Critic Reviews

ABC’s new legal drama For the People is formulaic in the best way possible, meaning it delivers exactly what you want from a Shondaland drama--and perhaps a little bit more.

This is still very much a Shondaland show. But For the People exhibits, quite well, how crowd-pleasing television can have a higher purpose by educated even as it seduces.

Intelligent, sharply produced and respectful of its female characters, For the People looks like a winner.

Don't go into For the People expecting the sensationalist procedural melodrama often associated with the Shondaland brand and you might find yourself appreciating the simple pleasures of a deep ensemble cast delivering reams of clever dialogue and grappling superficially with the legal issues of the day.

For the People is OK but not great, too all over the place for any of the legal cases to make much of a dramatic impression.

The cases they work are interesting in a ripped-out-of-the-headlines sort of way, but they're not given enough attention to counter the predictable dramas enveloping them.

Unlike Rhimes’ best shows, For the People lacks even a modicum of subtlety--a subtlety often provided by the lead actor, be it Viola Davis or Kerry Washington. It’s zingy, and follows the right patterns, but For the People is almost impossible to invest in.

What’s mildly intriguing, at least in the first few episodes, is the chance to see a Shondaland series in its nascent moments of restraint, when the dialogue and plot still have a chance of resonating with reality.

You will struggle to care. ... The largely unknown cast is fine, but they’re working with such bland material that it’s hard to work up much enthusiasm.