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By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
Billy Bob Thornton is remaking awards nominations thanks to his leading role in Taylor Sheridan’s latest hit, Landmanbut this is not his first streaming series. In 2016, Billy Bob Thornton starred in the Amazon Prime Original, Goliathas Billy McBride, an ex-lawyer who found his way to the bottom of a bottle. The series was largely ignored by critics and the public, but thanks to Landmanit is finally being watched the way it deserved to be in the first place.
One Man Against Titans Of Industry
Goliath begins to pit Billy against his old law firm, Cooperman McBride when he accepts the case of a man who died in an explosion. Borns Technology, a huge corporation and one of Cooperman’s biggest clients, claims that he committed suicide, but the man’s sister is convinced that there is more going on and gets Billy to bring the case. Immediately, it is clear that powerful men want the case to never go to trial, but Billy, with an ax to grind and a need to make amends for a past mistake, is not going to disappear quietly.
Before the start of the series, Billy helped defend a murder suspect, and although he won the case, the suspect took advantage of his newfound freedom to murder a family. Walking out on Cooperman McBride, Billy made an enemy of his former partner, Cooperman, played by William Hurt, and his ex-wife, Michelle portrayed by Maria Bello, who remained in the company. The basic setting of Goliath it’s not groundbreakingly original, but it’s well acted, and the writing is the kind you’d expect from creator and megaproducer David E. Kelley.
Each successive season Billy will take on another “Goliath”, which includes the Mexican Cartel, Los Angeles politics, and a huge agricultural conglomerate. The role is a mirror of Billy Bob Thronton’s Tommy Norris Landmanthe confident and exciting shot that works for one of the biggest players in the oil industry. Both shows share a lead and many of the same themes but are different enough that it’s easy to blur them together.
Goliath Ignored By Everyone
Alongside Billy Bob Thornton, there is a cast of Goliathwhich turns over almost every season, featuring a host of familiar faces, including Dennis Quaid, JK SimmonsJena Malone, David Cross, and Haley Joel Osment. It only aired for four seasons, with less coverage for each successive season, but the show managed to maintain the same level of quality throughout. Every season on Rotten tomatoes was reviewed by fewer and fewer critics, with a total of five reviewing Season 4, but those who watched it considered it a 100 percent perfect fresh experience.
It’s easy to forget that a series is out on streamingor ignore it in the first place, because every week a different streamer releases another expensive show with at least one big Hollywood star attached to it. There is no science behind what will or will not be a success; for example, Goliath fell between the cracks, while Landman already earned another Golden Globe nomination for Billy Bob Thornton.
Goliath is streaming on only Amazon Prime Video.
