Benched

2014
Benched

Seasons & Episodes

  • 1

EP1 Pilot Oct 28, 2014

Corporate lawyer Nina Whitley has given up a lot in her climb to the top. However, when she's passed over for a promotion and her former fiance gets engaged to another woman, Nina has an epic meltdown.

EP2 Downsizing Nov 04, 2014

Nina attends a gala honoring public defenders; however, her former colleagues are unimpressed.

EP3 Hooked & Booked Nov 11, 2014

Phil tricks Nina into believing that all of the public defenders voluntarily go to jail to better understand their clients. She learns what lengths she'll go to be a part of the gang.

EP4 Sell It Nov 18, 2014

Nina discovers that she needs a refresher on influencing jurors and winning friends. Phil and Trent have to deal with a curmudgeonly judge.

EP5 Shark, Actually Nov 25, 2014

Nina is concerned that she is being played by a private defense lawyer assigned to help her. Phil attempts to impress a pretty stenographer.

EP6 Rights and Wrongs Dec 02, 2014

Nina must accept that losing cases to Trent is a fact of life. Carlos gives up smoking, which worries the rest of the gang.

EP7 Curry Favor Dec 09, 2014

Nina makes friends with a spunky forensics analyst who takes the concept of loyalty a bit too seriously. Carlos gets worrisome glimpse into Phil's life.

EP8 Diamond Is a Girl's Worst Friend Dec 16, 2014

Nina is assigned one of Phil's former defendants and lands herself in a bet with Phil. Meanwhile, Phil and Carlos decide to teach Micah a lesson.

EP9 A New Development Dec 23, 2014

Nina discovers the D.A.'s plans to arrest the city's homeless and faces a crisis of conscience.

EP10 Solitary Refinement Dec 23, 2014

An old friend asks Nina to set her up with Phil, a female judge takes a liking to Carlos, and Nina goes on an ill-fated date of her own.

EP11 Campaign Contributions Dec 30, 2014

Phil is on the shortlist for Public Defender of the Year; Trent brings a young boy to court.

EP12 Brief Encounters Dec 30, 2014

Nina faces a difficult choice after reuniting with Trent; Phil examines his own relationships.
7.1| 0h30m| TV-14| en| More Info
Released: 28 October 2014 Canceled
Producted By: The Mark Gordon Company
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://www.usanetwork.com/benched
Synopsis

Nina is a dedicated, career driven corporate attorney who has a very public nervous breakdown after getting passed up for an expected promotion and now finds herself working as a public defender. Her personal and professional worlds are turned upside down when she joins the ranks of the legal world’s underdogs and very quickly realizes that the law isn't quite as fair as she once thought.

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Director

Producted By

The Mark Gordon Company

Trailers & Images

Reviews

katanaknights For a self-described comedy, it has fewer laughs than Suits, a drama with a few laughs.The laughs per minute rate is too low. I watched whole episodes without laughing once and started to count the jokes. There's not that many of them. It's mostly a series of awkward moments, slightly droll anecdotes, nothing actually funny.I saw this as a huge fan of Happy Endings. That show had it all and these solo acts ain't working. It's similar to the curse of Seinfeld. One Big Happy, Benched and Marry Me were all weak, while Happy Endings was amazing. I think they should've found a new home for Happy Endings or kept trying again and again (like "Freaks and Geeks" and "Undeclared" both cult classics) until it was successful (Happy Endings was already funny). In "Marry Me" Annie is the same character as Penny was on HE and here Nina plays a very similar role to Jane on HE, but with way fewer jokes.Episode 1 sees her having a breakdown at work, insulting everyone and everything (just like Annie's extended "Why won't you marry me?" rant on Marry Me) and getting fired/losing her job.There is not much humor here. They recycle jokes 3 episodes in - the smell of the public defendants' office, the smell of the courtroom and the smell of the meeting rooms for jailed prisoners. Not only are the jokes repeated, Nina keeps complaining the smell over and over. The bad smell is a big theme in the first 3 episodes. It wasn't funny the first time, keeping complaining about the smell does not make it any more funny and doing it every episode over and over just makes it annoying.Another example of a show that does not have enough jokes to sustain itself. There's just not enough jokes in there, the ones that are there aren't that good and the story is not funny on its own. You just end up watching some light, slightly weird court drama.The supporting cast is a backdrop for Nina - they just set her up and add little to the show.All these things should've been noticed reading the screenplay. I don't know how something this half-baked made it out on TV.
Elsa Zinha I love this show, it is such a shame that it has been canceled. Please, dear Lord of the airing, if you read this, sign (at least) season 2!!The two main leading roles are fun and the scenario is pretty well written. Somehow it reminds me Ally McBeal but without the annoying Calista Flockart. Eliza Coupe is delicious. She perfectly endorses the part of the daddy's bitchy rich girl.It's fresh, it's contemporary.Please, put it back on air, I wanna know what is coming next! Let me be the public defender of this show and ask the Court a deal for Benched!
huwbutts Benches evidently wants to be Scrubs mixed with Suits. Unfortunately, such a promising premise is let down by flat jokes, poor delivery and bad casting; it's also not silly enough to keep up with the surreal humour you find in successful comedies (30 Rock, Community, Arrested Development and the like) but instead relies on very tired scenarios to eek out the laughs.I was really looking forward to this as Jay Harrington absolutely made Better Off Ted as the put-together protag - such a travesty that it got cancelled. Sadly, his role in Benched as the work-shy swindler Phil just doesn't fit - it would have been potentially better for him to be Trent (but a more interesting version). He also comes across as if he knows the show isn't going to last, and doesn't put any effort into...not putting any effort in.Eliza Coupe is...angry. I know that's supposed to be 'funny' and endearing, but she just comes across as irritating and unbelievable (a lawyer but all-too-gullible for example). Someone else as the female lead would have saved the day (Christina Applegate? Gillian Jacobs? Jaime Presley?) A wasted opportunity. I hope the show makes better use of such talent soon, or else I fear it'll be curtains.
spamusnot The premise of a comedy set in the public defender's office has so much potential. Benched, however, falls flat. The characters are shallow and not at all developed. The lead character comes off as purely neurotic. She dominates every scene, while the other characters are relegated to only setting up the mostly trite jokes for her. The defendants are little more than a crew of stock clichés. The humor is lacking, and most of it is just slapstick. The story line, what of it there is,sorely lacks any substance. The plot has none of the situations that are found in good comedy, and no good sight gags. The entire pilot was nothing more than a weak woman whining that her boyfriend left her. Watching Benched is not a good use of 30 minutes of your time.