Defending Jacob

When a teenager is accused of murder, his parents' belief in him becomes part of the investigation. Defending Jacob follows an assistant district attorney who understands the legal machinery professionally but is poorly prepared to see it directed at his own son.

Chris Evans and Michelle Dockery make the family strain the main reason to watch. Certainty is easy to declare and harder to sustain through an ordinary conversation at home. Jaeden Martell's reserve leaves room for the parents' fears without turning every quiet moment into an answer.

The series spends more time with doubt and the damage of suspicion than with dramatic courtroom speeches. That creates a deliberately subdued pace, which can feel stretched when the investigation itself is advancing slowly.

Adapted from William Landay's novel, it is a family thriller rather than a puzzle that only needs a clever solution. Your Honor offers a more overtly criminal response to a parent's predicament; The Night Of concentrates more closely on the accused person's experience of the system.