Season 1
Benched is an American single-camera television comedy series created by Michaela Watkins and Damon Jones, about a high-powered corporate lawyer's fall from grace into the rough-and-tumble world of a public defender.
Courtroom drama is no laughing matter... until now!
Benched, from ABC Signature Studio, stars Coupe as Nina Whitley, a distinguished corporate lawyer who has given up everything in her climb to the top. However, when she's hit with her ex-fiancé's engagement announcement and learns that she hasn't made partner at her high power firm, Nina snaps - breaking vases and burning bridges.
Now that Nina is shunned from the corporate world, the only place she can get a job is at the Public Defender's office: home to the underfunded, understaffed, overworked, if you can't afford a lawyer, one will be provided... lawyers.
In addition to her new clients, Nina must learn to connect with her co-workers, including the roguish Phil (Jay Harrington, Better Off Ted), the idealistic Carlos (Oscar Nunez, The Office), the useless empathetic Cheryl (Maria Bamford, Adventure Time) and the dedicated intern Micah (Jolene Purdy, Under the Dome).
If that didn't sound tough enough for Nina, she'll also be going head-to-head with her ex-fiancé, Trent, (Carter MacIntyre, Drop Dead Diva) the rising star of the District Attorney's office.
Joining the all-star comedic cast are previously announced guest stars Fred Melamed (A Serious Man), Molly Shannon (SNL), Chris Parnell (SNL), Yvette Nicole Brown (Community), Jim Rash (Community), Nat Faxon (Married), Erinn Hayes (Childrens Hospital) and Mechad Brooks (Necessary Roughness).
Benched is from executive producers and writers Michaela Watkins (Saturday Night Live, Trophy Wife) and Damon Jones (Halfway Home). John Enbom, co-creator of the critically acclaimed comedy Party Down, serves as executive producer and showrunner. Mark Gordon (Grey's Anatomy, Criminal Minds, Ray Donovan) and Andrea Shay (Family Tools) are executive producing for The Mark Gordon Company.
Benched is from ABC Signature, a division of ABC Studios.
Broadcast Notes
Season 1 premiered on M-Net City with a double bill on Sunday 6 September 2015, at 20h00. The following week four episodes aired in a block and for the two weeks thereafter episodes aired in triple bills, concluding the series on 27 September, 2015.