The Mickey Haller introduced in The Lincoln Lawyer Season 1 was not always like that. Before he became an in-demand criminal attorney in Los Angeles with several ex-wives and posh cars, Haller led a modest life for a lawyer of his stature. But after over 15 years of practicing law, Haller is richer, divorced, and complicated. The Lincoln Lawyer Season 3 continues Haller’s complex relationship with his defendants as he tackles Julian La Cosse’s murder case. Netflix released the first 11 minutes of the first episode of the season, which previews Mickey’s past and current life.

The episode begins fifteen years ago when life was much simpler. Mickey started his mornings by surfing, was still together with Maggie, and drove a simpler car. But even then, he had aspirations, as seen when he ogles at a posh blue Lincoln convertible. His ambitions emerge in the courtroom as Mickey represents a client accused of murder. “My name is Michael Haller, and I work for the public defender’s office,” he introduces himself, previewing when he was a different man and paying his dues. Michael crosses a detective on the stand and exposes the police for illegally searching the defendant’s car.

The prosecution knows they have lost the case, and the detective confronts Mickey in the bathroom. “Your client’s a killer, and you know it,” the detective says. “You should have thought about that before breaking the rules,” Mickey replies, revealing that he knows his client is guilty, but that’s not his job. “These tricks you play, Haller, somebody’s gonna end up dead because of you,” the detective delivers his parting shot.

Mickey Meets His New ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ Season 3 Client.

Truly enough, someone is dead as the narrative shifts to the present, and Mickey meets with Julian. This is their first meeting, and Mickey is digging for information. He learns that Julian is a modern-day pimp (or manager, as he calls himself) who runs an Onlyfans-esque platform that connects sex workers with clients. Their conversation reveals that Glory Days and Julian had a complicated history, but Julian claims that he did not kill her. “I don’t know, Julian, this is beyond messy,” Haller admits. After defending two clients who managed to fool him, Mickey is not taking any chances now. “This is someone I cared about,” he adds, as he promises to get Julian through some parts of the trial before he decides if he can represent Julian as a client.

The Lincoln Lawyer Season 3 is based on Michael Connelly‘s fifth book in The Lincoln Lawyer book series. The creative team behind the show previously said they would take some liberties with the adaptation. Nothing is like what meets the eye in The Lincoln Lawyer. “There’s a bigger conspiracy behind it,” co-showrunner Dailyn Rodriguez said of Season 3. Why is Julian so jumpy if he’s just a developer? Is David just a life partner, or is there more? Does the pimp have his pimp?

Find out when the season drops on Netflix tomorrow, October 17. Catch up on the platform before the new episodes debut. Watch the clip on Tudum.