Common Law: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

Harvard-trained Latino attorney John Alvarez defies all expectations with his witty and nonconformist attitude. The comedy series depicts his character struggling to fit in the upscale corporate culture as well as his parents' blue-collar world. Although he works for a prestigious Manhattan law firm, John remains loyal to his traditional Queens, New York upbringing, and he never lets his success get in the way of his family and childhood friends. Living and working together with his beautiful attorney girlfriend Nancy Slaton has its advantages, but it's a romance kept secret from the firm which has strictures against dating co-workers. Nancy is a fun-loving, intelligent perfectionist with a good heart. Since she is very much in love with John and quite the opposite of him, her conservative Upper East Side upbringing balances her relationship with her no-rules boyfriend. John has always been more of a leader than a follower, as his father, Luis Alvarez, would tell you. As a working class barber who owns a barber shop in Queens, Luis is very proud of his lawyer son. He is John's biggest fan, but his old-world ways sometimes put him at odds with his unconventional son.

Series details

• Title: Common Law
• Format: Scripted
• Language: English
• Genres: Comedy
• Premiere date: 1996-09-28
• Final broadcast date listed: 1996-10-19
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: ABC
• Network country: United States
• Typical episode runtime: 30 minutes
• TVMaze ID: 33613
• IMDb ID: tt0115142
• TVDB ID: 70898

Cast and credited roles

• Greg Giraldo — John Alvarez
• Carlos Jacott — Peter Gutenhimmel
• David Pasquesi — Henry Beckett
• Megyn Price — Nancy Slaton
• Diana-Maria Riva — Maria Marquez
• Richard Fancy — Martin Gutenhimmel
• Suzy Nakamura — Suzy Yamamoto

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 1996-09-28; final listed air date 1996-10-19; episode order: 10.

Source and licence

Adapted from Common Law on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.