Katey Sagal Pushes Legal Limits While Channelling The Modern Version of Erin Brockovich in REBEL

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede The new series REBEL starring Katey Sagal is inspired by the current life of legendary legal advocate Erin Brockovich. But Brockovich wishes fantasy and reality were a little more closely linked when it comes to on-screen romance. “Is this surreal? Listen, Katey and (co-star) John Corbett … I am not happy about that thing, because I’m like, ‘No!’ ” a comedically jealous Brockovich joked during a virtual panel session with the entire cast of REBEL. “It’s cruel, because that isn’t happening for me over here, okay? This is John Corbett, SEX AND THE CITY Aiden! Everybody wants to have that love affair, and Katey is there, and I’m like, ‘What? No!’ It’s wrong.” Sagal interjected, “Lucky me, man.” But that’s when Corbett decided to add his two cents. “I think Erin needs to be there during these rehearsals of lovemaking, with masks and plastic shields on,” he said, referring to on-set COVID-19 protocols. Everyone cracked up, before Brockovich concluded, “I’m still going to be upset. Let’s just put it that way.” REBEL debuts Thursday, April 8 at 10 p.m. ET on CTV, with Sagal playing Annie “Rebel” Bello, a blue-collar legal advocate without a law degree, but with a heart that’s always in the right place, and a tenacity that can wilt anyone who gets in her way. The series was created by executive producer Krista Vernoff (GREY’S ANATOMY, STATION 19), but Brockovich is on board as an EP as well. Brockovich, of course, had a famous movie named after her: the 2000 classic ERIN BROCKOVICH starring Julia Roberts (available for streaming on STARZ). But the young Brockovich who inspired that film is a different person than the contemporary individual who has inspired REBEL. “I think I’m a little older now, I’m a little wiser,” Brockovich said. “I’m still just as frustrated at being underestimated or put into a box, oftentimes which results in my, you know, trying to jump out of that box however I can. But I think it is a different character. I have different approaches, different ways that I handle it. I can still be up in your face, but only when I’m pushed to that corner. So it’s an evolution of coming from that place in my life when I was 30, to who and where I am today, with the character Rebel.” Vernoff wanted to stress that describing REBEL as a “legal drama” does not come close to setting the stage properly. “One of my favourite things about REBEL, and working with this group of people, and working with Erin, is that whenever I’m on set and a director asks me, ‘is it supposed to be this, or is it supposed to be that?’, or, ‘is it supposed to be funny, or is it supposed to be dramatic?’, or, ‘is she supposed to be angry, or does she really love him?’, my answer is always, ‘both,’ ” Vernoff said. “There’s no binary. There’s no either/or. Rebel is all those things at once. Erin is all those things at once, in her work, and in her humanity, and Katey brings that to life so beautifully. I’m not sure everyone understands how much this show is not a traditional legal drama. The show is very sexy. It’s family. It’s friendship. It’s all of the human interactions with a legal element.” Sagal added, “It’s not dry. What I love so much about Rebel is she can cross a few lines. I would say that if she were a lawyer, she’d be limited, way limited. She can push where maybe I guess it wouldn’t be within legal bounds. I mean, not that she’s illegal, but she just pushes a little bit further. Her primary purpose is to do the right thing, to fight for the right thing. And I think sometimes legal mumbo-jumbo can make that a little bit confusing, when it’s actually a very straight line in terms of what’s right.” billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv