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All Rise season 2, episode 14 preview: Caught Up in Circles

By Brittany Frederick

“Caught Up in Circles” – Lola is conflicted when a former judge, Judge Prudence Jenkins, (Charlayne Woodard), whom she idolized, has been accused of bribery and is representing herself in a bench trial. Also, Mark moves forward with the case against McCarthy and he and Corrine Cuthbert (Anne Heche) each get one unchallenged request for a new judge, no questions asked, on ALL RISE, Monday, May 3 (9:00- 10:00 PM, ET/PT), on the CBS Television Network.Pictured: Simone Missick as Lola CarmichaelPhoto: Erik Voake/CBS ©2021 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
“Caught Up in Circles” – Lola is conflicted when a former judge, Judge Prudence Jenkins, (Charlayne Woodard), whom she idolized, has been accused of bribery and is representing herself in a bench trial. Also, Mark moves forward with the case against McCarthy and he and Corrine Cuthbert (Anne Heche) each get one unchallenged request for a new judge, no questions asked, on ALL RISE, Monday, May 3 (9:00- 10:00 PM, ET/PT), on the CBS Television Network.Pictured: Simone Missick as Lola CarmichaelPhoto: Erik Voake/CBS ©2021 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved. /
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It’s another blast from the past in this week’s All Rise.

Tonight’s episode “Caught Up in Circles” sees Judge Lola Carmichael (Simone Missick) presiding over the bench trial of her one-time idol Prudence Jenkins. Jenkins, herself a judge, faces charges of bribery and has decided to represent herself, making things awkward for Lola.

There’s another excellent bit of casting here—Prudence is played by Tony Award winner and Pose alum Charlayne Woodard. (This series continues to be bursting at the seams with talent from the stage, most notably show regulars Lindsay Mendez and Ruthie Ann Miles.)

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But this isn’t a new theme; All Rise fans will recall that earlier this season, the CBS series had Lola’s BFF Mark Callan (Wilson Bethel) prosecuting an actress he loved growing up (portrayed by Academy Award nominee Lesley Ann Warren).

The show has done the “defendant with some kind of connection to a character’s history” before. The real hook here is the judge choosing to represent herself; it’s usually not a good idea when any defendant decides to be their own attorney, so will Jenkins’ experience on the bench buck that usual TV trend?

Plus, think about this: a bug got put in Lola’s ear last week about her seat as a judge being challenged in the next election. Could whatever happens with Prudence somehow make her think about her own future as a judge? Is this story designed to be allegorical?

Over at the District Attorney’s Office, Mark is officially going up against Sheriff Wayne McCarthy, which means All Rise viewers will be treated to more of Anne Heche (Chicago PD). Heche is once again playing high-powered defense attorney Corrine Cuthbert. A little of Corinne goes a long way, though, so how long until she gets on Mark’s nerves again? Or drives the audience crazy?

This has been a great storyline all season, particularly in pairing up Mark with former Sheriff’s Deputy Luke Watkins (J. Alex Brinson), and hopefully it will continue to run uninterrupted for the rest of the season. The previous arc felt like just the tip of the iceberg and this is where it ought to all come out.

Let’s see just how complicated the writers make this, because there’s more than enough depth and timeliness to this story to run over a few episodes without having to stretch too far—if the show truly wants to dig into it. The writers’ room hasn’t flinched at going deeper into storylines so far, so hopefully they’ll really go for it with this one and make one more big, thought-provoking statement just like they had us all thinking (and talking) with the All Rise season 2 premiere.

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All Rise airs Mondays at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

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