The 18 Best Legal Procedural TV Shows of All Time

From era-defining network classics to slick modern streamers and cult dramedies, these courtroom heavyweights span decades of objections, closing arguments, and morally gray verdicts. Which one wins your case?

1

The Good Wife

An acclaimed drama about an attorney rebuilding her career after her politician husband's public scandal.

1000pts

2

Suits

A slick USA Network drama about a brilliant college dropout who fakes his credentials to work alongside a top New York closer.

882pts

3

Better Call Saul

The Breaking Bad prequel charting con man Jimmy McGill's transformation into criminal lawyer Saul Goodman.

882pts

4

Matlock

The classic courtroom series starring Andy Griffith as a folksy but shrewd Atlanta defense attorney.

611pts

5

The Lincoln Lawyer

A Netflix drama based on Michael Connelly's novels about a defense attorney who runs his practice from a Lincoln Town Car.

529pts

6

Rake

A darkly comic legal drama following a brilliant but self-destructive criminal barrister.

529pts

7

Boston Legal

A witty legal dramedy spun off from The Practice, starring James Spader and William Shatner as eccentric attorneys.

529pts

8

Perry Mason

The iconic defense-attorney franchise, from the original Raymond Burr series to the HBO origin-story revival.

433pts

9

JAG

A military legal drama following Navy and Marine Corps judge advocates investigating and prosecuting service cases.

433pts

10

Night Court

A beloved sitcom set in a Manhattan night-shift municipal court presided over by an unconventional young judge.

433pts

11

L.A. Law

An influential 1980s drama following the partners and associates of a high-powered Los Angeles law firm.

433pts

12

The Practice

David E. Kelley's gritty drama about a scrappy Boston defense firm wrestling with thorny legal and moral dilemmas.

317pts

13

Law & Order

The long-running NBC procedural that splits each episode between police investigation and courtroom prosecution in New York City.

317pts

14

Damages

A tense legal thriller pitting a ruthless litigator against her ambitious protege across interwoven timelines.

317pts

15

Goliath

An Amazon drama starring Billy Bob Thornton as a washed-up lawyer taking on powerful corporate adversaries.

317pts

16

How to Get Away with Murder

A twisty Shondaland thriller following a law professor and her students entangled in murder and cover-ups.

317pts

17

Drop Dead Diva

A lighthearted fantasy dramedy about a model reincarnated as a brilliant plus-size attorney.

317pts

18

Ally McBeal

A quirky dramedy centered on a neurotic young lawyer navigating love and law at a Boston firm.

176pts