After Your Honor‘s Netflix success earlier this year, there were discussions about whether season 3 could realistically happen — but it shouldn’t, unless it meets one important condition. Your Honor debuted on Showtime back in 2020, and it quickly became Bryan Cranston’s best Breaking Bad replacement. Following Cranston’s Judge Michael Desiato as he sacrifices all his ethics to protect his son, the series allowed Cranston to show his acting chops yet again. It’s no surprise it was renewed for season 2, which deepened the drama in the organized crime world of New Orleans.
Unfortunately, Your Honor season 3 never happened. This was partly because the show was originally intended as a limited series and partly because season 2 had lower ratings. However, on the heels of Your Honor‘s Netflix debut, CBS Studios President David Stapf cautiously revealed that Your Honor season 3 had been discussed. There’s been no word on whether it’s actually happening, but another outing should only go forward under one condition — and it’d probably be Cranston taking a backseat to all the drama.
Your Honor Season 3 Won’t Work Unless The Show Returns To Its Roots
The Series Needs To Spend More Time In The Courtroom
What makes Your Honor season 1 so compelling is that it follows a judge forced to choose between his family and his ethical code, and season 2 moves away from that premise significantly. While Your Honor‘s first season spends a lot of time in the courtroom, its second isn’t able to do this. Since Michael is sent to prison for his crimes, he’s no longer a judge when the second outing opens. He’s tasked with taking down the Baxter family as part of an investigation, but he’s no longer using his judicial position to make things happen.
The show should spend more time in the courtroom again, focusing on the original premise rather than New Orleans’ web of organized crime.
If Your Honor season 3 is going to work, it needs to return the series to its roots. The show should spend more time in the courtroom again, focusing on the original premise rather than New Orleans’ web of organized crime. We know there are other corrupt judges from Your Honor season 1, so it should be easy enough for the series to explore this premise again. However, it would mean finding a new main character — or at least using dual perspectives to center a judge put in an impossible situation.
Your Honor Would Need A New Main Character To Bring Back Its Original Premise
Michael Desiato Can Never Be A Judge Again
If Your Honor season 3 returns to the series’ courtroom focus, it will need to find a new main character. After all, Michael Desiato can never be a judge again — not after all the crimes he has committed. The only way he’ll be allowed in court again is on the witness stand. And while this may be necessary to bring the Baxter family down, it won’t be enough to drive an entire third season of the show. Your Honor will need to bring in another judge instead, forcing them to grapple with the complexities of meddling in New Orleans’ crime scene.
Your Honor season 3 doesn’t fully need to repeat season 1’s premise either. It can get creative when it comes to how a new judge is pulled into this world, as well as what motivates them to meddle in it. Repeating Adam’s character arc wouldn’t feel original enough. But there are plenty of ways a judge could get wrapped up with the Baxters, Desire, and the corrupt politicians of New Orleans. And by showing this, the series can finally tie up some of the loose ends from season 2’s finale.
Returning To The Courtroom Could Resolve Some Of Your Honor’s Loose Ends
It Can Finally Hold The Baxters & New Orleans’ Officials Accountable
In addition to returning to the show’s original premise, Your Honor season 3 can wrap up loose ends by exploring the judicial side of things again. Although Your Honor season 2’s ending properly wraps up Michael’s narrative, it leaves a lot on the table. The Baxter family is in shambles after Gina’s father shoots Jimmy, leaving her in charge of their operation. With Jimmy surviving, there’s plenty of potential for him to have a revenge storyline. And both Gina and Carlo need to face justice for Your Honor to have a satisfying conclusion.
The corruption in New Orleans runs deep, and returning to the legal side of the story could explore that more — and hold the city’s public officials accountable.
Bringing the focus back to the courtroom could see the Baxters finally getting their comeuppance, especially if they find themselves at the mercy of a judge less pliable than Michael. Mayor Figaro is also never punished for his crimes, despite using his position in dubious ways, inadvertently being involved in the hit on Robin, and covering up Adam’s hit-and-run. The corruption in New Orleans runs deep, and returning to the legal side of the story could explore that more — and hold the city’s public officials accountable.
Bryan Cranston Could Still Play A Supporting Role In Your Honor Season 3
While returning to Your Honor‘s original premise would limit Cranston’s role in a potential third season, he wouldn’t have to be removed from the series entirely. Although Your Honor season 3 needs to follow a judge to have a greater courtroom focus, Michael could still be involved in taking down the Baxters. After all, he’s closer to them than most characters in the legal field or in law enforcement. It’s hard to say if they’d trust him a second time around, but there’s definitely room to continue Michael’s story — just not as a lead.
Michael could be called out of prison to help with another investigation, and it doesn’t necessarily need to be focused on the Baxters. If Mayor Figaro or other judges are being scrutinized in the upcoming season, Michael offers a means to get close to these corrupt officials. He could easily carry a B-plot based on this premise alone, while the main story could remain in the courtroom. Your Honor would need to cast a lead actor as compelling as Cranston to pull this off, but it could be done.
Alternatively, Your Honor season 3 could juggle two main characters: Michael, as the disgraced judge, and whoever its new judge will be. Perhaps the latter could even seek Michael out, as he has experience upholding the law and using it for his own interests. It would be interesting to see such a dynamic play out, adding more layers to Your Honor‘s original premise. There are numerous ways the series could go about another season, but the most important thing is returning to the show’s roots. It needs to remind viewers why they loved season 1 if it wants to succeed.