I am – Hercules!! A legal drama about a hard-drinking, unfaithful Rhode Island defense lawyer haunted by the son who disappeared six years ago while in her care, “Canterbury’s Law” is the creation of TV-movie vet Dave Erickson (“D.C. Sniper: 23 Days of Fear,” “The Perfect Husband: The Laci Peterson Story”). It stars superhot fortysomething Juliana Margulies (“ER,” “The Sopranos,” “The Lost Room”). More than a few of the critics compare it to “House.” TV Guide says:

… Think House in stiletto heels with a law degree, and you'll start to get the picture of Fox's relentlessly edgy Canterbury's Law, a lightning-paced legal drama that roars with a feisty thunder. …

USA Today gives it three stars (out of four) and says:

… Like Dr. House, another comparison that immediately comes to mind, Elizabeth can be wildly abrasive and single-minded. ("I could love the person on the stand body and soul and still rip their throat out during cross," is one of her kinder statements.) She's also witty — a side Margulies conveys with such skill and poise, you can't help but be happy to have her back on air. But she's more attached to her clients than House is to his patients, and while she's playing to win, it's for them, not for the sake of the game alone.…

Entertainment Weekly gives it a “B-plus” and says:

… Having shown off her torrid side on The Sopranos, Julianna Margulies now gets to command the screen in something juicier than the usual procedural. …

The Los Angeles Times says:

… the show should have legs enough to keep up with the big girls. Except it's just terrible. Honestly, I don't know how else to say it. In this role, Margulies has neither the charisma to hold the screen in the many (quite unforgiving) close-ups she is given, nor the depth to make her character more than one note (angry), two at the most (angry and determined). It doesn't help that she is forced to wear super-tight suits with impossibly winged collars and say things like "eyes and ears on me, people," or "I sleep . . . the sleep of the righteous."…

The Washington Post says:

… It works, thanks largely to the hugely watchable star … "Canterbury's Law" is a "House" full of lawyers instead of doctors, since it superficially resembles Fox's blistering drama about a cantankerous physician and his team of distressed underlings -- an ensemble drama that is also a showcase for a spectacular star turn. Margulies may not be the equal of Hugh Laurie, who plays Doc House, but she's certainly in there swinging, and temperatures have a tendency to shoot up dangerously when she's let loose in court. … "just another" courtroom show "Canterbury's Law" most definitely is not.

The San Francisco Chronicle says:

… For all the effort that was put into making Canterbury complicated, not nearly enough quality control was put into the writing. Her nemesis, Deputy Attorney General Zach Williams (Terry Kinney), is too predictably evil. At one point, addressing Russell, whom he previously fired, Williams yells, "You feckless puppet! Where do you get the stones to accuse me?" It just seems contrived and stagy. Later, Canterbury tells Molly part of her legal philosophy: "I could love the person on the stand body and soul. And still rip their throat out on cross. Could you?" Again, too self-conscious. Here's what is likely to happen to "Canterbury's Law." The weak writing will chase away fans of better cable fare who come to Fox to take a peek. And Canterbury's bleak life (and her choices) will scare away mainstream viewers.

The Chicago Tribune says:

… tries to throw in some commentary about class and the slippery nature of justice, but the series is hampered by clichéd writing that results in lines such as, "I just tell the truth and see who it stings." A subplot about the source of Canterbury's deep personal pain also seems like overkill. …

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:

… With her cool demeanor, Margulies is an ideal actress to carry off this icy role. Perhaps in the hands of a more deft writer, "Canterbury's Law" could be the edgy show it aspires to be instead of the common courtroom drama it is. …

The Boston Globe says:

… Margulies succeeds in dropping all of the fragility she conveyed so effectively on "ER." Tonight, she even takes a punch in the face from a guy on the stand. There are strong scenes that pit her against a fierce district attorney played with comic crankiness by Terry Kinney. It looks as though Kinney's DA will be a recurring character, which is a good thing. And Margulies has an appealing chemistry with Ben Shenkman, who is her softer associate and her moral conscience - the Wilson to her House. Here's the problem with "Canterbury's Law": The cases. The characters work on and fight over legal cases that are hackneyed and obvious. Tonight's business about a missing child - which, of course, resonates with Elizabeth - is "Law & Order 101." The writers drop us into the middle of the trial, and we don't know in advance who committed the crime. And yet the guilty party is bursting with guilt from the get-go. It's as if there's an arrow pointing to him with the phrase "He did it" above it. There's no suspense, and not enough legal twistiness. …

The Hollywood Reporter says:

… Julianna Margulies -- also listed as a producer -- is convincing as a lawyer whose only true solace is her work. Still, she lives under a black cloud that threatens to burst at any moment and overwhelm the show. Beneath that cloud, though, lives a cutting-edge character who blends a rough-and-tumble style outside the courtroom with a polished but assertive femininity once the trial begins. …

Variety says:

… beyond the enticement of the former "ER" thesp wearing stilettos instead of scrubs, the darkness surrounding her brilliant but troubled defense attorney has a musty odor, its pleasures largely beginning and ending with the star. OK, so it worked for "House" (and to a lesser degree, "Shark"), but the evidence still suggests it's a flimsy case for appointment viewing. …

8 p.m. Monday. Fox.

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