Our take
Produced by David E. Kelley, one of the most prolific TV writer-producers and the mastermind behind Boston Legal, Picket Fences, and, more recently, the amazing HBO show Big Little Lies, Goliath follows Billy McBride, a formerly brilliant but washed-up lawyer, who becomes an alcoholic after having acquitted somebody who went on to kill an entire family. McBride is played by Billy Bob Thornton in one of the best performances of his career. (A big claim with a career like that.) A big case randomly comes his way that allows him to go against the big law firm he once co-founded – David against Goliath. With a sex worker as his paralegal (Brittany Gold played by Tania Raymonde), he embarks on a journey to find justice for the victims and redemption for himself. The colorful supporting cast is as good as the main actors, playing an array of unconventional characters and some badass women, including Molly Parker from House of Cards. Goliath is the perfect binge.
Streaming arrival
What it won
Sundance
1 nom
The story
Once a powerful lawyer, Billy McBride is now burned out and washed up, spending more time in a bar than a courtroom. When he reluctantly agrees to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit against the biggest client of Cooperman & McBride, the massive law firm he helped create, Billy and his ragtag team uncover a vast and deadly conspiracy, pitting them all in a life or death trial against the ultimate Goliath.
Elsewhere
"The entire cast is better than the material, but Thornton in particular is working at such a high level that the gap between his talent and the quality of the writing and filmmaking eventually becomes a show in itself."
— Matt Zoller Seitz
"What's there so far is... entertaining TV, but steady updates in the upcoming episodes could make Goliath truly mighty."
— Ben Travers
The details
Who picked it
Bilal Zouheir is the founder of A Good Movie to Watch. He is based in the US and a member of the Nevada Film Critics Society. He grew up in Morocco, where he learned English from watching movies. Bilal's work with A Good Movie to Watch is focused on offering an alternative to streaming algorithms, which are often used as commercial tools by streaming services.
Absolutely loved the first season form start to finish, couldn’t finish the second…
First season was FABULOUS. I found Nathaniel Rateliff’s music because of the first season. Highly anticipated the second season …. and its a train wreck. Every episode makes you feel like they handed over the script to some gleeful psychopath to write, because it just goes so far off the rails. Ugh. I wanted to love it. I watched it to the bitter end and it just never delivered what the first season did.