In one of the first buys for the upcoming development cycle, ABC has put in development Lawless, from Mistresses developer/executive producer KJ Steinberg and Shonda Rhimes‘ Shondaland. The project tells the story of Joanna James, a maverick lawyer who returns to her hometown to right the wrongs she left behind. It is inspired by the real life of crusading trucker-turned-lawyer Wynona Ward, founder of Have Justice Will Travel. Former victim of sexual abuse at the hands of her father, Ward got compelled at age 41 by the news of another child in her family getting sexually abused by relatives to go to college and law school and start a group that provides free legal representation and support services to victims of domestic violence in rural areas.
Read more at deadline
Read more at deadline
