Those troubled by the notion of judicial empathy would have a real problem with Judge Amy Gray. She struggles as a single mother with the same verve she brings to complicated cases that come her way in family court. Created and produced by its star, Amy Brenneman, the show featured a first-ensemble cast and gritty social problems that were sometimes immune to court-ordered remedy.

TRIVIA: One of the show’s technical advisers was Brenneman’s mother, Frederica Brenneman, who was among the first women to graduate from Harvard Law School and later served as a superior court judge in Connecticut.