Ally McBeal


Ally McBeal is an American legal comedy-drama television series created by David E. Kelley that originally aired on Fox from September 8, 1997, to May 20, 2002. It revolves around Calista Flockhart in the title role as a lawyer working in the Boston law firm Cage and Fish. Although the series is ostensibly a legal drama, its main focus is the romantic and personal lives of the main characters. The series was produced by David E. Kelley Productions and 20th Century Fox Television, with Kelley serving as executive producer alongside Bill D'Elia.
Ally McBeal received critical acclaim in its early seasons, winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy in 1998 and 1999, and also winning the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1999. Despite these achievements, it was canceled by Fox after five seasons. In March 2021, it was reported that a revival as a limited series was in early development at 20th Television with Flockhart possibly returning. In August 2022, it was reported that ABC was in early development of a sequel series and had approached Flockhart to reprise her role and executive-produce. However, despite the report, neither project has eventuated yet.

Overview

begins working at the Boston law firm Cage & Fish, co-owned by her law school classmate Richard Fish. She left her previous firm due to sexual harassment. On her first day, Ally is dismayed to discover that she will be working alongside her ex-boyfriend Billy Thomas —whom she has never gotten over. Even worse, Billy is now married to fellow lawyer Georgia, who later joins Cage & Fish. The triangle among the three forms the basis for the main plot for the show's first three seasons.
Although Ally McBeal is ostensibly a legal drama, the main focus of the series is the romantic and personal lives of the main characters, often using legal proceedings as plot devices to contrast or reinforce a character's drama. For example, bitter divorce litigation of a client might provide a backdrop for Ally's decision to break up with a boyfriend. Legal arguments were also frequently used to explore multiple sides of various social issues.
Cage & Fish, the law firm where most of the characters work, is depicted as a highly sexualized environment symbolized by its unisex restroom. Lawyers and secretaries in the firm routinely date, flirt with, or have a romantic history with one another and frequently run into former or potential romantic interests in the courtroom or on the street.
The series had many offbeat and frequently surreal running gags and themes, such as Ally's tendency to immediately fall over whenever she met somebody she found attractive, Richard Fish's wattle fetish and humorous mottos, John's gymnastic dismounts out of the office's unisex bathroom stalls, or the dancing twins at a frequented bar. The show uses vivid, dramatic fantasy sequences for Ally's and other characters' wishful thinking; of particular note is the early internet sensation, the dancing baby.
The series also featured regular visits to a local bar where singer Vonda Shepard regularly performed. Star contemporary singers also performed in the bar at the end of the shows, including acts such as Mariah Carey, Barry White and Anastacia. The series also took place in the same continuity as David E. Kelley's legal drama The Practice, as the two shows crossed over with one another on occasion, a rare occurrence for two shows that aired on different networks.
Ultimately, in the series finale "Bygones", Ally leaves Cage & Fish and relocates to New York City.

Cast

Recurring

In Australia, Ally McBeal was aired by the Seven Network from 1997 to 2002. In 2010, it was aired repeatedly by Network 10.
In the UK, Ally McBeal was aired by Channel 4, premiering on June 3, 1998, and concluding on October 30, 2002. It began airing for free on Channel 4's streaming service on August 30, 2024.

Crossovers with ''The Practice''

Seymore Walsh, a stern judge often exasperated by the eccentricities of the Cage & Fish lawyers and played by actor Albert Hall, was also a recurring character on The Practice. In addition, Judge Jennifer Cone appears on The Practice episode "Line of Duty", while Judge Roberta Kittelson, a recurring character on The Practice, has a featured guest role in the Ally McBeal episode "Do you Wanna Dance?"
Most of the primary Practice cast members guest starred in the Ally McBeal episode "The Inmates", in a storyline that concluded with the Practice episode "Axe Murderer", featuring Calista Flockhart and Gil Bellows reprising their Ally characters. Unusually for a TV crossover, Ally McBeal and The Practice aired on different networks. Bobby Donnell, the main character of The Practice played by Dylan McDermott, was featured heavily in both this crossover and another Ally McBeal episode, "These are the Days".
Regular Practice cast members Lara Flynn Boyle and Michael Badalucco each had an uncredited cameo as their characters in Ally McBeal.
In Season 5, Lara Flynn Boyle had an uncredited guest appearance as a rebuttal witness opposite guest star Heather Locklear's character in the episode, "Tom Dooley".

Filming location

14 Beacon Street in Boston was the exterior which was used as the location for the law firm "Cage & Fish", which was located on the 7th floor of this building.

Reception

Upon premiering in 1997, the show was an instant hit, averaging around 11 million viewers per episode. The show's second season saw an increase in ratings and soon became a top 20 show, averaging around 13 million viewers per episode. The show's ratings began to decline in the third season, but stabilized in the fourth season after Robert Downey Jr. joined the regular cast as Ally's boyfriend Larry Paul, and a fresher aesthetic was created by new art director Matthew DeCoste. However, Downey's character was written out after the end of the season due to Downey's troubles with drug addiction.
The first two seasons, as well as the fourth, remain the most critically acclaimed and saw the most awards success at the Emmys, SAG Awards and the Golden Globes. In 2007, Ally McBeal placed #48 on Entertainment Weekly 2007 "New TV Classics" list.

Ratings

Cancellation

Fox canceled Ally McBeal after five seasons. In addition to being the lowest-rated season of Ally McBeal and the grounds for the show's cancellation, the fifth season was also the only season of the show that failed to win any Emmy or Golden Globe awards.

Feminist criticism

Ally McBeal received some criticism from TV critics and feminists who found the title character annoying and demeaning to women because of her perceived flightiness, lack of demonstrated legal knowledge, short skirts, and emotional instability. Perhaps the most notorious example of the debate sparked by the show was the June 29, 1998, cover story of Time magazine, which juxtaposed the character of Ally McBeal with three real-life pioneering feminists and asked "Is Feminism Dead?" In the January 18, 1999 Ally McBeal episode, "Love Unlimited", Ally talks to her co-worker John Cage about a dream she had, saying "You know, I had a dream that they put my face on the cover of Time magazine as 'the face of feminism'."

Music

Music was a prominent feature of Ally McBeal. Vonda Shepard, a relatively unknown musician at the time, performed regularly on the show and her song "Searchin' My Soul" was the show's theme song. Many of the songs Shepard performed were established hits with lyrics that paralleled the events of each episode, for example, "Both Sides Now", "Hooked on a Feeling" and "Tell Him". Besides recording background music for the show, Shepard frequently appeared at the ends of episodes as a musician performing at a local piano bar frequented by the main characters. On rare occasions, her character would have conventional dialogue. A portion of "Searchin' My Soul" was played at the beginning of each episode, but the song was never played in its entirety.
Several of the characters had a musical leitmotif that played when they appeared. John Cage's was "You're the First, the Last, My Everything", Ling Woo's was the Wicked Witch of the West theme from The Wizard of Oz, and Ally McBeal herself picked "Tell Him", when told by a psychiatrist that she needed a theme song in a Season 1 episode.
Due to the popularity of the show and Shepard's music, a soundtrack titled Songs from Ally McBeal was released in 1998, as well as a successor soundtrack titled Heart and Soul: New Songs from Ally McBeal in 1999. Two compilation albums from the show featuring Shepard were also released in 2000 and 2001. A Christmas album was also released under the title Ally McBeal: A Very Ally Christmas. The album received positive reviews, and Shephard's version of Kay Starr's Christmas song " The Man with the Bag", received considerable airplay during the holiday season.
Other artists featured on the show include Barry White, Al Green, Gladys Knight, Tina Turner, Macy Gray, Gloria Gaynor, Chayanne, Barry Manilow, Anastacia, Elton John, Sting and Mariah Carey. Josh Groban played the role of Malcolm Wyatt in the May 2001 season finale, performing "You're Still You". The series creator, David E. Kelley, was impressed with Groban's performance at The Family Celebration event and based on the audience reaction to Groban's singing, Kelley created a character for him in that finale. The background score for the show was composed by Danny Lux.
Soundtrack nameNumber of tracksRelease date
Songs from Ally McBeal14May 5, 1998
Heart and Soul: New Songs from Ally McBeal14November 9, 1999
Ally McBeal: A Very Ally Christmas14November 7, 2000
Ally McBeal: For Once in My Life14April 24, 2001
The Best of Ally McBeal12October 6, 2009