Abhiroop Das
Created by Cullen Crawford, Netflix’s ‘Strip Law’ follows the boring life of Lincoln Gumb, who is on the cusp of losing his career due to his inability to understand how things work in Vegas. Enter Sheila Flambe, a magician and sensualist, who pulls Lincoln into a world full of unpredictable twists and turns. Thoroughly reformed over the course of a single night, he revamps his entire approach to law, saying goodbye to playing by the book, and welcoming a flurry of legal pyrotechnics that promise to make him the biggest attorney in the city. Together, they form Gumb and Flambe Legal, and among the many flashy mysteries they take on is the curious case of ‘Magicians vs. Animals.’ A show reimagining gladiator battles between humans and animals, except this time with modern tricks.
Gumb and Flambe Legal Dramatizes the Legal Scene in Las Vegas
Gumb and Flambe Legal is a fictional law firm created by Cullen Crawford and his writing team specifically for ‘Strip Law.’ The firm’s name comes from Lincoln Gumb and Sheila Flambe, the two leads of the show, further highlighting its fictional nature. Depicted as the most eccentric firm in Sin City, it draws much of its inspiration from Crawford’s interest in dialing Vegas up a notch. In an interview with All Your Screens, he revealed that the primary idea for the show came from “billboard lawyers who dress up in wacky costumes and stuff are the big names.” Channeling that spirit, he drew up some fake billboards, even got a fake jingle produced, and these elements likely gave way to Gumb and Flambe Legal as we know it today.
While Gumb and Flambe Legal is intentionally designed in an over-the-top fashion, it still manages to capture the heart of the City of Lights. In real life, the city is home to many big law firms, such as Dimopoulos Law Firm, located at 6671 Las Vegas Boulevard Street, and Sam & Ash Injury Law, situated at 1108 South Casino Center Boulevard. While these firms may not have a direct connection to Lincoln’s firm on screen, it is possible that the writers drew reference from real life to make their rendition as immersive as possible. Still, Gumb and Flambe Legal manages to break several molds through its sheer uniqueness and pizzazz.
Magicians vs. Animals is a Fictional Take on Extreme Reality Television
Much like Gumb and Flambe Legal, the television show known as ‘Magicians vs. Animals’ is an invention of the writing team. While it does not have any direct antecedents in reality or television. Its premise lends itself to some parallels from real life. Designed as a show where magicians and tricksters duel and kill exotic animals, such as lions, rhinoceroses, and silverback gorillas, the show is almost truly gruesome for television, and yet that doesn’t stop it from being an in-world fan favorite. The name of the show is similar to ‘Man vs. Wild,’ a real-life show featuring Bear Grylls, wherein he ventures into deep wilderness and remote locations to display survival techniques.
Given that ‘Man vs. Wild’ is a survival show, a part of its content also deals with Grylls eating a number of wild animals, ranging from frogs, snakes, to even insects. However, a crucial difference between the real show and ‘Magicians vs. Animals’ is that, in the former’s case, it is done primarily as a representation of survival methods and measures. In the latter, the seeming killing of animals is done as a part of the show’s entertainment spectacle, and much of its fictional arc is centered around this crisis. It is possible that the writers of ‘Strip Law’ were also inspired by magician-themed reality shows, such as ‘Penn & Teller: Fool Us’ and ‘Wizard Wars,’ but the overall idea for ‘Magicians vs. Animals’ appears to be wholly fictional.
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