Mickey Haller is back.

Maybe not in the way he’d like to be. Definitely not on the right side of the table. But he’s back. And as always we’re better off for it — because that means The Lincoln Lawyer Season 4 just dropped on Netflix.

Continuing from where Season 3 left off, Mickey Haller has been arrested for the murder of a conman — who also happens to be one of his ex-clients. A routine stop turns ugly and the over-zealous police officer suspects blood trickling out of Haller’s boot, conducts an “illegal” search — since he doesn’t have any probable cause — and Haller is arrested.

Season 4 charts Haller’s journey in finding his way out of prison, clearing his name — considering all the odds are stacked pretty high up against him.

Needless to say, Haller employs his Lincoln Lawyer tactics almost immediately, allowing him to secure bail — but this time he isn’t at full power like he usually is. For starters, Lorna has to represent him as his Counsel — and while she is all heart, she is overawed with everything that has suddenly landed on her table. She needs to represent Haller to the best of her ability, she also has to keep recruiting clients for the firm and see to it that she is able to work their cases successfully. Cisco too, has his work cut out for him. His friend, his boss — and also his wife’s ex-husband (matter of speaking, at least) — is in jail on charges of murder; and he has to move heaven and earth to find him out of his current predicament.

The good part about the entire Lincoln Lawyer series this far is how true they more or less stay to the books. Naturally, they do make a few deviations every now and then — and that is more than allowed — but overall, entire seasons follow the trajectory from the various books by Michael Connelly. This one is no different. For those who have read The Law of Innocence, the conclusion is more or less a foregone conclusion. But the journey, nevertheless, is still enjoyable.

The principal characters have sunk into their roles. Right from Manuel Garcia-Rulfo to Becki Newton to Angus Sampson, they are the characters they play on screen at this point. Each and every one seem to flow smoothly from their last outing as these characters to the current one. Effortless. But really stealing the show this year was the opposing Deputy DA, Dana Berg, played infuriatingly by Constance Zimmer. She was everything Haller’s opposing counsel should be and more — and she carried her strain right to the very end, never letting up even once. Also Maggie McPherson (Neve Campbell) sees a glorious upshift in her character arc, making the narrative all the more enjoyable.

The Lincoln Lawyer Season 4 is an absolute fantastic watch, like it has been for the past three seasons. Fast-paced. Good, proper storytelling. One of the current Netflix shows that can once again be seriously tagged as binge-worthy.

Watch the Lincoln Lawyer find his way out of this huge mess. Watch the entire story unfold, and rest assured, you’ll be doing it all at once.

That said, the series ends with the introduction of a brand new character — that of Haller’s [step]-sister (Cobie Smulders). While the books do mention a few step-siblings from time to time — the most notable of them being Harry Bosch (who might not be available on Netflix due to the Bosch franchise belonging to the Amazon Prime network), this seems to be a completely new character made particularly for the series. This marks a significant step away from the books for the Lincoln Lawyer franchise.

This makes Season 5 even more hotly anticipated than usual. The path ahead is really exciting.