News around The Lincoln Lawyer season 4 has already given us lots to be excited about, even though we’re still at least several months away from its release on Netflix. Yet, one character who was crucial to seasons 2 and 3 won’t be returning for the upcoming season, which puts a slight dampener on the growing sense of anticipation for the next chapter of Mickey Haller’s story. Haller’s rival-turned-love interest Andrea “Andy” Freemann has been ruled out from starring in season 4 of The Lincoln Lawyer, which could well drop on Netflix before 2025 is out.
Actor Yaya DaCosta, who played Andy in the show, has recently spoken about how her character’s sudden departure from the show has blindsided its audience. In an interview with TV Insider, DaCosta hinted that Andrea Freemann’s exit from The Lincoln Lawyer isn’t the end of the story, since her disappearance from the story still requires some explanation to viewers. What’s more, the return of Neve Campbell’s character Maggie for The Lincoln Lawyer season 4 suggests that there is room for further comebacks in future seasons of the show, which means we might not have seen the last of Andy.
Andrea Freemann Is One Of The Lincoln Lawyer’s Best Characters
Yaya DaCosta’s Role Is One Of The Highlights Of Seasons 2 And 3
It’s to be hoped that the possibility of Andrea Freemann’s return is something The Lincoln Lawyer’s showrunners would consider, because Yaya DaCosta’s character is one of the show’s best. Andy is a fearless and formidable compeтιтor in the courtroom, while being one of the few people that Mickey Haller can identify with outside of it. Mickey and Andy begin as rivals in The Lincoln Lawyer season 2, but the sparks flying between them soon kindle one of the best romances we’ll ever see in the series.
Even after the pair decides to go their separate ways as a couple, they still remain there for each other, and their final conversation is a touching reminder of the chemistry they share. It’d be sad if that conversation is the last one we’ll see between them onscreen, especially given the extent to which The Lincoln Lawyer is raising the stakes for its fourth season. Mickey Haller will be standing trial and fighting for his own survival this time around, and it’ll be strange to imagine that Andy won’t even be visiting him in jail to offer moral support.
Why Yaya DaCosta’s Andrea Freemann Isn’t Returning For The Lincoln Lawyer Season 4
Andy Doesn’t Appear In The Book It’s Based On, Which Sees Maggie Return
On the other hand, there’s an argument that Yaya DaCosta’s character Andy Freemann had to exit The Lincoln Lawyer for season 4 so that Mickey Haller’s love life isn’t overcomplicated by the return of his ex-wife Maggie McPherson to the show. Neve Campbell’s Maggie comes back into Mickey’s life, just as she does in Michael Connelly’s book The Law of Innocence, on which the upcoming Lincoln Lawyer season is based, to join his defense team and help him win his case.
As Yaya DaCosta herself has suggested, it may be that Andy’s name crops up in the new season, or that Mickey speaks to her on the phone.
What’s more, Andrea Freeman doesn’t feature in The Law of Innocence at all, so it makes sense not to include her in the TV adaptation of the novel. Andy’s romance with The Lincoln Lawyer’s protagonist was actually a major deviation from the plot of Connelly’s Mickey Haller book series, which worked well in the show’s third season but would have been harder to continue in season 4 due to Maggie’s comeback, particularly in light of the key role Mickey’s ex-wife is expected to play in his defense team.
As Yaya DaCosta herself has suggested, it may be that Andy’s name crops up in the new season, or that Mickey speaks to her on the phone. A scene along these lines might help soften the blow of Freemann’s sudden exit from The Lincoln Lawyer. Still, Andy’s presence in the background of the show without DaCosta herself appearing would be nothing on the character making an actual comeback at a later stage.
Does Andy Return In Later The Lincoln Lawyer Books?
Michael Connelly’s Novels Don’t Portray Her As The Lincoln Lawyer Does
However, if The Lincoln Lawyer’s showrunners and writers are planning to adhere more closely to the plotlines and character arcs of Michael Connelly’s novel series from now on, unfortunately, we won’t be seeing Andrea Freemann return to the show at a later date. Andy is only a character in one Mickey Haller novel, The Fifth Witness, which was the source material for The Lincoln Lawyer season 2. The character doesn’t appear in any other book, although she and Haller do have some history as rival prosecutors prior to the events of the series.
Michael Connelly is still writing his Mickey Haller novels, with the eighth in the series, The Proving Ground, coming out later this year. So there’s a chance that the author decides to bring back Andy Freemann in another book that hasn’t been published yet, laying the basis for a Yaya DaCosta comeback in The Lincoln Lawyer. Nevertheless, this move on Connelly’s part seems unlikely, as for him Freemann was just a one-time supporting character whose romance with Mickey Haller never happened in the world of his novels.
The Lincoln Lawyer’s Future Should Change The Books To Bring Back Andy Freemann
Andy’s Story Has Already Been Changed Once For The Show
It’s important to note, though, that The Lincoln Lawyer has already moved away from the plot of Michael Connelly’s Mickey Haller novels once in service of an Andy Freemann storyline. If the show has changed Connelly’s story once to turn Andy into a major character, there’s no reason why it can’t do it again to bring her back into the fold in a later season. As great as Maggie’s return is, in many ways no one else in The Lincoln Lawyer matches Mickey quite like Andy.
Even just as friends, the two of them could continue to help each other through the professional and personal challenges they face. Andy’s role in the show wouldn’t necessarily have to get in the way of Maggie’s, but could provide an extra source of tension in Mickey’s complicated love life.
The Lincoln Lawyer should be bigger and better than ever in season 4, but it will undoubtedly be worse off in one key aspect. The show will be missing one of its best characters, who deserved more than to go out on such a quiet and unexpected note at the end of season 3. We can only hope that the return of Neve Campbell and the introduction of at least three brand-new characters can fill the hole that Andy’s left behind for season 4.
