Crime novelist Michael Connelly, who brought us LAPD detective Harry Bosch, among other creations, knows how to get some mileage out of a gripping yarn. That’s the case in this adaptation of his book (previously made into a movie with Matthew McConaughey) about troubled idealistic defense lawyer Mickey Haller (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, above). Following a period of lying low dealing with an OxyContin addiction (the origins of which play out all season), Haller unexpectedly inherits the busy practice of a lawyer friend — murdered in the opening moments of this series.

“Mickey really has this deep-seated sense of right and wrong, and the first season is very much a redemption story,” says The Lincoln Lawyer executive producer Ted Humphrey (The Good Wife).

Working out of his Lincoln (hence the title), Haller’s first big case couldn’t be more high-profile: the coming murder trial of accused tech mogul Trevor Elliott (Christopher Gorham). Helping drive his practice are first ex-wife/grounded deputy district attorney Maggie McPherson (Neve Campbell), mother of their teen daughter Hayley (Krista Warner), and lively second ex-wife Lorna Crane (Becki Newton), who runs Mickey’s business.

“Sometimes you have difficult relationships [with exes], but they both still love you,” says Humphrey, adding that the aid will come in handy because, even though Mickey is “a guy who can dance between the raindrops and never get wet,” the plain fact is “no redemption comes without a cost.”

The Lincoln Lawyer, Series Premiere, Friday, May 13, Netflix