‘Trial & Error’ wraps up a hilarious first season

By Jacqueline Spendlove TV Media

Mockumentaries, when placed in the right hands, wield a very special power in that they can take decidedly unfunny subject matter and make it hilarious. From the multiple Christopher Guestcreated offerings on the big screen (“This Is Spinal Tap,” 1984; “Best in Show,” 2000) to “The Office,” “Parks and Recreation” and “Modern Family” on the small, it’s a genre that’s seen a lot of success over the years.

Pair it with the true-crime format that’s so hot right now and Bob’s your uncle. “Trial & Error” is a wonderfully goofy freshman comedy that’s murder mysterymeets-mockumentary, and has gleaned mostly favorable reviews so far. The season finale airs Tuesday, April 18, on NBC.

Drawing from recent documentary hits such as “Making a Murderer” on Netflix and HBO’s “The Jinx,” “Trial & Error” is a comical whodunit story led by the muchlauded John Lithgow (“3rd Rock From the Sun”), fresh off his stint as Winston Churchill in “The Crown.”

The five-time Emmy winner stars as Larry Henderson, a small-town poetry professor accused of murdering his wife by flinging her through a plate-glass window.

It certainly doesn’t sound like comedy fodder but, what can I say, it’s funny. The ubiquitous Lithgow is a masterful vehicle for the hapless Larry, who is completely clued out to the seriousness of his situation. Even when it starts to really, really sound like he’s the guilty party (his first wife also met her end with a plate-glass window — coincidence?), he still manages to come across as affable, if a bit buffoonish. His head is perpetually in the clouds, and his priorities are all over the place; for instance, he seems to put as much import on the cable guy showing up as he does on the violent murder of his wife. The challenge, for Lithgow, was portraying someone who could be a killer, or who could end up being totally innocent.

“He had to be likable, along with scary and potentially murderous. It was a curious cocktail,” Lithgow said of his character during a BUILD interview. “Of course, you’ve got comedy on your side. If somebody is funny, then you’re crazy about him.”

Coming to Larry’s defense — and straight-man to his goofball — is fresh-faced young lawyer Josh Segal (Nicholas D’Agosto, “Masters of Sex”), who travels from New York City to the small South Carolina town of East Peck, eager to take on his first major case. Though hopeful and well-meaning, the naive Josh is totally out of his element as he tries to work not only with the eccentric Larry, but also the oddball locals who make up his (mostly useless) defense team.

This consists of redneck lead investigator Dwayne Reed (Steven Boyer, “The Wolf of Wall Street,” 2013), whose bumpkin status is cemented in the revelation that his brother is also his cousin, and assistant Anne Flatch (Sherri Shepherd, “The View”), who allegedly suffers from an ever-lengthening string of rare and improbable medical ailments, including face blindness. The main cast also includes Carol Anne Keane (Jayma Mays, “Glee”), the ambitious and aggressively flirtatious prosecutor who has her eye on the title of district attorney and wants to see Larry hang, and Larry’s daughter, Summer (Krysta Rodriguez, “Smash”), who also becomes a murder suspect.

Though the series pulls elements from true-crime shows in general, this first season is specifically inspired by “The Staircase,” a documentary that hit Sundance channel in 2004. The doc examines the case of Michael Peterson, a man suspected of the mysterious murder of his wife, Kathleen, in their North Carolina home.

“[‘Trial & Error’] is shot in exactly the same way. We rigorously ob- driven, but at its heart it’s still a murder mystery, and avid follows

Kinship Partners is pleased to honor Cory Peterson and Nik Speliopoulos as our Match of the Month.

Cory and Nik were matched the day after Nik’s 10th birthday. Nik is now 18 years old and will be graduating this spring.

So what has made this match so successful? Cory would tell you Nik is just part of his family. Nik would say Cory has always been there for him.

Even though Cory and Nik’s partnership will officially end this spring when Nik graduates, they have developed a lifelong friendship that will last for many more years.

Kinship Partners wishes Nik all the best in his future and many thanks to Cory for giving of himself.

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