Legal dramas have been a staple of television since their debut. The concept of the lawyer as an agent of justice has gone through several phases in fiction, and it has resulted in some fantasy novels. Television has been the home of numerous fictional attorneys, from Atticus Finch to Ally McBeal. This again, Netflix is attempting to popularise another lawyer, but this time it is a real person, Lidia Poet, the first Italian female lawyer.
The series was developed by Guido Iuculano and Davide Orsini and stars Matilda De Angelis, Dario Aita, Sara Lazzaro, Pierluigi Pasino, and Eduardo Scarpetta. The series follows Lidia Poet, the daughter of a prominent lawyer from a dynasty of attorneys, who have decided to become a lawyer herself. Lidia studies law and hopes to graduate and join the order of attorneys in Turin, Italy. However, if she is disbarred based on her gender, she will have to find alternative ways to practice law and challenge the order’s decision.
The first thing you should notice about The Law is According to Lidia Poet, it is a very wonderful show to watch. The series production quality is high, and it appears that all departments are working hard to reproduce 19th-century Turin. The clothes are fantastic, adding a lot of character and color to each scene. Some of the sets might use a facelift. There appears to be little done to get them closer to the actual era. However, the show features so many lovely historic buildings that certain nuances might be overlooked.
So, with extremely strong production qualities to back it up, the series appears promising right from the start. Thankfully, while it never hits the heights of some of the finest lawyer series out there, there is enough here to keep you amused for the whole six-episode season. This is the show’s main strength. The entertainment value is pretty strong, and each of the riddles presented to Lidia in each episode is basic yet intriguing enough to keep you watching till the finish.
The program also contains a variety of subplots that add to the overall drama of the series. Every episode follows a “case of the week” format, and the majority of them are settled before the conclusion of the show.
The program does, however, have an overall narrative that deals with Lidia and her role as a leader of women who wish to practice law. This, of course, happened in real life and is a significant part of the legacy of the real Lidia Poet.
There is also a lot of romance, because Lidia is a stunning lady, and as she rises in Turin society, she is contacted by a growing number of suitors. The program contains a little bit of everything, including comedy, intrigue, romance, and social criticism. However, given that The Law According to Lidia Poet is a historical play, many of the characters and their approaches to the plot appear a little too current at points.
Everything the characters do, from the way they communicate their sentiments and emotions to the way they interact and go about their everyday activities, feels extremely current. This significantly detracts from the immersion. There’s nothing wrong with the characters acting that way, but it truly knocked me out of the tale multiple times. It gives the impression that the entire enterprise is people playing dress up, which is, of course, what every TV show and film is, but the idea is that you shouldn’t get that impression.
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The only thing that stays obvious when we enter the nineteenth century is the sexism that our main character must endure. It’s all because she wants to be a lawyer but men don’t think she can do it. Everything else appears to be happening right now. De Angelis is fantastic in the lead role. She is not only stunning, but she also has a lot of charm that will have you watching every episode till the conclusion of the season. With only six episodes, it appears that a binge-watch is entirely feasible.
Finally, The Law According to Lidia Poet is a fantastic and amusing show that seems like a welcome complement to the myriad of legal series available on Netflix and other streaming sites. The clothes are stunning, and the overall production values are excellent. There is a slight discrepancy between the time the show wants to work with and how the character behaves, but these are small nitpicks that most people would overlook. This is a pretty quality production from Italy, which has recently shown to be a great source of amusement.