The Lincoln Lawyer on Netflix: Is it a true story, and *that* ending explained

Everything you need to know about The Lincoln Lawyer on Netflix, including whether there might be a season 2

The Lincoln Lawyer
(Image credit: Netflix)

The Lincoln Lawyer was released on Netflix just a week ago and fans are already clamoring for season 2, especially following the pretty shocking season 1 finale.

The series stars Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as Los Angeles defense attorney Mickey Halle. Mickey, who works out of a chauffeur-driven Lincoln Town Car, starts dealing with a case involving a man accused of killing his wife and her boyfriend.

IS THE LINCOLN LAWYER ON NETFLIX BASED ON A TRUE STORY?

The Lincoln Lawyer on Netflix is not based on a true story but, rather, the 2008 novel The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly. 


Interestingly enough, an eponymous movie starring Matthew McConaughey in the role of Mickey was released back in 2011. Although the two productions share a title, they are actually inspired by different novels within Michael's series. 

The film is based on the eponymous 2005 novel while this latest Netflix show takes its cues from the second book in the series (which is also called The Lincoln Lawyer). The latter novel is titled The Brass Verdict and it was published in 2008.

WHAT HAPPENED AT THE END OF THE LINCOLN LAWYER?

The tenth and final episode of the first season of The Lincoln Lawyer left fans begging for an explanation. 

*Beware of spoilers ahead*

Throughout the series, watchers got to know Trevor Elliott, a billionaire played by Christopher Gorham. After finding their bodies, Trevor was accused of killing his wife Lara and the man that she was having an affair with, Jan Rilz.

Mickey, who defended Trevor in court, was able to get his client off the hook by arguing that the accused would not have had enough time to hide his gun and his bloody clothes before the police showed up to the scene of the crime. 

However, as fans quickly realized, Trevor was actually guilty of the crime and was able to hide both his clothes and the gun by using a drone. At the end of the last aired episode, however, Trevor was shot dead while at a party celebrating a huge business deal. A relative of Jan, Carol DuBois, pulled the trigger.

The last scene of the tenth episode leaves room for season 2 speculation. In fact, Mickey is seen walking around town with a stalker looking after him, a mysterious tattooed man. 

The Lincoln Lawyer

(Image credit: Netflix)

WILL THERE BE A SEASON 2 OF THE LINCOLN LAWYER?

Although Netflix has not yet confirmed a second season, the open-ended finale has left plenty of fans hoping that new episodes of The Lincoln Lawyer are in the works. 

Online, folks have been speculating that the tattooed man harks back to an older case that Mickey was involved, one that eventually led to his addiction to painkillers. 

According to those theories, the mysterious character is actually the man who killed Martha Renteria. In a different book in the series, Mickey had defended Jesus Menendez, the prime suspect for Martha's murder who was found guilty and later exonerated. 

Here's to hoping more details about a potential second season will soon be released.

Anna Rahmanan

Anna Rahmanan is a New York-based writer and editor who covers culture, entertainment, food, fashion and travel news. Anna’s words have appeared on Time Out New York, the Huffington Post, Fortune, Forbes, Us Weekly, Bon Appetit and Brooklyn Magazine, among other outlets.