Marcia Clark Legal Drama Lands Pilot Commitment from NBC

On the heels of the success of FX’s “The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story” comes word that former prosecutor Marcia Clark will co-write a legal-themed drama on NBC, still untitled, based on her novel “Blood Defense.” Drawing from the personal experience of Clark, who started her career as a defense attorney, the show centers on Samantha Brinkman, a relentless criminal defense attorney in Los Angeles whose world is turned upside down when she is hired to defend a police detective in a high-profile homicide, thrusting her into the public spotlight and exposing dark secrets from her past.

Clark will co-write the adaptation with writer-producers Elizabeth Craft & Sara Fain for ABC Studios and studio-based Mandeville TV. NBC is eyeing this potential new drama for 2017.

Clark, of course, served as a lead prosecutor in the O.J. Simpson trial, which was showcased this year by both FX’s “People vs. O.J. Simpson,” where Clark was played by Sarah Paulson in an Emmy-nominated role, and ESPN’s documentary “OJ: Made in America.” She transitioned from a law to a writing career with a series of bestselling legal thriller novels featuring prosecutor Rachel Knight called “The Competition,” “Killer Ambition,” “Guilt by Degrees” and “Guilt by Association.” They were developed as a potential drama by TNT and ordered to pilot, but never made it as a series.

NBC is eyeing this potential new drama for 2017.