team that takes on cases involving injustice and civil rights matters. Elijah Straits, as played by Smits, is a complicated man; a widower and a crusading attorney who fights for those who can least defend themselves. He has an estranged relationship with his daughter Sydney (Caitlin McGee) but they respect each other’s courtroom abilities yet personally they are at odds. Elijah Strait isn’t necessarily a Latino character and Smits sports a mild southern accent for the role.
This is a return to the television legal drama genre that launched Smits on the acclaimed L.A. Law (1986-1992) in which he played young attorney Victor Sifuentes. He won television’s coveted Emmy award for the role. Smits’ television career spans more than three decades including such series as NYPD Blue, The West Wing, Dexter and Sons of Anarchy.
John Beifuss in his article for the Memphis Commercial Appeal recently described Smits as “a figure whose familiar presence invests any role with authority and the promise of a solid authentic performance.” Bluff City Law is filmed entirely on location in Memphis, Tennessee capturing the ambiance of its southern locale.
The executive producers are Michael Aguilar Dean Georgaris and David Janollan. Jessica Yu (Grey’s Anatomy) directed the first episode; Smits was surprised and proud to learn that one of the staff writers hired on Bluff City Law is a former recipient of a scholarship from the Hispanic Foundation for the Arts, an organization which he is one of the co-founders.
The veteran actor spent most of the summer largely in New York City and later for a short time commuting between filming locations, where he completed a role as businessman Kevin Rosario in Lin Manuel Miranda’s film version of his award-winning musical play In The Heights.
Bluff City Law begins its series run Monday, September 23, 2019, at 10:00 pm on NBC. Make sure to tune in.
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