The fifth and final season of the television series '' Ally McBeal'' commenced airing in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

on October 29, 2001, concluded on May 20, 2002, and consisted of 22 episodes. The entire season originally aired Mondays at 9pm, just like the seasons before. Following the episode that aired March 4, 2002, the show went on a six-week hiatus and was replaced by ''

The American Embassy ''The American Embassy'' is an American drama series that aired on Fox from March to April 2002. The series was created by James D. Parriott, and executive produced by Danny DeVito. Synopsis The series follows the personal and professional life ...

''. The show returned on April 15, 2002, to air the final 7 episodes. It was released on DVD as a six disc boxed set under the title of ''Ally McBeal: Season Five'' on February 10, 2003. The fifth season had an average

rating A rating is an evaluation or assessment of something, in terms of quality, quantity, or some combination of both. Rating or ratings may also refer to: Business and economics * Credit rating, estimating the credit worthiness of an individual, c ...

of 9.4 million viewers in the United States and was ranked #65 on the complete ranking sheet of all the year's shows. In addition to being the lowest-rated season of ''Ally McBeal'' and the grounds for the show's cancellation on April 18, 2002, it was also the only season of the show that failed to win any

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

awards.

Crew

The season was produced by ''

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment (commonly referred to as 20th Home Video, or 20th Home Entertainment, formerly known as 20th Century-Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video, Fox Video, and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) is a home video label of Wa ...

'' and ''David E. Kelley Productions''. The executive producers were

Bill D'Elia William D'Elia is an American screenwriter, producer, director and actor. Life D'Elia grew up in Queens, New York City, and is a second generation Italian-American. He graduated from Ithaca College, and earned a master's degree in communicatio ...

and the creator

David E. Kelley David Edward Kelley (born April 4, 1956) is an American television writer, producer, and former attorney, known as the creator of '' Doogie Howser, M.D.'', '' Picket Fences'', ''Chicago Hope'', ''The Practice'', '' Ally McBeal'', ''Boston Publi ...

, who also wrote 21 out of 22 episodes. (This season's "Blowin' in the Wind" is the only episode of the entire series which Kelley is not credited either with writing himself or with jointly writing.) Staff writers this season included

Constance M. Burge Constance M. Burge is an American television writer and producer. She is the creator of the television series '' Charmed'' (1998–2006) and the short-lived series ''Savannah'' (1996–1997). Burge was also a writer for '' Judging Amy'', '' Ally ...

, Roberto Benabib, Peter Blake and Cindy Lichtman. Cast member

Peter MacNicol Peter MacNicol (born April 10, 1954) is an American actor. He received a Theatre World Award for his 1981 Broadway debut in the play ''Crimes of the Heart''. His film roles include Galen in ''Dragonslayer'' (1981), Stingo in ''Sophie's Choice'' ( ...

co-wrote the penultimate episodes with Kelley, while

Greg Germann Gregory Andrew Germann ( ; born February 26, 1958) is an American actor who is known for playing Richard Fish on the television series '' Ally McBeal'', which earned him a Screen Actors Guild award. He also is known for his roles as Eric "Rico" ...

made his directing debut in the episode ''Fear of Flirting.'' Alice West served as the co-executive producer of this season.

Cast

The fifth season had twelve major roles receive star billing, the most out of all of the seasons.

Calista Flockhart Calista Kay Flockhart (born November 11, 1964) is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for portraying the title character on the Fox television series '' Ally McBeal'' (1997–2002), for which she received a Golden Globe Award in 1998 ...

as Ally McBeal,

as Richard Fish,

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...

Jane Krakowski Jane Krakowski (; ; born October 11, 1968) is an American actress, comedienne, and singer. She is best known for her starring role as Jenna Maroney in the NBC satirical comedy series ''30 Rock'' (2006–2013, 2020), for which she received four ...

as Elaine Vassal,

Vonda Shepard Vonda Shepard (born July 7, 1963) is an American singer, songwriter, music director and actress. She appeared as a regular in the television show '' Ally McBeal'', as a resident performer in the bar where the show's characters drank, danced and c ...

as herself,

Portia de Rossi Portia Lee James DeGeneres (born Amanda Lee Rogers; 31 January 1973), known professionally as Portia de Rossi, is an Australian-American former actress. She played Nelle Porter on the American drama series '' Ally McBeal'' (1998–2002), for wh ...

as Nelle Porter and

Lucy Liu Lucy Alexis Liu is an American actress. Her accolades include winning a Critics' Choice Television Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Seoul International Drama Award, in addition to nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award. Liu has star ...

Ling Woo Ling may refer to: Fictional characters * Ling, an ally of James Bond's from the film ''You Only Live Twice'' * Ling, a character in the ''Mulan'' franchise * Ling, a playable character from the mobile game '' Mobile Legends: Bang Bang'' * Ling ...

all returned to the main cast.

Robert Downey, Jr. Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965) is an American actor and producer. His career has been characterized by critical and popular success in his youth, followed by a period of substance abuse and legal troubles, before a resurgence of ...

's Larry Paul was intended to be a main character in the fifth season. The season arc had already been planned out, revolving around the married life of Larry and Ally, which had to be rewritten following Downey's arrest on drug charges. Cast members Peter MacNicol and Lucy Liu only signed on for a certain number of episodes and were subsequently written out. MacNicol agreed to return on recurring status and stayed until the show's finale, whereas Liu was unable to return during the final episodes of the season due to her conflicting filming commitments for the film '' Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle''. Former cast members

Gil Bellows Gil Bellows (born June 28, 1967) is a Canadians, Canadian actor, screenwriter, and director. He is best known for the roles of Tommy Williams in the 1994 movie ''The Shawshank Redemption'', Billy Thomas in the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox televi ...

Courtney Thorne-Smith Courtney Thorne-Smith (born November 8, 1967) is an American actress. She is known for her starring roles as Alison Parker on ''Melrose Place'', Georgia Thomas on '' Ally McBeal'', Cheryl Mabel in ''According to Jim'' and her recurring role on ...

and

Lisa Nicole Carson Lisa Nicole Carson is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Carla in '' ER'' (1996–2001), and Renee Raddick in '' Ally McBeal'' (1997–2002). Carson has also starred in films, most notably as Marti in ''Jason's Lyric'' (1994), ...

returned for the finale. The new cast members introduced in the season premiere were

Julianne Nicholson Julianne Nicholson (born July 1, 1971) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the films '' August: Osage County'' (2013) and ''Blonde'' (2022), as well as the television series ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' (2006–2009), ...

as Jenny Shaw,

Josh Hopkins William Joshua Hopkins (born September 12, 1970) is an American actor. Some of his best known roles include Raymond Millbury on '' Ally McBeal'' (2001–2002), Grayson Ellis on ''Cougar Town'' (2009–2015), and Liam O'Connor on '' Quantico'' (2 ...

as Raymond Millbury and

James Marsden James Paul Marsden (born September 18, 1973) is an American actor, singer, and former model. Marsden began his acting career guest starring in the television shows '' Saved by the Bell: The New Class'' (1993), '' Touched by an Angel'' (1995), ' ...

as Glenn Foy. Nicholson and Marsden's characters proved unpopular with the fans and were written out mid-season, while new character named Maddie Harrington, played by

Hayden Panettiere Hayden Lesley Panettiere (; born August 21, 1989) is an American actress, model, and singer. She is best known for her lead roles as Claire Bennet on the NBC superhero series ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'' and Juliette Barnes in the Am ...

was added to the regular cast.

Regina Hall Regina Lee Hall (born December 12, 1970) is an American actress. She rose to prominence for her role as Brenda Meeks in the comedy horror ''Scary Movie'' film series (2000–2006). She has since appeared in the television series '' Ally McBeal' ...

was upgraded to contract status after recurring during the previous season. Various supporting characters from the previous seasons returned to reprise their recurring roles, including

Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no governm ...

as Judge Seymore Walsh,

John Michael Higgins John Michael Higgins (born February 12, 1963) is an American actor and comedian whose film credits include Christopher Guest's mockumentaries, the role of David Letterman in HBO's '' The Late Shift'', and a starring role in the American versio ...

as Steven Milter, and

Renée Elise Goldsberry Renée Elise Goldsberry (born January 2, 1971) is an American actress and singer known for originating the role of Angelica Schuyler in the Broadway musical ''Hamilton'', for which she won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musica ...

, Vatrena King and

Sy Smith Sy Smith is an American singer and actress. Early life and career beginnings Sy Smith began her career leading a six-person Washington D.C. go-go band called "In Tyme". After graduating from Howard University with a bachelor's degree of Scien ...

as the backup singers for Vonda Shepard.

Jon Bon Jovi John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was formed in 1983. He ...

was added to the cast mid-season as Victor Morrison, Ally's new love interest, but was written out before the finale.

Josh Groban Joshua Winslow Groban (born February 27, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. His first four solo albums have been certified multi-platinum, and he was charted in 2007 as the number-one best selling artist in the United States, wi ...

returned as guest star Malcolm Wyatt.

Barry Humphries John Barry Humphries (born 17 February 1934) is an Australian comedian, actor, author and satirist. He is best known for writing and playing his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He is also a film prod ...

Matthew Perry Matthew Langford Perry (born August 19, 1969) is an American-Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Chandler Bing on the NBC television sitcom ''Friends'' (1994–2004). As well as starring in the short-lived television series ''Stud ...

and

Christina Ricci Christina Ricci ( ; born February 12, 1980) is an American actress. Known for playing unusual characters with a dark edge, Ricci predominantly works in independent productions, but has also appeared in numerous box office hits. She has receiv ...

all had recurring roles during the season.

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...

and

Barry White Barry Eugene Carter (September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003), better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came ...

appeared as performers at the bar. Shepard was offered to sing the theme song "Searchin' My Soul" from start to finish in the final episode, but she turned it down.

Episodes

References

External links

''Ally McBeal'' Episode List
at ''

IMDb.com IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, p ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Ally Mcbeal 2001 American television seasons 2002 American television seasons Ally McBeal