The show that celebrates lawyers who aren't heroes

A candid legal memoir has inspired a new BBC sitcom featuring hapless pupil barristers fighting for a job.

Katherine Parkinson relished playing unlikeable lawyer

Katherine Parkinson has said it was refreshing playing an unlikeable character in legal comedy Defending The Guilty, and that being "utterly horrific" came easily.

Since Peter Moffat's Silk ended five years ago, homegrown legal shows have been thin on the ground - making this new series something of a novelty. Best known for penning the Channel 4 dark comedy Flowers, Will Sharpe leads this courtroom comedy, playing a young barrister mentored by Katherine Parkinson's more hardened attorney. His character - also named Will - is an ingenue who, like many a grad before him, quickly becomes rather disillusioned with the world of work.

Defending the Guilty review

My initial impression was that I really liked it. It was not perfect and certainly was not a laugh a minute, however there definitely were more things to like about it than to dislike.

What a delight to find, over on BBC Two, Will Sharpe, last seen popularly as Shun in the bizarre, brilliant Flowers, heading up his own six-parter, Defending the Guilty. From the team behind such hits as Rev and Mum, it is, as one might expect, sharp and bittersweet, yet more mainstream than either, featuring Will as a faux-naif trainee barrister. Who tends to come out with phrases such as "Wow. He is... very guilty."

There are achingly accurate slivers of class war as rival young barristers compete for the attention of chambers, in the shadows of gangster wars, brutal slayings, unconscionable paedophiles, vicious wine bar put-downs. This series almost dares to ask "what is justice?", but eventually pulls its punches, opting for lines such as "why do we work for murderers rather than working with... nice people with Cath Kidston tea towels and children mostly called Alfie?", and even when delivered by Katherine Parkinson this disappoints. Could have done with being harsher, but it's still sharp and stands head and shoulders above every legal "comedy".

Lawyers split over new BBC barrister comedy

Series follows the exploits of four tenancy-hungry pupils.

This is the pilot of a corking comedy by Kieron Quirke (Cuckoo) due to air next year about the trials of pupil barrister Will (Will Sharpe) under the casual tutelage of Caroline (Katherine Parkinson, on fine form): "What makes a barrister, Will? The brain of a fox, the balls of an ox, the hugest of cocks."

Defending the Guilty, review

A potty-mouthed brush with the law.

Review: Defending the Guilty

Defending the Guilty smartly sends up nepotism and idealism in the criminal justice system.