'The Law According to Lidia Poet' Heads Back to Court for Season 2
The Netflix Italian period drama The Law According to Lidia Poet is probably one of the best shows most people haven't seen. And, while technically, it's not British, its premise and heroine will certainly feel familiar to fans of popular PBS series like Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries or Miss Scarlet & the Duke, which follow the stories of pioneering women trying to blaze their own paths in professions traditionally dominated by men.
But where those shows are more mystery oriented and involve female detectives, Lidia Poet is a legal drama that's based, at least in part, on a true story.. Set in 19th century Italy, the series dramatizes the life of Italy's first female lawyer. The eponymous Lidia Poet was a Turin woman who fought a successful legal battle to be allowed to practice law after she was forbidden to do so by court order. Penniless but prideful, Lidia takes a job at her brother Enrico's law firm where she assists with cases even as she prepares to make an appeal of the court's ruling that will help secure her right to pursue her dream.
The show is colorful and surprisingly funny, grounded in a warm, charming performance from its lead Matilda De Angelis (The Undoing) and stories that are entertaining without being overly complicated. What's more, the series is as much about Lidia's journey and her acceptance of her own self worth as it is any of the clients whose cases she takes on. (Plus, every one of her outfits is a banger. These dresses!)
