From the award-winning director of Mad Unicorn comes The Evil Lawyer, a searing legal drama that cracks open Thailand's justice system -- and asks what it really takes to fight for the truth when the system is broken and the odds are stacked against you. The series' global Netflix premiere is scheduled for June 11.
As Thailand's first courtroom drama of this scale, The Evil Lawyer reimagines courtroom storytelling for a global audience: grounded in deep research into real procedures and cases, laced with dark humour and emotion, and unafraid to confront social wounds, systemic injustices and moral grey zones that shape everyday life.
At the centre is Mek (Nat Kitcharit), an idealistic young lawyer who believes the law should protect the powerless. That belief shatters when he's framed for the murder of the son of Anan (Songsit Roongnophakunsri), a powerful police chief.
Overnight, Mek goes from defending others to fighting for his own life -- and the system he trusted offers him anything but justice.
Backed into a corner, Mek turns to Jittri (Rhatha Phongam), a fearsome defence lawyer infamous in legal circles as "the evil lawyer". She is known for exploiting loopholes, bending rules, and using any tactic necessary to win.
In the main trailer, she takes Mek's case on one condition: he must work for her. Why would she step in for free? As Mek enters her world -- and the deeper machinery of the courts -- that question becomes the thread that pulls him, and viewers, deeper into the story.
For director Nottapon Boonprakob, The Evil Lawyer is not about tidy answers, but difficult questions.
"We wanted this series to push audiences towards questions with no easy answers -- about the justice system, its loopholes, society and moral boundaries. We want viewers to question what is right and wrong, and why those questions are so difficult, or even impossible, to answer. Rather than resolving those tensions, he adds, the series is designed to leave viewers sitting with them, so that the lack of answers leads to more questions and continuous reflection," Nottapon said.
Originating from an idea by producer Songphon Jantharasom and Jakkarin Thepvong, who also serves as co-director and co-writer, The Evil Lawyer later brought on Nottapon as director and co-writer. Developed over several years and built on extensive research, the creative team visited courts regularly, consulted lawyers, judges, prosecutors and NGO workers, and had legal experts review each case in the script to ensure the series' arguments, procedures and loopholes all feel authentic and believable.
