In Head Cases Jason Payne is a superstar attorney at a prestigious Los Angeles firm, whose nonstop drive toward professional advancement backfires when his wife Laurie kicks him out of the house and, to make a bad day worse, he has a nervous breakdown. After three months at a ‘wellness center,’ Jason finds himself with no job, no place to live, and no support system. Enter Shultz, an unkempt, unpredictable sufferer of explosive disorder, assigned to be outpatient ‘buddies’ with Jason by their mutual therapist, Dr. Robinson.
A low-rent lawyer used to representing deviants and petty criminals, Shultz eagerly latches on to a very reluctant Jason, injecting himself into all aspects of Jason’s personal and professional life. For Jason and Shultz, what begins as a bumpy alliance gradually turns amicable, each helping steer the other toward against-all-odds legal victories in a pair of cases. Ultimately they hang up their shingle together as ‘Payne and Shultz’and set out to take on underdog clients while reclaiming their sanity.
Head Cases was the first show cancelled for the 2005–2006 season. Cancelled after just two episodes on September 22 after disastrous ratings and critical drubbing.
production details
USA | Fox | 6×50 minutes | 2005
Creator: Bill Chais
cast
Chris O’Donnell as Jason Payne
Rockmond Dunbar as Dr Robinson
Adam Goldberg as Shultz
Krista Allen as Laurie Payne
Jake Cherry as Ryan
