'Anatomy of a Scandal' charts a twisty courtroom mystery around privilege and politics

An old-fashioned courtroom miniseries with a somewhat more modern backdrop of sexual politics, "Anatomy of a Scandal" is a crisply told, nicely binge-able mystery that doesn't overstay its welcome. Adapted from a novel, the material certainly doesn't break any ground but proves watchable enough for its various twists, some admittedly more strained than others.

While it's a famous man who's on trial (hence the "scandal" part), the six-episode project is defined by two women: The lawyer prosecuting the case, and the wife who wants to stand by her husband but is given reason to doubt him.

Infused with a very British flavor despite the involvement of writer/producers David E. Kelley (raising echoes of "Big Little Lies") and Melissa James Gibson ("House of Cards"), the Netflix project focuses on Parliament minister James Whitehouse ("Homeland's" Rupert Friend), whose political and personal status are threatened when he's charged with raping an aide ("Aladdin's" Naomi Scott), a scenario complicated by the fact that the two had been having an affair.