Timecode

Film director Mike Figgis is set to direct the pilot episode of Denis Leary-produced drama Canterbury's Law. The show focuses on, what else, a lawyer. Did you guess a lawyer "who pushes the boundaries of the law?" If you did, than we've got a network programming job for you.

What may save this from being another tiresome lawyer/doctor/cop outing is the presence of the cantankerous Leary behind the scenes and Figgis behind the camera for episode one. Figgis is best known for Leaving Las Vegas with Nicolas Cage and Elisabeth Shue, but his most interesting work (or most self-indulgent, depending on your point of view) has been on experimental films like Hotel and Timecode, in which he divided the screen and the narrative into four separate, but equal parts. I'm sure he won't be busting out any formal experiments for a network pilot, but you never know. What's the point of bringing a big name film director over to TV if you're not going to let him play?