Jimmy Smits in 'Bluff City Law': A Behind-the-Scenes Look

For actor Jimmy Smits, there’s something familiar yet different about the notion of returning to television this fall as a lawyer on NBC’s Bluff City Law. Familiar, because he had been one of the main stars of the same network’s L.A. Law between 1986 and 1992, but different because times have certainly changed and this show is taking a different approach to the subject matter than that series did.

“There was definitely a lot of brushing up,” Jimmy says of the idea of playing a lawyer again. “That was 20-something years ago. But you try to take the best from the experiences that you had and know that this particular guy that I’m doing now is a lot different and doesn’t have the kind of bounce in the same way.”

Bluff City Law premieres on NBC September 23.

Please scroll down for more from Jimmy as well as exclusive photos of the Bluff City Law cast.

It’s About Character

“The great thing about the law is that you’re able to present two different points of view,” he offers in terms of his fascination with the subject. “But in our discussions, when we were first started what we wanted to achieve, we realized that the audience engages with characters, and then they take the ride along with them whether they’re a lawyer or a cop or a doctor. So it was important for us to really have great springboards for character development and storylines so that the audience will want to be engaged with these people and their dilemmas and how conflicted we hope those relationships will be — they just happen to be in this legal arena. So once the audience gets engaged with those characters, they’ll take a ride with us and see how those particular characters, in terms of their differences, would react in the framework of whatever the legal case might be.”

Pictured above (L-R): Jimmy Smits, Jayne Atkinson, MaameYaa Boafo, Barry Sloane, Caitlin McGee, Josh Kelly, Michael Luwoye and Stony Blyden.

Series Premise

NBC describes the show as follows: “Coming from a famous Memphis family known for taking on injustice, brilliant lawyer Sydney Strait [Caitlin McGee] used to work at her father Elijah’s [Jimmy] celebrated law firm until their tumultuous relationship got in the way. After barely speaking to him for years, Sydney is suddenly thrust back into the family fold when her philanthropist mother passes away unexpectedly. In the wake of her loss, hoping to reconnect with the daughter he loves, Elijah asks Sydney to rejoin his ﬁrm. She agrees because, despite her lingering resentment and distrust, she knows that working alongside her father is her best hope at changing the world … if they can ever get along.”

Pictured above: Josh Kelly as Robbie. His other credits include UnREAL, One Life to Live, Midnight, Texas; Ugly Betty, True Blood and the Transformers films Revenge of the Fallen and Dark Side of the Moon.

Father/Daughter Dynamic

Enthuses Jimmy, “Besides having a really great pilot script that is a wonderful jump off point for all these characters and this relationship, we had some really great technical people that were able to work with us that are attorneys, and a particular duo that have the same type of father and daughter relationship. So that was really helpful to us as well. You’re always being like a sponge wherever you are: You’re taking in Memphis and you’re taking in these relationships and trying to use the best of all of that.”

Pictured above: Jimmy Smits as Elijah Strait and Caitlin McGee as Sydney Strait, the father and daughter at the center of the show.

Inspirational Storytelling

An interesting approach being taken by the show’s writers is to attempt to be inspirational in these rather cynical times and finding a balance between the two. “Just think about what the aspirational qualities are of the justice system,” Jimmy suggests, “and how it affords the opportunity of voices who might not be able to get heard having voices; wrongs that have happened getting overturned or being support, and in its most aspirational quality, the people that have dedicated themselves to work on these type of cases are something that we wanted, especially in these times, to kind of highlight and show the flaws and complications in terms of relationships.”

Pictured above: Stony Blyden as Emerson. Audiences may recognize him fro the YouTube Red series Edge of Seventeen, the Amazon pilot College, Nickelodeon’s Hunter Street and the films The Standoff and Dude.

The Toll the Law Can Take

“People that you might put on who are at the pinnacle of their game, no matter what the arena is,” he continues, “it can come with a price in terms of familial relationships, and why people choose to go down certain lanes in terms of law. All of those things are stuff that we want to be able to shed light on and explore in as positive a way as possible, and we’ve got a great diverse group of writers working on all cylinders. I’m so proud of this show.”

Pictured above: Jayne Atkinson as Della Bedford. She is best known for her role as Secretary of State Catherine Durant on the Netflix series House of Cards.

Barry Sloane as Jake Reilly

Barry currently stars opposite Gabrielle Union on L.A.’s Finest, with additional credits that include History Channel’s Six, the National Geographic miniseries Saints & Strangers and the series The Whispers and Revenge. Additionally, he enjoyed a recurring role on season four of the Netflix show Longmire.

Jimmy Smits as Elijah Strait

While Jimmy has had a successful career moving back and forth between the big screen and the small, there’s no question that his two most recognized roles are as lawyer Victor Sifuentes on L.A. Law and Detective Bobby Simone on NYPD Blue. His return to television on Bluff City Law is genuinely welcome.