Made in Jersey

After only two episodes, Made in Jersey has become the first casualty of the 2012 Fall TV season. It's tough luck for the CBS drama about a beautiful, tough-talking New York City lawyer from a blue-collar New Jersey background. The show premiered to lackluster reviews and low ratings, drawing in just 7.7 million viewers its first week. We can't say we're surprised by this news, but were you watching Made in Jersey?

CBS has a new legal drama this Fall, Made in Jersey, about a young female lawyer from — you guessed it — New Jersey. The hourlong show is a procedural following Martina Garretti (Janet Montgomery) as she helps to defend innocents and establish her name at a New York City law firm. I've checked out the pilot to let you know whether you might want to tune into the show when it debuts, so read on for my thoughts.

• What it's about: Street-smart Martina has made her family proud by going to law school and then landing in a top-tier firm, but her colleagues are wary of Martina and her tactics (like Legally Blonde's Elle Woods, she sniffs out clues based on hair care and fashion). The strong-willed woman is determined to prove herself at work and win for her clients in the courtroom as well.
• Where it works: Montgomery is a fresh face and strong presence, but even her stunning beauty can't distract you from her occasionally grating accent (which is, incidentally, not her own).
• Where it doesn't: Just about everywhere. The pilot is full of New Jersey stereotypes (big, nosy Italian family; Martina's big hair) and the legal breakthroughs Martina has are both unlikely and ludicrous.
• When it's on: Fridays at 9 p.m. on CBS
• You might like this show if: You love Elle Woods so much you wouldn't mind if she had a Jersey accent.

Watch a preview and see some stills from Made in Jersey after the jump.

CBS has a new legal drama coming to its Fall lineup, and it's rooted in the Garden State. Made in Jersey centers around a young, ballsy female lawyer played by Janet Montgomery, but despite Montgomery's convincing performance as a jersey girl on the show, the actress actually hails from England. At the TCA panel, Montgomery spilled about how she cultivated her accent, while costar Kyle MacLachlan chimed in about his character.

• Montgomery said she had never used a New Jersey accent before being cast as Martina, the lawyer who goes from her working class neighborhood to a large firm in Manhattan, so she studied up on other actors who are from the state. Montgomery said she borrowed the most from Mira Sorvino, and that she also used the movie Working Girl for the "working class, underdog, good-girl" tone.
• Executive producer Kevin Falls was a big advocate for Montgomery, saying that he hoped this was the last TCA in which the actress wasn't a household name. As for why they wanted to cast her instead of an American actress, Falls said that Montgomery "delivered this character like she had lived there all her life . . . Janet made us forget that she was English."
• Kyle MacLachlan plays Donovan Stark, a partner in the firm where Martina works, and he said that his character finds "a kindred spirit" in Martina, and that they have a spark. Still, reporters were curious about MacLachlan's earlier roles, with one journalist asking whether he gets recognized more for his work on Sex and the City or Twin Peaks. "It depends on the gender of the person," he joked.

Though CBS cut some shows from its schedule, the network is lining up its new series to fill up its schedule. Check out the details below to get up to speed on the brand-new shows you'll be seeing on CBS this Fall.

COMEDIES

• Friend Me: This comedy stars Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Nicholas Braun as best friends who move to LA to work at Groupon and struggle to be social when one would rather stay at home.
• Partners: Michael Urie and David Krumholtz play a pair of architects whose friendship has outlasted all their romantic relationships. Sophia Bush and Brandon Routh also appear.

DRAMAS

• Elementary: This take on Sherlock Holmes is set in present-day Brooklyn and stars Jonny Lee Miller in the Sherlock role, with the added twist of Lucy Liu as his colleague Watson.
• Vegas: Dennis Quaid and Michael Chiklis star in this 1960s-era drama about a rodeo cowboy (Quaid) who becomes the sheriff of the city.
• Made in Jersey: A street-smart woman (Janet Montgomery) tries to prove herself to her colleagues at a New York law firm in this drama, which also costars Kyle MacLachlan.
• Golden Boy: This cop drama follows the rise of a man (Theo James) as he climbs the ranks from office to detective to police commissioner.