Get the Lowdown on ‘Notorious’ from Paley Fest

Wondering if tonight’s premiere of ABC’s Notorious is worth checking out? Watch our interviews with the cast and crew before it airs at 9/8c tonight. Plenty of reviews have come in, but why not hear from the people behind the show? One thing that can be said for the show is how much chemistry the cast has – especially Piper Perabo and Daniel Sunjata, the show’s leads. “Everybody just gelled really quickly,” Daniel said at the Paley Fest panel on September 10th, and it’s evident when watching them onscreen. Piper plays Julia George and Daniel is Mark Gregorian, a cable news producer and criminal defense attorney respectively. Based on the exciting lives of Wendy Walker and Mark Geragos, they make the headlines with their teamwork and industry savvy.

J. August Richards (Agents of SHIELD, Angel) plays Jake’s brother, Bradley. He embodies the relative morality that Notorious is all about. While audiences may see him doing plenty of things that are less than legal, he does them for family loyalty which he sees as the highest good.

Speaking of loyalty, Sepideh Moafi (Black Box) portrays Julia’s faithful junior producer Wendy Bird. She looks up to Julia and will go out of her way to protect her, but as the season goes on her own backstory will be sketched and certain mysteries will come to light.

Just as some characters are protecting their loved ones, others are making new acquaintances so they can manipulate them. Aimee Teegarden (Friday Night Lights, Star-Crossed) plays Ella Benjamin, who works at the law firm with the Gregorian brothers. Ryan Guzman (Heroes Reborn, Pretty Little Liars) is Ryan Mills, a new PA at Louise Herrick Live who uses Ella as a pawn in one of his schemes to move up the career ladder. Together they discover that they can both benefit from this arrangement, and have a little fun on the side.

Louise Herrick, the cable news anchor who is the face of Julia and Jake’s behind-the-scenes work, is brought to life by Kate Jennings Grant (Alpha House). Though her character is known as a little flighty, Kate insists there’s more to her than meets the eye. Certainly her relationship with Julia has many layers to be peeled back over the course of the season.

The most important case and media story in the first season of Notorious is a hit-and-run that evolves into something much more sinister, with social media mogul Oliver Keaton at the center. He’s played by Kevin Zegers (Gracepoint, Gossip Girl), who discusses how he connects to his somewhat alienating character. Is he a criminal or a victim of a crime? And how will Jake’s handling of his case change as their shared past begins to come back to light?

Finally, co-creators Josh Berman and Allie Hagan talk about the process of making the show and using material from the real lives of masters in the fields of law and journalism. As much as Notorious is about the scandals that embroil the main characters, it’s also a commentary on the intersection of the justice system with public opinion, as well as how much both blur the lines between truth and fiction.

If you want to know how Notorious measures up to the Shondaland Thursday line-up, especially in comparison to Scandal, find out tonight at 9pm eastern on ABC!