Watch Trial & Error

Trial & Error is a mockumentary-style comedy television series that aired on NBC for two seasons from 2017 to 2018. Created by Jeff Astrof and Matt Miller, the show follows lawyer Josh Segal (Nicholas D'Agosto) who travels from New York City to a small southern town called East Peck, to defend Larry Henderson (John Lithgow), a man accused of murdering his wife.

The show is loosely based on true-crime documentaries such as Making A Murderer and The Staircase, and features a talented ensemble cast that includes Jayma Mays as prosecutor Carol Anne Keane, Steven Boyer as Henderson's oddball client, and Sherri Shepherd as Henderson's assistant.

Season one focuses on the trial of Larry Henderson, a poetry professor accused of killing his wife Margaret. Josh Segal and his team of investigators fly down to East Peck to investigate the case and represent Larry in court. However, things take a comical turn when they realize that East Peck is a town filled with eccentric characters, from the town's sheriff, Sheriff Cannon (John Gzowski), to the judge, Judge Kamiltow (Cristine Rose), who is suffering from a rare medical condition that causes her to regularly forget the case details.

As Josh and his team investigate the case, they uncover shocking secrets about the East Peck community, including a kangaroo court that takes place in a barn, a local woman who thinks she's a cat, and a man who collects exotic birds. They also encounter Larry's daughter Summer (Krysta Rodriguez), who has a bizarre medical condition that causes her to sneeze uncontrollably whenever she hears the sound of a piano. All of these elements contribute to the show's quirky, off-beat humor that often takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to real-life events.

Season two of Trial & Error follows a different case but features much of the same cast of characters. Josh and his team move to East Peck to defend a woman named Lavinia Peck-Foster (Kristin Chenoweth), who is accused of murdering her husband. Lavinia is the matriarch of the Peck family, a wealthy and influential group that has been in East Peck for generations. The case quickly becomes more complicated as Josh and his team realize that the Peck family has a long history of secrets and lies that they will go to great lengths to protect.

As with the first season, season two features a variety of quirky characters and bizarre plotlines, including a group of hardcore birdwatchers, a psychic who claims to have spoken to the murder victim from beyond the grave, and a rare butterfly that plays a key role in the case. The show also features a number of hilarious musical numbers sung by Kristin Chenoweth, who showcases her incredible vocal range throughout the season.

One of the standout features of Trial & Error is the show's use of the mockumentary format. The show seamlessly blends traditional narrative elements with talking-head interviews and documentary-style footage, creating a unique and engaging viewing experience. The show also frequently breaks the fourth wall, with characters addressing the camera directly or making references to the fact that they are being filmed. This self-aware humor adds to the show's overall charm and playfulness.

Throughout both seasons of Trial & Error, the show remains consistently funny and entertaining, with each episode containing plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. While the show takes many liberties with the true-crime genre, it also manages to offer up some genuinely intriguing mysteries that keep the audience guessing until the very end. All in all, Trial & Error is a delightful and clever comedy that is sure to delight fans of both true crime documentaries and absurdist humor.

Trial & Error is a series that ran for 2 seasons (23 episodes) between March 7, 2017 and on NBC