# In Contempt

In Contempt is a television show on BET created by Terri Kopp and starring Erica Ash. BET ordered 10 episodes straight-to-series. The series explores injustice in the American legal system. The series premiered on April 10, 2018. In September 2019, the series was canceled by BET after one season.

## Plot

The procedurals is in the fast-paced world of a legal aid office in New York City and follows Gwen Sullivan (Erica Ash), an opinionated attorney whose passion for her job and clients make her arguably the most talented public defender in her district.

## Cast and characters

* Erica Ash as Gwendolyn "Gwen" Sullivan, a public defender
* Richard Lawson as Earl Sullivan, Gwen's father, a retired judge
* Christian Keyes as Charles Theodore "Charlie" Riggs, an attorney with an ego who is Gwen's boss and friends with benefits
* Megan Hutchings as Tracy Campbell, a public defender and Gwen's roommate
* Mouna Traoré as Vanessa Winters, a rookie attorney learning what it means to be woke
* Tobias Truvillion as Bennett Thompson, Gwen's longtime secret crush and former law professor
* Daniel Kash as Tom Delgado, Gwen's boss
* Ronnie Rowe. Jr. as E.J Dashay, an Assistant District Attorney and Gwen's professional nemesis

### Recurring

* Richard Lawson as Earl Sullivan, Gwen's father, a retired judge
* Jonathan Langdon as Jim Johnson, a court officer
* Rob Stewart as Judge Dotson
* Joy Tanner as Audrey Dotson, Judge Dotson's wife
* Shawn Lawrence as Judge Adler
* Genelle Williams as Alison Bontemps, Bennett's fiancé

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
| 1 | "Welcome to Hell" | Farhad Mann | Terri Kopp | April 10, 2018 (2018-04-10) | 0.540 |
| A female defense attorney defends a client accused of attempted rape after the attorney was handcuffed in court for brawling. One of the group's male attorneys supervises a rookie female associate. A court judge, the married lover of a female defense attorney, denies bail to her client. This causes frustration to grow for her. ||||||
| 2 | "Combat by Agreement" | Farhad Mann | Laurence Andries | April 17, 2018 (2018-04-17) | 0.468 |
| After a fatal gang bus shooting, Gwen must defend a 14 year old, while also reconnecting with her former law professor and secret crush, Bennett. Vanessa, under Charlie's wing, goes through public defender boot camp. ||||||
| 3 | "Confessions" | Sudz Sutherland | Terri Kopp & Evangeline Ordaz & Deb Swisher | April 24, 2018 (2018-04-24) | 0.466 |
| Gwen and Tracy defend a client who confessed to murdering his mother. Bennett and Gwen have a romantic dinner until a surprise guest arrives. ||||||
| 4 | "The Rules of Engagement" | Sudz Sutherland | David Feige | May 1, 2018 (2018-05-01) | 0.397 |
| In the aftermath of finding out that Bennett is engaged, Gwen defends a Frotteurist. Charlie wins an unwinnable stash and cash drug case but gets arrested. ||||||
| 5 | "Necessary Force" | Jill Carter | Maisha Closson | May 8, 2018 (2018-05-08) | 0.488 |
| Gwen and Tracy struggle to deal with events from their past when they defend a mother accused of child abuse. Charlie deals with the aftermath of his unfair arrest. ||||||
| 6 | "Banned" | Jill Carter | Evangeline Ordaz | May 15, 2018 (2018-05-15) | 0.360 |
| Gwen uses an extra-judicial strategy to outwit an overzealous judge. Bennett invites Gwen to his wedding shower, where she discovers Bennett's true feelings about her. ||||||
| 7 | "Stop and Frisk" | Farhad Mann | Deb Swisher | May 22, 2018 (2018-05-22) | 0.468 |
| Still fiery from his own run-in with racial profiling, Charlie and Vanessa try a stop and frisk case. Bennett takes Gwen on a get away to determine the next steps in their relationship. ||||||
| 8 | "Burned Out" | Farhad Mann | Terri Kopp & Aaron Carew | May 29, 2018 (2018-05-29) | 0.472 |
| Gwen's commitment is put to the test when she defends a man accused of setting his girlfriend on fire. Meanwhile, Bennett learns to cope with Gwen's work-first mentality when she moves into his condo. ||||||
| 9 | "BLM, Part One" | Sudz Sutherland | Laurence Andries | June 5, 2018 (2018-06-05) | 0.501 |
| In a case that closely mirrors Eric Garner's, Gwen, Charlie and Tracy defend a young Black man who, in the course of being arrested, inadvertently kills a cop. ||||||
| 10 | "BLM, Part Two" | Sudz Sutherland | Terri Kopp | June 12, 2018 (2018-06-12) | 0.539 |
| Gwen's defense of a young Black man who killed a police officer in self-defense continues, and she is forced to come up with an unorthodox theory in order to win. ||||||

## Production

In Contempt is being written by Terri Kopp and produced in Canada. On September 25, 2019, BET officially canceled the series after one season.