David E. Kelley on Harry's Law: "The Joy With Kathy Is We Could Make Her as Tough as We Wanted — She Takes Care of the Rest"

Emmy Award-winning writer/producer David E. Premier Guide Miami sat down to find out what that means — and what comes next.

Emmy Award-winning writer/producer David E. Kelley — the creative genius behind Boston Legal, The Practice, Picket Fences, and Ally McBeal — created Harry's Law, a new NBC legal dramedy starring Academy Award winner Kathy Bates as Harriet "Harry" Korn, premiering Monday, January 17 at 10 p.m. The show is produced by Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with David E. Kelley Productions and Warner Bros. Television. Bill D'Elia (Boston Legal, The Practice) serves as executive producer and director.

On how the role became Kathy Bates': "We had written it for a man and saw a lot of good actors but no one that truly embodied the role to our satisfaction. So we said okay, let's think about a woman. And as soon as we opened the field up to women, Kathy's name came up first and fast. And everybody unanimously was on board with that."

On what keeps him returning to the legal system as a setting: "I think the imperfection of the law — our most inexact way of legislating society's sense of morals and ethics. It's extremely imperfect. It seems like a natural springboard because we're talking about ideas more times than not. It's a springboard for exploring characters. And I love to explore our characters. I think that's my favorite part of the job."

On what makes Harry's Law different from his past shows: "Mainly I think we're going to be dealing with more Alternative Dispute Resolution than what we've seen in most cases. It's not conventional trials and courtroom cases. Harry's scurrying into court to get motions to facilitate transplants. She's settling gang disputes. We see her tank a trial on purpose. This is the anti-lawyer in so many ways. And yet at the root of it is her fundamental core of justice. What the series really explores is how justice and law don't always coincide. I think the element of class warfare will be present throughout this series."

On Kathy Bates' unique qualities: "Her skills are beyond reproach. She's an Oscar-winning actress with good reason. She is a great dramatic actress and she can also be funny. It's very hard to find people who have both those muscles. The joy with Kathy is we didn't have to give her lines or scenes that sort of revealed her tender side — moments that would say to the audience, 'See, I'm really a likable person after all.' She oozes that naturally. So we could make her as tough and disgruntled as we wanted to and she would take care of the rest."

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