The show centers on a successful Philadelphia corporate lawyer named Jack Shannon (Jamey Sheridan), who lost his family and his job to a compulsive gambling habit.
The saga of Shannon, who leaves a prestigious law firm after years of becoming unhappy with the legal system and being forced to take his clients to court, and who subsequently opens his own low-rent practice, was first explored in the highly rated, two-hour movie pilot, which NBC aired on June 4, 1989, and repeated April 13, 1990, ahead of the series premiere.
The series was highly regarded in the industry for its level of writing, complex character development, and witty dramedy elements, but is also remembered for the notable people who worked behind the scenes.
I'm just kinda starting from scratch, trying to keep things low pressure.Though he worked hard to attain a high-profile partnership at the prestigious Philadelphia law firm of Coleman and Weiss, John F. "Jack" Shannon grew disillusioned from successfully defending corporations in pollution cases.
He also found himself going up against his old adversary Todd Spurrier (Miguel Ferrer), who had moved to the DA's office to lay the groundwork for a political career.
Shannon gained another unlikely ally in Wilmer Slade (Richard Edson), a former welterweight boxer turned enforcer for one of the many loan sharks to whom Jack is in debt.
Shannon's Deal explored various aspects of the law as Jack took on police and government corruption, union disputes, child custody, the murky underside of creative ownership in the music business, and even the viability of the church as sanctuary for an illegal immigrant.
Representing poor people, Rogow never wanted to go to court because he knew he would lose going up against corporate law firms with huge resources.
The pilot movie, written by Sayles and aired on NBC on June 4, 1989, introduced an element of film noir that continued throughout the series.
[5] In his review for The New York Times, John J. O'Connor wrote, "For the 1930s, Dashiell Hammett created Sam Spade, the private eye.