Defending the Guilty, now on BBC Two, is a new sitcom that looks into the world of criminal law which isn't known for humour. This show is based on the 2010 book of the same name by barrister Alex McBride. Will Sharpe stars as Will Packham, a pupil barrister fighting against three other pupils for tenancy.
This world is very competitive and badly paid for these trainees. The cut-throat competitiveness of all the pupils comes across to viewers that this is a sport and they are all out for themselves. This sport is shown as the pupils have created a "tenancy deathball" whiteboard, on this whiteboard Will is fourth out of the four trainees. All the trainees are listed by ruthless nicknames. Will is DJ Stupid due to the fact when he wears his headphones and he nods along to the indie soundtrack he is listening to. The other trainees include Welsh Danielle whose nickname is Angry Chav and she gets most of the best lines, Liam is portrayed as a posh boy, as a result his nickname is Lanky Poison Twat. The final trainee is Pia, otherwise known as Hot Robot, she is very likeable and the frontrunner which means obviously the others are going to try and take her down.
Defending the Guilty is very much like other political comedies which have been made by the BBC, such The Thick of It with its crude humour. In particular, Danielle played by Gwyneth Keyworth, has some of the best lines and give us this kind of humour. She takes no prisoners as she knows what she wants and wants to get that tenancy. Danielle works hard, knows her stuff and ends up being the voice that helps Will get his life together.
Katherine Parkinson plays Will's pupil master, Caroline, who is a tough and hard face woman who is constantly reminding Will what it takes to be a barrister: "Brain of a fox, liver of an ox, the hugest of cocks." Caroline treats Will as an errand boy who delivers her pastries yet we feel that even though she has this cold and tough exterior, inside she does have a soft spot for Will. We get to see this relationship between Will and Caroline grow as the series continues. This is nice to witness as the world of criminal law can be a cold place and you need to be tough yet this relationship shows the almost softer side of this world that we may forget or don’t realise it has.
Will Sharpe does a great job in portraying this unfortunate and desperate character. This character is at times out of his depths whilst juggling his job and destroying his relationship with his girlfriend. Will wants to bring about justice for his clients which is difficult as he is always defending the guilty party which means he has to work out how to get very guilty people off their charges. We follow Will on his journey of no confidence in court to gaining confidence by losing something and hitting rock bottom.
The whole series shows the behind the scenes of trainee barristers and how cut-throat the whole process can be. For example, Caroline is asked what she loves so much about her job and her response is she likes to win which is surprising as you wouldn’t expect that to be her answer. Defending the Guilty shows Will and Caroline defending guilty parties whilst themselves are guilty for other things. Will is guilty for betraying his girlfriend and lying to her. In this cut-throat world, Danielle is the only one who seems to be able to cope within this world whilst all the other characters seem to really struggle yet we focus more on Will's struggle.
Defending the Guilty is very much like The Thick of It with its crude humour looking into a world which for some could be dull. Our pupils are put through their paces whilst also trying to put down each other to make themselves look better so they get the only tenancy place that is up for grabs. This isn't a hilarious show but it is enjoyable to watch as it is interesting to see this side of the law.
