CBS’ legal drama Bull is centred around the charismatic and confident ‘trial scientist’ Dr Jason Bull (former NCIS star Michael Weatherly) – someone who combines psychological analysis, human intuition and computer science to help predict how everyone involved in a trial (jurors, lawyers, witnesses and the accused) will behave.
“It really is an important behind-the-curtain aspect of jury trials in the United States,” Weatherly told Digital Spy.
“It’s about understanding motivations, human behaviours, socio-economic groups and class structures.”
It’s a pretty complex concept, and sadly it’s one that’s seen audiences drift away, with season three at an all-time low in terms of viewing figures.
Season three was only confirmed in April, with a September airdate – so we might have a bit of a wait to find out if season four will go ahead.
Still, just in case, we’ve put our television scientists to work to guess what will happen if Bull does return to CBS.
Bull season 4 release date: When will we see it?
Well, that part is simple – every season has broadcast in September, so if we do get more Bull, expect it around the 20th of that month, in 2019. We barely needed to break out our tech to predict that one.
Bull season 4 cast: Who will be in it?
Bull stars Michael Weatherly in the title role, and he’s joined by Freddy Rodriguez (as Benjamin “Benny” Colón, Bull’s brother-in-law) Geneva Carr (as Marissa Morgan, a psychologist, neurolinguistics expert, second-in-command of Bull’s team, licensed sex therapist, and complicated love interest), Jaime Lee Kirchner (as as Danielle “Danny” James, the team’s head investigator), and Christopher Jackson (as Chunk Palmer, a fashion stylist who prepares clients for court).
We’d expect them all to return for season four.
Bull season 4 plot: What will it be about?
When Glenn Gordon came on board for season two to replace original showrunner Paul Attanasio, Weatherly was excited.
“I think there was this idea that we could get someone who could take the characters and deepen the worlds of the characters. Glenn Gordon Caron, who created Moonlighting and Medium with Patricia Arquette… he really was responsible entirely for the creative vision of those shows. And those shows are about people and characters. It’s not plot-driven.”
“There were some music choices that were bold, and the editing pattern changed a little bit. These are subtle nuanced changes, but they add up because it’s tonal.”
However, these changes don’t seem to have resonated with audiences – if the series does come back, could another showrunner shift be in store? Using our knowledge of network television behavioral practices, we wouldn’t bet against it.
Let’s hope the series returns to the real-life cases that inspired the first season.
“The OJ trial was something I looked at when starting Bull,” Weatherly told Digital Spy. “Why did they choose the jury selection from downtown LA rather than Santa Monica? Well, it’s very funny when you actually look at why.
“Gil Garcetti, who was the DA at the time, knew that for election purposes, having a downtown jury on a high-profile case is going to impact his election results differently if it went well.
“Also, some people had surmised parts of the teams did not want to make the drive all the way down to Santa Monica – something as stupid and simple as not wanting to make the extra 30-minute drive can swing which pool of people you get.”
Could Bull ride the true-crime wave to bring people back to the show? Only time will tell.
Bull season 4 trailer: When will we see it?
Again, CBS kept its cards close to its chest, airing a series promo in early September, a few weeks before season three started (anyone starting to think that the marketing tactics may have contributed to the series drop in ratings? Just a thought!).
Let’s hope they don’t do the same for season four, and they start shouting about it in August, to try and bring back those fans who fell away this year.
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