Bryan Cranston returns to TV in ‘Your Honor,’ but this grim tale is easily dismissed
That’s too bad, given its pedigree, which begins with its star, Bryan Cranston, whose indefatigable work as Walter White in “Breaking Bad” remains a towering achievement in TV history. The rest of the cast comes with similarly impressive credentials in the edgy exploration of the criminal impulse — “Fargo’s” Michael Stuhlbarg, “The Americans’ ” Margo Martindale, “For the People’s” Hope Davis, “True Detective’s” Carmen Ejogo, among others — and yet they all struggle with a premise and a script that gives them little guidance on how far to go with “Your Honor’s” resolute dourness.
Tonally, the series is a mess; in the four episodes made available for this review, Cranston seems to be trying on the role like a custom-made suit that just won’t fit. He plays Michael Desiato, a well-regarded New Orleans judge who is nevertheless a part of the city’s inherently corrupt dynamics, unwittingly or otherwise. Viewers are