Billy Bob Thornton is the Highlight of 'Goliath'

Billy Bob Thornton is the Highlight of 'Goliath'

Billy Bob Thornton plays an alcoholic lawyer in Goliath, a new original series that debuts on Amazon Prime this week. While critical consensus seems to be that the series is nothing to write home about, Thornton's performance alone is enough to make it worth watching.

Thornton plays Billy McBride, an attorney who's down on his luck and living in booze-drenched squalor in Venice, California. He gets a chance to relive his glory days in the courtroom when a mysterious woman convinces him to take on a case against a crooked defense contractor. William Hurt plays McBride's ex-partner, and Maria Bello plays his ex-wife, both of whom happen to be attorneys on the payroll of his courtroom opponent.

Goliath was created by David E. Kelley (Ally McBeal, LA Law) and Jonathan Shapiro (The Practice, Boston Legal), and critics seem to agree that Goliath is just a run-of-the-mill legal procedural like the pair's earlier work. Reviews almost universally praise Thornton's performance, however, and some critics suggest that the performance is enough to make up for the show's other shortcomings.

If you want to see new work from Thornton but have no taste for legal dramas, you might want to wait for Bad Santa 2, which hits theaters on November 23.

Goliath premieres on Amazon Prime on October 14.