INDIANAPOLIS — The criminal defense lawyer who works out of the back of his Lincoln Navigator is returning for more cases.
In the third season of "The Lincoln Lawyer," things get personal for Mickey Haller (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) as he follows the murder case of someone who was very close to him.
"Mickey Haller is going against every kind of obstacle: love, addiction, the cases. He does this with the help of his team, his office, his friends, his ex-wives," Garcia-Rulfo said. "This season, the stakes are higher for him."
And critics are loving each season more than the last, with 80%, 91% and 100% ratings on Rotten Tomatoes.
The TV show is based on The Lincoln Lawyer series from author Michael Connelly, with each season adapting a different book — but not from the beginning.
The first book in the series was adapted into a 2011 movie starring Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey ("Dallas Buyers Club," "True Detective"). The TV show begins with adapting the second book, "The Brass Verdict," followed by the fourth and fifth books, "The Fifth Witness" and "The Gods of Guilt," respectively.
"It's hard when you see an actor as good as McConaughey in something, you're like, 'Oh my god. Now what am I gonna do?'" Garcia-Rulfo said. "I focused a lot on his vulnerability of the character, instead of going with this 'he can do everything,' superhero kind of guy."
As a Mexican actor, Garcia-Rulfo is embracing the positive representation of being the lead actor in a show as big as this.
"I love it. Honestly, I'm very grateful with the platform, Netflix, the showrunners to give me the opportunity. I know it's flipping a coin to bet on a Mexican actor in a part in a character that's a lawyer with an accent," Garcia-Rulfo said. "I'm really grateful that they took the chance, and it's working, so that's good."
All three seasons of "The Lincoln Lawyer" are now streaming on Netflix.
