TV: Flawed and in your face, Katey Sagal has found a Rebel with a cause

Katey Sagal stars in Rebel, based on the life of outspoken advocate Erin Brockovich

When Julia Roberts portrayed Erin Brockovich in the 2000 film named after its protagonist, she captivated audiences and, a year later, won an Oscar for the role.

A true story, it movingly told how Brockovich, a single mum, got herself a job as a legal assistant and then fought for justice after discovering a town’s water supply was contaminated.

Now, more than two decades on, an ABC show called Rebel is coming to Disney+, and it’s inspired by who Brockovich is today.

Playing the lead role of Annie “Rebel” Bello is Katey Sagal, from Los Angeles, who is known for Sons Of Anarchy and Married… With Children.

“Rebel is like me, in that I’ve been a working mum my whole life,” says the 67-year old. “I am a much better mum if I’m a working mum, and I would not know how to sacrifice one of them – and she’s the same.

“She’s got this huge drive and passion for what she does, she also has children and loves them, and it gets messy and somebody gets neglected.

“In the series you see the repercussions on her older kids, and they’ll complain about her – she didn’t spend enough time with them and didn’t make it to school functions.

“But, at the same time, the two older children go into service work: one’s a doctor, one’s a lawyer, and they’re fighting the good fight. So, you see how Rebel’s work kind of rubbed off on them.”

Also starring John Corbett, Tamala Jones and Andy Garcia, the series follows the “funny, fearless, brilliant” Rebel, and her work as a blue-collar legal advocate without a law degree.

When Rebel applies herself to a fight she believes in, she will win at almost any cost. It feels notably rare still to see “messy” women like this and Sagal loves playing someone who’s flawed.

“She is not perfect, by any means, and you get to see a three-dimensional person trying to juggle everything,” she adds.

“And she orders a lot of people around – she’s not always polite. She’s just kind of in your face. She thinks she’s right and you have to do what she says.

“I love that she’s working for something. I like that it means something.

“As an entertainer, I look at the whole thing as helping people, really. And then to have subject matter that actually gives voice to helping people. I don’t think people necessarily need to watch television because of that but for me, personally, to be able to be saying something is important to me. So, all of that attracted me to it.”

Rebel, Disney+, from Friday.