Rueben's Ramblings

The 2-part PBS Masterpiece Mystery The Escape Artist will air on June 15 at 9 PM, running 90 minutes.

David Tennant (Broadchurch and Doctor Who) stars as a defense lawyer with a perfect record of courtroom wins and a perfect family to go with it. Uuntil things go horribly wrong.

“If you’re chained up in a safe at the bottom of a shark tank,” quips a high-placed barrister (in Episode 1), “you call for Houdini.” He means his wizard of a colleague, Will Burton (Tennant), ranked as the top young criminal lawyer in the UK and destined for silk—the honor of Queen’s Counsel—as soon as he finds the time to apply for it.

Ranked as second-best barrister is Will’s perennial rival, Maggie Gardner (Sophia Okonedo from Hotel Rwanda), who finds herself out-argued once again, as she sees her latest prosecution case go down in flames to a stirring defense by Will. Lost amid their intellectual one-upmanship is an appreciation for the wrecked lives they are manipulating in their courtroom games. But all that is about to change.

Ashley Jensen (Ugly Betty) stars as the Burton’s endearing wife and Toby Kebbell (Wrath of the Titans and the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot) as an accused murderer who is either a persecuted misfit or a dangerous psychopath.

Here is a trailer for The Escape Artist.