Bull Information

Bull is an American drama television series starring Michael Weatherly. CBS ordered the program to series on May 13, 2016, and it premiered on September 20, 2016. The show is based on the early days of talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw's career, when he was a trial consultant.

On April 18, 2018, CBS renewed the series for a third season which is set to premiere on September 24, 2018.

Premise

The series follows the employees at Trial Analysis Corporation (TAC), a jury consulting firm headed by Dr. Jason Bull, who is a psychologist and trial science expert. Bull uses his skills and those of his team not only to select the right jurors for his clients, but to help his clients' lawyers decide which type of argument will win over jurors best.

Cast

Main

• Michael Weatherly as Dr. Jason Bull, a psychologist and holder of three Ph.D.s in Psychology, as well as a pilot's license. He hates lawyers and had a difficult childhood.
• Freddy Rodriguez as Benjamin "Benny" Coln, Bull's former brother-in-law, a former NYC prosecutor, and TAC's in-house counsel.
• Geneva Carr as Marissa Morgan, a psychologist, neurolinguistics expert, second-in-command of Bull's team, and licensed sex therapist, who formerly worked at Homeland Security.
• Christopher Jackson as Chunk Palmer, a fashion stylist who formerly worked at Vogue and who, at the University of Georgia, was an All-American football defensive lineman. He prepares TAC's clients for court.
• Jaime Lee Kirchner as Danielle "Danny" James, the team's lead investigator, who used to work as a police detective in narcotics and for the FBI.
• Annabelle Attanasio as Cable McCrory (Season 1-2), the team's computer expert who is also a skilled hacker.

Recurring

• Dena Tyler as Liberty Davis, a new lawyer who occasionally works with Bull's team on trials. Thanks to Bull's help she becomes a respected and experienced lawyer.
• Jill Flint as Diana Lindsay, a prominent lawyer with whom Bull has history, both litigious and romantic.
• Yara Martinez as Isabella "Izzy" Coln, Benny's sister who is also Bull's ex-wife.
• Eliza Dushku as J.P. Nunnelly, a legal fixer. Bull hires her to defend Benny in return for his team's help on three cases of her choosing.
• Gary Wilmes as Kyle Anderson/Robert Allen, Marissa's love interest in season 2.
• Jazzy Williams as Anna Palmer, Chunk's teenage daughter.

Episodes

Production

Development

On February 2, 2016, it was announced that CBS had given the production a pilot order. The episode was written and author by Paul Attanasio who were expected to executive produce alongside Phil McGraw, Jay McGraw, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, Mark Goffman, Steven Spielberg, Rodrigo Garcia. Production companies involved with the pilot include Amblin Television, Atelier Paul Attanasio, Stage 29 Productions and CBS Television Studios. On May 13, 2016, CBS officially ordered the pilot to series. A few days later, it was announced that the series, would premiere in the fall of 2016 and air on Tuesdays at 9:00 P.M. On November 4, 2016, CBS picked up the series for a full season of 22 episodes. An additional episode was ordered in November. On March 23, 2017, CBS renewed the series for a second season. which premiered on September 26, 2017. On April 18, 2018, CBS renewed the series for a third season which is set to premiere on September 24, 2018.

Casting

On March 2016, it was reported that Michael Weatherly, Geneva Carr, Freddy Rodriguez, Chris Jackson and Jaime Lee Kirchner had also joined the pilot's main cast. On July 13, 2018, it reveals that Annabelle Attanasio would not be returning for season three.

Broadcast

Internationally, the series premiered in the UK on FOX UK on January 13, 2017. The series premiered in Australia on Network Ten on March 5, 2017. It debuted in New Zealand on Prime Television New Zealand on January 19, 2017. The second season was premiered in Australia on Network Ten on October 15, 2017. In Italy, it debuted on Rai 2 on November 13, 2016.

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has an approval rating of 23% based on 22 reviews, with an average rating of 3.99/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Michael Weatherly's performance is top-notch, but not enough to save a show that relies too heavily on a well-worn series of legal show tropes and an off-putting premise." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 40 out of 100 based on 19 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Ratings

| premiere1 = 15.56 | end1 = | finale1 = 8.54 | season1 = 2016-17 | rank1 = | viewers1 = 15.21 | 18_49_rating1 = 2.2/7

| link2 = List of Bull (2016 TV series) episodes#Season 2 (2017-18) | episodes2 = 22 | start2 = | premiere2 = 10.06 | end2 = | finale2 = 11.76 | season2 = 2017-18 | rank2 = | viewers2 = | 18_49_rating2 = }}