She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Is a “Slice of Life” Marvel Comedy

She-Hulk is smashing what it means to be a superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law introduces Jennifer Walters (Orphan Black‘s Tatiana Maslany), a lawyer specializing in superhuman-oriented legal cases and the cousin of Avenger Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), a.k.a. the Hulk. As a superhero and the head of her firm’s superhuman law division — which counts such high-profile clients as Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), who wrecked Harlem in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk — it’s not easy being green. And in the Marvel Studios series premiering August 17 on Disney+, audiences will witness the day-to-day life of the MCU’s other most prominent attorney by day, superhero by night. 

“What’s really fun about this show is that in the Marvel movies, we get to see a lot of high stakes events — the universe is going to end, everyone in existence is going to go away,” executive producer and head writer Jessica Gao told EW. “But what happens in between those events? What happens on a regular Tuesday when you just have to do laundry? That’s really kind of the slice of life that this show explores.”

“And someone broke your car when they were throwing it across the way or something,” added Nikki Ramos actor Ginger Gonzaga. “What are the legal ramifications of that?” Maslany answered: “A lot of documentation.” 

That slice of life includes appearances by Jennifer’s superhero colleagues — among them the Sorcerer Supreme Wong (Benedict Wong) and Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), a.k.a. the horn-headed hero of Hell’s Kitchen Daredevil — and street-level supervillains. As Jennifer juggles her work/life (and love life) balance each week in the half-hour comedy series, sometimes breaking the fourth wall, it was a challenge for Gao and the writers’ room to balance She-Hulk‘s unique tone with being part of the wider MCU. 

“I had a very specific idea of the tone that I wanted for the show, having come from comedy and really having thought about it for so long,” said Gao, whose credits include Robot Chicken and Rick and Morty. “But it was really tricky having to balance comedy and being light and irreverent and also very meta and self-aware, but also there’s this kind of expectation of being part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and balancing all of the action and the drama and the plot, too.”

Starring Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk, Jameela Jamil as Titania, Ginger Gonzaga as Nikki, Tim Roth as the Abomination, and Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/the Hulk, Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is streaming August 17 on Disney+.