The O.C. was a popular American television drama series that aired from 2003 to 2007. It was set in Orange County, California and followed the lives of a group of wealthy teenagers and their families. The show tackled a variety of themes such as social class, relationships, and identity.

One of two intense medical dramas NBC introduced in the fall of 2009, "Mercy" had all the advantages its one-named rival "Trauma" did not. First, it had talent behind the scenes. Liz Heldens from "Friday Night Lights" created the show and led the writers, proving once again that the best way to dramatize the real world is to show it realistically"”ugliness and all. Second, it had attitude and guts to stay true to its revolutionary premise, the well-informed notion "that nurses remain [not only] more generous caregivers, but that they are more intuitively apt, smarter, more committed and as technically able as their [physician] superiors, with none of the accompanying arrogance." In a winner-take-all ER smackdown, you always would go all-in with the Mercy Hospital nurses. The main character, nurse Veronica Flanagan Callahan, has just returned from a tour in Iraq, where she clearly learned more in each day than the pompous, presumptuous doctors learned in all five years of medical school. Of course, Veronica gets neither the respect nor the reward she deserves, but "Mercy" dangles the possibility of true love as just recompense for Veronica's skill and compassion. Taylor Schilling plays Veronica with exactly the right balance of toughness and vulnerability, skillfully juxtaposing her consummate skill as a nurse with her intrepid ingenuousness in matters of the heart. If only "Mercy" had survived into a second season, all the tangled threads in the story might have come to their proper denouement. If only.

Based on the Italian fifteenth century Borgia dynasty, the made for the Showtime network series titled The Borgias follows Rodrigo Borgia (Jeremy Irons) rise to power and the Papacy. Called the original crime family, the Borgias amassed great wealth, influence, and power as family patriarch Rodrigo committed nearly every sin imaginable as he gained power and vast wealth. Such successors as The Godfather (Mario Puzo) and The Prince (Niccolò Machiavelli) were inspired by the original "bad family" the Borgias and made for entertaining viewing. But the originals were greedy evil people who had no morals. It is at the height of the Renaissance period that we find the Borgia family intriguing to watch and perhaps learn from. Besides Jeremy Irons there are many fine actors in the cast including Francois Arnaud as Cesare Borgia, Holliday Grainger as Lucrezia Borgia, David Oakes as Juan Borgia, and Derek Jacobi portraying Cardinal Orsini. Look for this entertaining television series and see the original "Godfathers of crime".

When "The Good Wife" premiered in the fall of 2009, insiders whispered that Alicia Florrick, the good wife, was modeled after Silda Spitzer, the remarkably resilient former spouse of Elliott Spitzer, former New York prosecutor who ended-up himself prosecuted on charges of using public funds to support his prostitute habit. In the first few episodes, Alicia stood mute and shell-shocked as her politician husband admitted to "indiscretions," was tried and sent to jail. With only mild irony, the good wife emerges as the amazing woman as soon as hubby gets fitted for his orange jumpsuit. Played with tremendous grace, style, and power by Julianna Marguiles, Alicia Florrick, a la Silda Spitzer, returns to her old law practice. A little out of practice after thirteen years as wife and mother, she wobbles before she restores her professional standing. As "The Good Wife" evolved, it outgrew its need for "ripped from the headlines" comparisons. Episode by episode, Marguiles quickened, toughened, and deepend Alicia's character. Her imprisoned spouse becomes simply a footnote or sidebar as Alicia struggles to keep her family intact and build her career in a law firm riddled with scheming, scandal, and intrigue.

"Pico da Neblina" is a Brazilian TV series that premiered in 2019. The show follows the story of Biriba, a drug dealer who wants to leave the criminal life and start a legitimate business in the marijuana industry. Set in São Paulo, the series explores the challenges faced by Biriba as he navigates through the complex web of drug trafficking and corruption in Brazil.

Those familiar with Law & Order will appreciate the concept of approaching legal cases from more than one perspective. In The Whole Truth we see each case from both the prosecution and the defense angles so have an opportunity to decide whether a defendant is guilty or innocent judging by the evidence presented to us and to a judge and jury. One memorable episode includes the addition of Judd Hirsch (Taxi) to the cast as a beloved judge who has been charged in a murder. Seems he approved a wiretap on a dangerous drug lord before it turned into a far larger problem involving federal charges. Rob Morrow (Numb3rs, Northern Exposure) portrays Jimmy Brogan is the prosecuting attorney for the state of New York (actually the filming was done in Los Angeles, California) and Maura Tierney (ER) is Kathryn Peale a strong advocate of personal and legal rights for her clients. The two attorneys are on opposite sides of the courtroom in each episode and we must decide who we think has the upper edge or who puts on the best case for their clients, then we see the results in the finale.