Yes, The Lincoln Lawyer is ending with Season 5. Personally, I thought that would be the end for this beloved book-to-screen adaptation on Netflix. However, apparently, that’s not the case. There’s a spinoff in the works, and I have to say, I’m so surprised by the actor who will reportedly be leading it.
I use the word surprised because the actress who will headline the series that's reportedly in the works is Cobie Smulders. She’s notably been in The Lincoln Lawyer for approximately one scene (however, we do know we’ll see a lot more of her in Season 5). We also know she’s Mickey’s half-sister, Artemisia “Emi” Finch. So, if they’re looking to keep this story in the family, expanding with her makes sense.
Now, this is also a shocking choice because Emi is not in Michael Connelly’s books. She kind of serves as a replacement for Mickey’s half-brother Harry Bosch, who cannot be in the Netflix series because of his show on Amazon. So far, we have seen very little of her. However, she should play a big role in Season 5 of The Lincoln Lawyer, based on how Season 4 ended on the 2026 TV schedule and the fact that Smulders has been upgraded to a series regular.
This Emi spinoff will be written by Ted Humphrey, Dailyn Rodriguez and Matthew J. Lieberman, all of whom are executive producers on the flagship series, according to Deadline. It’s also been reported that A+E Studios will produce.
Apparently, this has been talked about for a while at Netflix, and it’s been reported that Rodriguez, Lieberman and Humphrey have put in a lot of time and work to pitch it to the streamer. It seems to have paid off too, because according to sources, the spinoff was allegedly “well received, with the streamer buying the project in the room and commissioning a script for a quick turnaround.”
As for when this series could be greenlit, that reportedly is contingent on closing deals.
Now, going back to The Lincoln Lawyer, we’ll catch up with Manuel Garcia-Rulfo's Mickey as his world is changing because of Emi, with Humphrey telling CinemaBlend earlier this year that her character will provide “the main thrust of the story” in Season 5. So, we’ll watch Mickey take on a case that she brought him, and it sounds like she’ll be pivotal to the conclusion of this show. When I spoke to Cobie Smulders about her new role, she told me she was having “so much fun” filming in LA, and she noted that she thinks this last season will be “really exciting” for fans.
It’s currently unclear when we’ll get to see the final episodes of The Lincoln Lawyer, and at the moment we’re still waiting on official word for the spinoff. I imagine we’ll have to wait a bit longer too, seeing as Season 4 of TLL aired very early on Netflix’s 2026 schedule. However, Season 5 did wrap in July, per Garcia-Rulfo’s Instagram. And with this news about the franchise’s future, I’m feeling very optimistic.
Now, as we wait for more updates, you can stream the first four seasons of The Lincoln Lawyer with a Netflix subscription.
