So Help Me Todd

So Help Me Todd is an American legal comedy-drama television series, created by Scott Prendergast, that premiered on September 29, 2022, on CBS. The series follows a talented but directionless private investigator, who begrudgingly agrees to work at his overbearing mother's law firm. It stars Marcia Gay Harden, Skylar Astin, Madeline Wise, Tristen J. Winger, Inga Schlingmann, and Rosa Evangelina Arredondo. In February 2023, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on February 15, 2024. In April 2024, the series was canceled after two seasons. The final episode aired with a cliffhanger on May 16, 2024.

Premise

So Help Me Todd follows Todd, who has good instincts as a private investigator, but lacks direction and is the black sheep of his family. After his strong-willed mother, Margaret, negotiated to drop criminal charges against Todd two years previously, he reluctantly agrees to work at her Portland, Oregon law firm as an in-house investigator. Margaret believes in strictly adhering to the law, which is at complete odds with Todd's tendency to bend the law to navigate sticky situations.

Cast

Main

Marcia Gay Harden as Margaret Wright, a defense attorney who completed her Juris Doctor degree after the death of her first husband
Skylar Astin as Todd, Margaret's youngest child, a former private detective hired by Margaret's firm
Madeline Wise as Allison, Todd's sister, an ER doctor
Tristen J. Winger as Lyle, a fastidious in-house investigator at Margaret's firm
Inga Schlingmann as Susan, Todd's engaged ex-girlfriend, a lawyer at Margaret's firm
Rosa Evangelina Arredondo as Francey, Margaret's executive assistant
Recurring
Mark Moses as Harry, Margaret's estranged second husband and later ex-husband
Jeffrey Nordling as Gus Easton, a fellow attorney and a potential love interest for Margaret
Rob Labelle as Lars Boatman
Matthew Wilkas as Lawrence, Margaret's eldest child
Leslie Silva as Beverly Crest, a partner at the law firm where Margaret works
Clayton James as Chuck Grant, Allison's ex-husband
Vinessa Antoine as Alex, Lyle's love interest, who is later revealed to be an undercover FBI investigator named Ariel
Heather Morris as Judy Maxon, Todd's love interest who works at a gift shop in the same office building where Todd and Margaret work

In addition, Thomas Cadrot co-stars as Chet Venables, a reporter married to Margaret's son Lawrence.

Notable guest stars

Briga Heelan as Amy
Lisa Rinna as Jennifer Gianola
Sandra Bernhard as Belinda Tuttle
Dean Winters as Dick Franks
Jenifer Lewis as Jacqueline, Lyle's mother
Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2022–23)

Season 2 (2024)

Production

Development

On February 3, 2022, it was announced that CBS had given a pilot order to an untitled mother and son legal drama from Scott Prendergast. The series is produced by Prendergast, Phil McGraw, Jay McGraw, and Julia Eisenmann. The pilot episode was also written by Prendergast. On March 15, 2022, Liz Kruger and Craig Shapiro joined the series as showrunners and executive producers.
On May 12, 2022, it was announced that CBS had given the production, titled So Help Me Todd, a series order. It was also announced that Elizabeth Klaviter had replaced Kruger and Shapiro as the series' showrunner. On October 19, 2022, the series received a full season order. On February 2, 2023, CBS renewed the series for a second season.

Casting

In March 2022, it was announced that Geena Davis had signed on to star in the series. Shortly after, Skylar Astin was announced to star opposite her, as her son. Madeline Wise and Inga Schlingmann also joined the cast in lead roles. After having filmed the pilot, it was announced that Davis had exited the series. On March 23, 2022, it was announced that Marcia Gay Harden had replaced Davis. A few days later, it was announced that Rosa Evangelina Arredondo and Tristen J. Winger had also joined the cast in series regular roles. On March 3, 2023, it was reported that Briga Heelan is set to guest star on the series' March 30 episode titled "Twelve Worried Persons". On December 23, 2023, it was announced that Lisa Rinna is set to guest star on the second-season premiere episode. On February 7, 2024, it was reported that Heather Morris was cast in a recurring role while Sandra Bernhard was cast in guest starring role for the second season. On March 12, 2024, it was announced that Jenifer Lewis is set to guest star for the second season.

Filming

Production on the pilot began in March 2022 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Filming for the rest of the season began on July 27, 2022, and concluded on April 11, 2023. A TD Bank office in downtown Vancouver serves as Margaret's law firm.

Broadcast

On May 18, 2022, CBS announced its fall broadcast schedule for the 2022-23 television season, with So Help Me Todd airing on Thursdays at 9:00PM ET. The series began airing on September 29, 2022, on CBS. It also simulcasts on Global TV in Canada. The first-season finale aired on May 18, 2023. The second season premiered on February 15, 2024. The series finale aired on May 16, 2024.

Cancellation

On April 19, 2024, CBS canceled the series after two seasons. A few days later, it was reported that fans are campaigning to save the show by starting petitions such as one titled as "Save So Help Me Todd on CBS" and another "Renew So Help Me Todd for a 3rd season" on Change.org. There is also a Facebook group called "Save So Help Me Todd".

Reception

Critical response

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 56% approval rating with an average rating of 8/10, based on nine critic reviews. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 51 out of 100 based on six critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".