Jewel Staite Returns to the CW’s Family Law
Family Law is back with its second season and Jewel Staite teased that Abby will finally find her groove this time. Family Law was created by Susin Nielsen, scriptwriter behind Canadian teen drama Degrassi.
Abigail Bianchi, an attorney and recovering alcoholic, must work at her father’s firm along with two people she’s never met: half-brothers and sisters she never knew about until a public courtroom incident forces them together.
Jewel Staite
Staite began acting at age six. Her teacher recommended she enroll at Vancouver Film School to hone her craft and develop it further. Staite would go on to appear in various television shows and films including an appearance as Catalina on Nickelodeon’s Are You Afraid of the Dark? in 1994. Moreover, Staite has made guest appearances on shows such as The X-Files and Stargate: Atlantis as well.
She currently stars in the CW legal drama Family Law as Abigail Bianchi, an alcoholic recovering from alcoholism who must work alongside her estranged father and two of his half-siblings at their law firm. Although determined to rebuild both aspects of her life, ego keeps getting in her way.
Abigail uses her low-level probationary status at the firm to assist Jeanette, a woman who found her sperm donor through Craigslist, track him down and sue for retroactive child support payments from him. When Abigail sees how upset this case has upset Jeanette’s daughter, however, she develops some sympathy and attempts to soften its impact by offering to assist more.
Staite became one of the most beloved actors during her early ’90s success when she took on Kaylee Frye on Firefly and its sequel Serenity, later also appearing in Flash Forward, Higher Ground, The Killing, Magicians Blind Spot Stargate: Atlantis among other roles. Since then she continues to attend conventions to meet fans.
Victor Garber
The CW is expanding their scripted lineup with Canadian legal drama Family Law, starring Jewel Staite (Kaylee Frye from Firefly and other TV shows and movies) and Emmy and Tony award nominee Victor Garber (Titanic, Alias, Argo, Dumb and Dumber franchise, Starz’s Power franchise).
Family Law begins by introducing Abigail Bianchi, a lawyer struggling to rebuild her life after hitting rock bottom. Working at her estranged father Harry’s firm as part of her probation and practicing family law for the first time are among her first priorities; soon thereafter she forms new relationships with both half-brothers Daniel and Lucy whom she had never known previously.
Family Law, written and executive produced by Susin Nielsen (Blood and Oil, The Killing), airs on Global Television Network in Canada and The CW in the US and is inspired by true events of a lawyer seeking redemption and reconciliation with her estranged family members.
Abby and Harry take up a case involving a wealthy individual being sued by his sired daughter for child support payments, convincing him to accept a much smaller settlement amount in return for more privacy and the chance of meeting his daughter in person.
Zach Smadu plays Abigail’s half-brother, an attorney working for Harry; Genelle Williams portrays Lucy, a psychology doctor at Harry’s firm; Kelli Ogmundson plays receptionist Nina Beasley and Julie Warner portrays ambulance-chasing attorney Rex Weller while Dixie Carter portrays divorce attorney Randi King – among many other characters.
Zach Smadu
The CW Network recently acquired Family Law from Entertainment One for their scripted lineup. Starring Jewel Staite as Abigail Bianchi – an attorney and recovering alcoholic who must work at his law firm as part of her probation requirements – Family Law tackles issues related to family dysfunction within its clients as well as within herself.
Staite first rose to fame with her role as Kaylee Frye on the beloved television series Firefly and has gone on to appear in other TV and movie productions such as The L.A. Complex, Higher Ground, Stargate Atlantis, Blind Spot and Quantum Leap.
Family Law follows Abigail Bianchi, an accomplished personal injury attorney adept at shifting blame. However, when she appears passed out in court and pukes all over a judge, the law society takes swift action: they won’t let her practice again without finding an experienced senior lawyer to mentor her for one year – Harry Svensson of one of the city’s premier family law firms is willing to take a chance on Abigail as her mentor.
Victor Garber stars as Harry Svensson, an aggressive family lawyer; Zach Smadu from Cardinal plays Daniel, Abigail’s half brother; Genelle Williams from Warehouse 13 plays Lucy; the series was created and written by Susin Nielsen (known for Degrassi writing), serving as executive producer along with Jordan Canning, Tom Cox and Erin Haskett; it premiered on the CW network in 2022 and has become an important addition.
Genelle Williams
Family Law features a stellar cast in its legal drama format and follows Abigail Bianchi (Jewel Staite), an ambitious personal injury attorney adept at placing blame elsewhere for her own problems. When her drinking gets out of hand and she shows up drunk at court passed out, Abby finds herself banished from practice until she can secure mentoring from one senior lawyer for one year; Harry Svensson agrees to serve as this mentor; Abby must then make new relationships with Daniel (Harry’s estranged father) as well as her half brother Daniel (Harry Svensson) whom she had never before met!
Season one premiered on October 2, 2022 on The CW and currently airs every Sunday evening from 8pm ET/PT until November 18th 2022.
Susin Nielsen created and is executive producing this series. Victor Garber plays Harry Svensson with Zach Smadu starring as Daniel Svensson and Genelle Williams appearing as Lucy Svensson; Lauren Holly can often be found as Joanne Kowalski in recurring guest spots.
Genelle Williams is a Canadian actress who began acting since she was in high school. She made her acting debut as Kim Carlisle on Radio Free Roscoe and DJ on The Latest Buzz before landing a starring role as Leena in Warehouse 13. Since then she has appeared regularly in many television series such as Remedy and Bitten as well as being featured as one of CTV Degrassi: The Next Generation regulars. Williams has also appeared in several films and commercials while studying music at University of Toronto.
Lauren Holly
The CW has added Family Law, an imported Canadian legal drama created by Susin Nielsen. The series follows Abigail Bianchi as she attempts to rebuild her life after hitting rock bottom; forced to work at her father’s law firm as part of a condition of probation while fighting addiction and building new relationships with both half-brothers and half-sisters, she attempts to overcome her dependency while forging new bonds between herself, them and them all.
Lauren Holly, who plays Abby on The Magicians, boasts over 60 television and movie credits to her name. She first gained popularity as Kaylee Frye on Firefly before going on to appear in other series such as Stargate Atlantis, The L.A. Complex, The Killing and Blind Spot; also having a recurring role on SyFy’s popular fantasy series The Magicians as well as guest star roles on CBS Against the Wall and ABC Dead of Summer.
Holly has also appeared in two TV movies – Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again and Judgment Night – as well as playing an extended recurring character on ABC soap opera All My Children.
Family Law first premiered in April 2021 and has already been renewed for a second season. Starring Jewel Staite, Victor Garber, Zach Smadu and Christopher McDonald as ambulance-chasing attorney Rex Weller; Julie Warner plays Lynn’s friend Danni; Dixie Carter plays “pit bull” divorce attorney Randi King – these cast members make for an exciting series! Family Law films in Vancouver British Columbia under Entertainment One production; you can view Family Law with fuboTV with free trial access here for more information; if having difficulty accessing it try using VPN technology instead – click here for more info!