HBO Max is continuing to expand its lineup of procedural dramas with a new legal series currently in development. According to Deadline, Debbie is being developed as an elevated legal drama from The Fosters co-creator Bradley Bredeweg (Good Trouble, The Fosters, Fly Girls) and Matthew Thomas (Joker’s Downfall), with Gabrielle Union (Bring It On, Bad Boys II, 10 Things I Hate About You) attached as an executive producer and currently in talks to star in the series.
The series centers on Debbie Powell, a once-prominent attorney whose public downfall forces her to rebuild both her career and personal life as a public defender. According to the official description, Debbie uses the skills, connections, and determination that once made her one of Atlanta’s most feared lawyers to advocate for clients who have been overlooked by the legal system while tackling a new case each episode.
Union will executive produce the project through her production company I’ll Have Another alongside Bredeweg, Thomas, and Jenny Frankfurt (I.Q., Bienvenidos a Los Angeles). Union most recently appeared in the comedy horror film Forbidden Fruits and the animated feature Goat. She is also set to star in the upcoming project The Casket Girls alongside Mike Colter (Men in Black 3, Luke Cage, Extinction).
Debbie joins HBO Max’s growing slate of procedural dramas inspired by the success of The Pitt starring Noah Wyle (ER, Donnie Darko, A Few Good Men). The medical drama’s annual release model has reportedly influenced HBO Max’s efforts to develop additional series in traditional procedural genres including law enforcement, medicine, and legal dramas.
Additional HBO Max projects currently in development under a similar strategy include American Blue starring Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes, This Is Us, Gamer) and Welcome to Catalina, the upcoming crime drama adaptation based on Michael Connelly’s (The Lincoln Lawyer, Bosch, Bosch: Legacy) novel “Nightshade.”
Bredeweg is best known for co-creating The Fosters and its spinoff Good Trouble, while Thomas is attached to write and executive produce the series. No additional casting announcements or premiere date have been revealed for Debbie at this time.