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Season 1 – The Guardian

Play trailer Poster for Season 1 – The Guardian 2001 Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
53% Tomatometer 17 Reviews 88% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Hotshot lawyer Nick Fallin must perform community service at a child advocacy office or risk being disbarred when he's arrested for using drugs. While he serves his sentence, he continues to close lucrative deals at his father's ultra-successful law firm.

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The Guardian — Season 1

The Guardian — Season 1

What to Know

Critics Consensus

The Guardian has a well-meaning premise and a compulsively watchable star in Simon Baker, but the series is limp upon arrival with its bland characterization and rote procedural formula.

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Critics Reviews

View All (17) Critics Reviews
John Carman San Francisco Chronicle One of the interesting things about [Nick] Fallin is that he seems to have an active inner life. But The Guardian lets you know he's a force when provoked, whether in the boardroom or in the less decorative hallways of children's court. Sep 25, 2019 Full Review Austin Smith New York Post [Simon Baker] has emerged this season as one of TV's most compelling new faces. Sep 25, 2019 Full Review Ken Tucker Entertainment Weekly The thing is, [Simon] Baker's look of perpetual woundedness is actually very effective. Watched week after week, his inner suffering becomes compelling. Rated: B Sep 25, 2019 Full Review Tom Jicha South Florida Sun-Sentinel Viewers will find it very easy to embrace the star of The Guardian, Simon Baker, and the character he plays, Nick Fallin. Audiences are suckers for stories of personal redemption and prodigal sons seeing the light. Nick qualifies on both counts. Sep 25, 2019 Full Review Alan Pergament Buffalo News With a strong supporting cast and an involving opening script told stylishly, The Guardian makes an hour of television seem like 39 minutes. Rated: 3/4 Sep 25, 2019 Full Review John Levesque Seattle Post-Intelligencer [We don't like] the rudderless feel, and the sense that nobody seems to be all that happy to be doing this show. Dec 21, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (7) audience reviews
Rubye C I LOVE the Guardian and the actors. I am so disappointed that the powers that be saw no reason to give us and ending. Come on folks…It won a Golden Globe award. That counts for something. It leaves you with an empty feeling that you’ll never know what happened with a show that could’ve made a difference in the way people feel. I implore you to at least bring the people that are still alive to give us a final show. Thank you for reading. Rubye Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/17/24 Full Review Emily C I just want to know why they ended the guardian the way they did in season three come on back with season four and give us a better ending than that. I don’t like the way you left us hanging. I want to add how much I love the show we just want more of it and for it to have a better ending Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/17/24 Full Review Steven F Despite the terrible new opening song and credits, The Guardian is perhaps the best show on television. It takes a tired and predictable premise and mines gold. The supporting cast is superb, and the second season even includes an ex-Charlie's Angle in a stunning and courageous role. I did not believe it was she, even after seeing her name...but she is still stunningly beautiful 30 years later. I wouldn't spoil the surprise. Finally, Simon Baker gives a simply super performance, especially if you have only known him from The Mentalist and The Devil Wears Prada, where he plays a supremely confident character that I thought was type cast. People who fail to see the nuance and the almost painful insecurity of his character in The Guardian are either blind or stupid. I loved his over the top roles in his earlier work. If he weren't still so gorgeous, I would not believe it was the same actor. SNF Portland Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/11/23 Full Review Dan R It could have been good, but I'd agree with other review particularly about Baker's performance, that he was sentenced to do it. No personality in the show, no chemistry between him and LuLu. Not much is believable in it. And I really like Baker in The Mentalist. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 09/07/23 Full Review Sharon F This is a great series and amazingly relavant. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/06/23 Full Review Sharon F I love this series, it has everything it needs and is binge worthy. I'm disappointed I didn't know about it when it was broadcast. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/11/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Guardian — Season 1

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Cast & Crew

View All Cast and Crew

Simon Baker

Actor

Alan Rosenberg

Actor

Charles Malik Whitfield

Actor

Erica Leerhsen

Actor

Raphael Sbarge

Actor

Dabney Coleman

Actor

Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Sep 25, 2001 Pilot A lawyer (Simon Baker) must perform community service or risk being disbarred when he's arrested for using drugs. Details Episode 2 Aired Oct 2, 2001 Reunion Nick decides to pursue legal action against the company who might be at fault for Hunter's mother being murdered. Details Episode 3 Aired Oct 9, 2001 Paternity Nick helps a boy who is disabled and the son of a prostitute collect child support from his biological father. Details Episode 4 Aired Oct 16, 2001 Lolita? Nick represents a teenager who has accused her stepfather of rape; a young steel-mill heir hopes to file for bankruptcy after he runs the business into the ground. Details Episode 5 Aired Oct 30, 2001 The Men From the Boys Nick helps a gay teenager who has been kicked out of his house; the firm needs Amanda to become a "secret weapon" when it takes on a sexual harassment case. Details Episode 6 Aired Oct 30, 2001 Indian Summer A young woman claiming to be orphaned and underage forces Nick to represent her after they spend a night together; Alvin solicits money from a rich socialite. Details Episode 7 Aired Nov 6, 2001 Feeding Frenzy Nick immerses himself in the world of illegal drugs when he defends a mentally challenged man who is accused of killing a well-known drug dealer. Details Episode 8 Aired Nov 20, 2001 Heart Nick becomes emotionally attached to a terminally ill 12-year-old girl who needs a heart transplant; Burton represents a company that is trying to overthrow its very ill CEO. Details Episode 9 Aired Nov 27, 2001 The Funnies Nick agrees to help Barbara's son who is arrested for drug possession and later charged with manslaughter; Nick is asked to help move a toy's copyright process along. Details Episode 10 Aired Dec 11, 2001 Loyalties Nick and his new boss at Legal Aid defend an Arab-American man and his daughter who appear to be the victims of a hate crime when a teenager vandalizes their establishment. Details Episode 11 Aired Dec 18, 2001 Home Now working for his father's competitors, Nick faces Burton in court when he is reinstated as Hunter Reed's guardian; Alvin agrees to represent his ex-wife in a case. Details Episode 12 Aired Jan 8, 2002 Causality Bowing to the pressures of his new job, Nick starts using cocaine again just when he must square off against his father in court. Details Episode 13 Aired Jan 22, 2002 Privilege Nick contests the will of a woman whose death may link to a family secret. Details Episode 14 Aired Feb 5, 2002 Family Nick's aunt and cousin come for a visit and stir up the pain of the past, especially when he discovers she is dying. Details Episode 15 Aired Feb 26, 2002 In Loco Parentis A drug-addicted mother holds her infant daughter hostage fearing the baby will be taken away from her. Details Episode 16 Aired Mar 5, 2002 Solidarity Nick and Burton attempt to resolve a labor dispute at a factory facing the specter of a strike; Lulu lets Nick know her boyfriend has popped the question. Details Episode 17 Aired Mar 12, 2002 The Divide Nick represents a boy who wants to stop his adoption by a couple that wants him but not his brain-damaged brother. Details Episode 18 Aired Mar 26, 2002 Mothers of the Disappeared After a daughter has been missing for eight years, a mother seeks to have her legally declared dead, then the girl suddenly reappears. Details Episode 19 Aired Apr 9, 2002 Lawyers, Guns and Money Nick is surrounded by trouble when he helps out Lulu's fiance, his shifty parole officer and a recently released convict. Details Episode 20 Aired May 7, 2002 Shelter Nick and Lulu try to help homeless teenage parents who want to keep their newborn baby rather than see the system put the child in foster care. Details Episode 21 Aired May 14, 2002 The Chinese Wall Preparing to take a position on the federal bench, Burton brings in an outsider to pick up the slack and run the law firm. Details Episode 22 Aired May 21, 2002 The Beginning Burton and Lulu reveal damaging information to Nick, while a compromising situation with a wanted killer threatens Nick's future. Details

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The Guardian — Season 1

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Season Info

Director
Lou Antonio, Joan Tewkesbury, Andy Wolk, Arvin Brown, Jerry Levine, Oz Scott, Jeremy Kagan, Alan Myerson, Steven Robman, Michael Pressman
Executive Producer
David Hollander, Mark Johnson, Michael Pressman, Vahan Moosekian
Screenwriter
Alfonso H. Moreno, Michael R. Perry, Rick Eid, David Hollander, Peter Parnell, Mark B. Perry
Network
CBS
Rating
TV-PG (L)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date
Sep 25, 2001