The Lincoln Lawyer Season 4: Everything We Know

by

Based on a series of hard-boiled legal novels by Michael Connelly, “The Lincoln Lawyer” was first adapted into a film starring Matthew McConaughey in 2011 before Netflix grabbed the rights to a small screen version. Taking plenty of inspiration from real-life legal cases, the “Lincoln Lawyer” TV series stars Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as Mickey Hauler, a dedicated defense attorney who fights for justice out of the back of a Lincoln Navigator (and several other Lincoln-brand cars that he owns).

Created by legendary TV producer David E. Kelley — whose previous legal hits include “L.A. Law,” “Boston Legal,” and “Ally McBeal” — the series has twice been renewed and recently ended its third season in late 2024. With a stunning finale that left fans’ jaws on the floor, there has to be a fourth season coming, doesn’t there? Well, we’re here with all the news and notes on Season 4 of “The Lincoln Lawyer,” including word on its renewal, possible filming locations, and a potential premiere date. We may even know what the new season is about — including the book it may be based on. This is everything we know so far about Season 4 of “The Lincoln Lawyer.”

Will The Lincoln Lawyer Season 4 happen?

Fans who were eagerly waiting to find out if they’d get another season of “The Lincoln Lawyer” featuring Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as Mickey Haller didn’t have to wait long after the Season 3 finale, as it was officially confirmed that a new season would be produced in January 2025, just a few months following the shocking cliffhanger ending of the third season.

The series will shoot its fourth season on location in Los Angeles like the three previous ones, something fans may have wondered about in the aftermath of the Los Angeles wildfires. “The show is in many ways a love letter to our city and an homage to the great tradition of LA noir, and after the tragedy of the fires we are so grateful and honored to be able to provide some stability and hope to the community,” showrunners Humphrey and Dailyn Rodriguez said in a statement (via Deadline).

How The Lincoln Lawyer sets up the events of The Law Of Innocence for Season 4

“The Lincoln Lawyer” has to this point adapted three books in the series, making changes from the page only where necessary. The novels “The Brass Verdict,” “The Fifth Witness,” and “The Gods of Guilt” served as the basis for each of the show’s first three seasons. Season 3 ended on a similar note to the book version of “The Gods of Guilt,” which offered up a lead-in to the events of Connelly’s sixth Haller novel, “The Law of Innocence.”

The story of Season 3 involved a murder case against Julian La Cosse (Devon Graye), who is charged with the death of Gloria Dayton, a high-priced sex worker. The finale closed out with the news that all charges would be dropped against La Cosse after evidence clears him, with Haller riding off into the proverbial sunset. But the final scenes have Haller getting pulled over by police, who search his vehicle and find — to Haller’s and our dismay — a dead body in the trunk. It’s Sam Scales (Christopher Thornton), his former client and a man in deep debt to him. This sets up the narrative of “The Law of Innocence,” which will form the foundation of Season 4 as Haller battles murder charges. 

Bosch appears in The Law Of Innocence — will he show up on The Lincoln Lawyer?

If you’ve only been watching “The Lincoln Lawyer” and have never read the books on which the show is based, it might come as something of a surprise to learn that the world of Mickey Haller is a shared universe — shared, that is, with author Michael Connelly’s other crime fiction series which became a TV drama, “Bosch.” That’s right, Titus Welliver’s grumpy LAPD detective exists in the same world as Mickey Haller — with the characters being half brothers. Fans also know that Harry Bosch shows up in “The Law of Innocence,” so does that mean he’ll make an appearance in Season 4 of “The Lincoln Lawyer”?

It’s worth pointing out that the two shows are not on the same streaming platform. “The Lincoln Lawyer” is a Netflix production, while Amazon Studios handles the “Bosch” franchise, which also includes the sequel series, “Bosch Legacy.” With the rights to each book series held by a different studio, legal entanglements will likely prevent an appearance from Bosch or Welliver on “The Lincoln Lawyer.” 

That said, cross-studio partnerships have happened before, most famously with Sony and Marvel teaming up to unite Spider-Man with the Avengers. And like Michael Connelly’s shared world, several adapted works by Elmore Leonard have featured crossovers from TV and movie projects on rival networks: Carla Gugino reprised her role as Karen Sisco from the short-lived ABC series of the same name for FX’s “Justified,” while Michael Keaton returned as Ray Nicolette in “Out of Sight” after playing him in Quentin Tarantino’s “Jackie Brown.”

Which characters could return for The Lincoln Lawyer Season 4?

We already know that most of the cast of “The Lincoln Lawyer” will be back for Season 4. This includes, of course, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as Mickey Haller, with fellow cast member Becki Newton back as Lorna, Jazz Raycole as Izzy, and Angus Sampson as Cisco. The previous season’s guest star, Neve Campbell, will also reprise her role as Maggie McPherson. After only appearing in a pair of installments in Season 3, Campbell is said to be coming back for every episode of the show’s fourth year. Though it’s unlikely we’ll see Titus Welliver as Harry Bosch, it’s possible the series could create a new character to stand in for him.

Without giving away too many spoilers for “The Law of Innocence,” the story does include a number of new characters that are likely to show up in Season 4. This includes a team of FBI agents who are investigating a mobster named Luis Opparizio. Fans of “The Lincoln Lawyer” series who have read the books know that Opparizio appeared in Season 1 but under a different name, with the character becoming Alex Grant (Michael A. Goorjian). So it’s possible this won’t be a new character, and Grant may return.

When could The Lincoln Lawyer Season 4 premiere on Netflix?

With the announcement of Season 4 of “The Lincoln Lawyer” coming in early 2025, it’s fair to wonder when we’ll actually see new episodes premiere. A lot will depend, however, on when the new season actually finishes shooting, as Netflix recently announced that production on the series officially began in February 2025. Season 1, for example, kicked off filming in March 2021 and didn’t air its first episode until more than a year later.

By contrast, Season 2 of “The Lincoln Lawyer” — which featured a surprising “Ugly Betty” reunion you likely didn’t notice – wrapped filming in March 2023 and premiered four months later in July. Each season has spent about five months filming, meaning that even if Season 4 went in front of cameras as planned, it probably wouldn’t wrap until June or July, at least if the streaming platform adopts a similar production and release timeline. That might mean we’ll have to wait until early 2026 for Netflix to start dropping new episodes.  

Read More

2025-03-17 14:33