Shark

Sebastian Stark is a high-profile Los Angeles defense lawyer known for winning impossible cases, until one verdict has tragic consequences that shakes his faith in the work. After more than a month of turmoil he accepts an offer from the Los Angeles district attorney to switch sides and prosecute criminals, hoping his courtroom savvy can put dangerous people behind bars. The series tracks Stark as he relearns rules on the other side, clashes with colleagues, juggles a strained family life, and confronts ethical gray areas that test his methods without spoiling case outcomes.

Created by Ian Biederman and debuting in 2006, the series stars James Woods as Sebastian Stark, with Jeri Ryan, Danielle Panabaker, Sophina Brown, and Sarah Carter in supporting roles. The show mixes legal drama with crime and mystery elements and leans on Woods' intense screen presence to drive its procedural plots and character conflict.

Critical response was mixed to positive, reflected in a moderate audience score around 6.7 out of 10 from viewer polls. Reviewers often praised Woods' performance while noting uneven scripting and formulaic case-of-the-week beats. Recurring themes include moral responsibility in the justice system, how tactics shape outcomes, and whether one person can shift a career built on winning toward a pursuit of guilt and accountability.

Though it never became a mainstream cultural phenomenon, the series is remembered by fans for its focus on a morally ambiguous lead prosecutor and for injecting harder-edged tactics into network legal drama of the mid 2000s. Its courtroom confrontations and the central reversal from defense to prosecution gave it a distinctive hook that set it apart from more conventional legal shows.

The show drew limited awards attention and did not emerge as a major contender during awards seasons. It’s better known for its lead performance and premise than for trophy case recognition, appealing mainly to viewers who like character-driven legal stories with moral tension.