''Cagney & Lacey'' is an American

police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eith ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

television series that aired on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

television network for seven seasons from March 25, 1982, to May 16, 1988. The show is about two New York City police detectives who lead very different lives: Christine Cagney (

Sharon Gless Sharon Marguerite Gless (born May 31, 1943) is an American actress and author, who is known for her television roles as Maggie Philbin on ''Switch'' (1975–78), Sgt. Christine Cagney in the police procedural drama series ''Cagney & Lacey'' (198 ...

) is a career-minded single woman, while Mary Beth Lacey (

Tyne Daly Ellen Tyne Daly (; born February 21, 1946) is an American actress. She has won six Emmy Awards for her television work, a Tony Award and is a 2011 American Theatre Hall of Fame inductee. Daly began her career on stage in summer stock in New York, ...

) is a married working mother. The series is set in a fictionalized version of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

's 14th Precinct (known as "Midtown South"). The pilot movie had

Loretta Swit Loretta Jane Swit (born Loretta Szwed; November 4, 1937) is an American stage and television actress known for her character roles. Swit is best known for her portrayal of Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan on ''M*A*S*H'', for which she won two E ...

in the role of Cagney, while the first six episodes had

Meg Foster Margaret Foster is an American film and television actress. Some of her many roles were in the 1979 TV miniseries version of ''The Scarlet Letter'', and the films ''Ticket to Heaven'', ''The Osterman Weekend'', and '' They Live''. Early years F ...

in the role. When the show was revived for a full-season run, Gless portrayed the role for six consecutive years. Each year during that time, one of the two lead actresses won the Emmy for Best Lead Actress in a Drama (four wins for Daly, two for Gless), a winning streak matched only once since in any major category by a show.

Development

Producer Barney Rosenzweig was influenced by the feminist movement through his then-girlfriend

Barbara Corday Barbara Corday (born October 15, 1944) is an American television executive, writer and producer known for co-creating the television series ''Cagney & Lacey''. Early life and education Corday was born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York Ci ...

, who recommended to him

Molly Haskell Molly Clark Haskell (born September 29, 1939)Aitken, Ian, ed. (2006)''Encyclopedia of Documentary Film, Volume 2'' New York: Routledge. p. 541. . is an American feminist film critic and author. She contributed to ''The Village Voice''—fir ...

's book ''

From Reverence to Rape ''From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in the Movies'' is a 1974 book (revised and reissued in 1987 and 2016) by feminist film critic Molly Haskell (born 1939). It was one of the first books to chronicle women's images in film. Along w ...

''. After learning through Haskell that there had never been a female buddy film, Rosenzweig sought to make one, a comedy initially titled '' Newman & Redford'' (before changing the title for legal reasons). Corday &

Barbara Avedon Barbara Avedon (June 14, 1925 – August 31, 1994) was an American Screenwriting#Television writing, television writer, political Activism, activist, and Feminism, feminist. She founded the anti-war organization Another Mother for Peace. Bio ...

wrote the script. No studio wanted to make the film, so Corday considered taking it to television. Rosenzweig took the script, removed the main plot (leaving only the character development), and took it to all networks, but only CBS picked it up.

Original cast

Actress

played the role of Christine Cagney in the original television movie (October 1981), but was forced to decline the role in the series when the producers of ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker. Th ...

'' refused to let her out of her contract. When the movie was picked up as a series, first airing with six episodes as a midseason replacement in the spring of 1982,

portrayed the character. When the show was picked up for a regular season in 1982, Foster was replaced with

because CBS deemed Foster too aggressive and too likely to be perceived as a lesbian by the viewers. CBS executives hoped Gless would portray Cagney as more conventionally "feminine" and attempted to pressure the producers to remake Christine into a more "high-class", snobbish woman from wealthy parents. The pilot had portrayed Cagney as an ex-glamour model. Barney Rosenzweig and Barbara Corday initially refused to change Cagney from a tough, witty, working-class woman. Shortly into Gless's tenure on the program, Rosenzweig and Corday compromised with the network brass. They further developed Cagney's background, explaining gradually in a loose storyline that she may have been born to a somewhat well-to-do professional mother, Maureen, who had a relationship with police officer Charles Cagney (

Dick O'Neill Richard Francis O'Neill (August 29, 1928 – November 17, 1998) was an American stage, film and television character actor best known for playing Irish cops, fathers, judges and army generals. He began his acting career as an original company ...

), who came from working-class roots. They separated soon after Christine and her brother Brian (

David Ackroyd David Ackroyd (born May 30, 1940) is an American actor, who first came to prominence in soap operas such as ''The Secret Storm'' and '' Another World''. Early life On May 30, 1940, Ackroyd was born in East Orange, New Jersey; he moved to Way ...

) were born. She was partially raised in an uptown Westchester world, which she appreciated; however, the trappings of the upper-middle social strata sometimes drove her to miss her father's lifestyle, and she and her father therefore established a special bond. Cagney was a bit quieter and more reserved than her vivacious, talkative, loud partner Mary Beth Lacey, but could still relate to the world with attitudes that could be shared by people across the social spectrum.

Synopsis

Al Waxman Albert Samuel Waxman, (March 2, 1935 – January 18, 2001) was a Canadian actor and director of over 1,000 productions on radio, television, film, and stage. He is best known for his starring roles in the television series '' King of Kensingto ...

co-starred as Cagney and Lacey's good-natured and sometimes blustery supervisor, Lt. Bert Samuels.

Carl Lumbly Carl Winston Lumbly (born August 14, 1951) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Dick Hallorann in '' Doctor Sleep'', NYPD detective Marcus Petrie on the CBS police drama ''Cagney & Lacey'', CIA agent Marcus Dixon on the ABC espiona ...

and Martin Kove played, respectively, fellow detectives Marcus Petrie and Victor Isbecki. Sidney Clute played veteran detective Paul La Guardia.

John Karlen John Karlen (born John Adam Karlewicz; May 28, 1933 – January 22, 2020) was an American character actor who played multiple roles on the ABC serial ''Dark Shadows'' on and off from 1967 to 1971. In 1971, Karlen starred as the male lead in ''D ...

co-starred as Mary Beth's husband, Harvey Lacey, and Tony La Torre and

Troy Slaten Troy William Slaten (born February 21, 1975) is an American attorney, media pundit, candidate for Los Angeles Superior Court Judge, former actor, former Managing Attorney of Slaten Lawyers, APC, and Administrative Law Judge for the State of Cal ...

played their sons, Harvey Lacey Jr. and Michael Lacey, respectively.

Harvey Atkin Elliot Harvey Atkin (18 December 1942 – 18 July 2017) was a Canadian actor best known for his roles as Morty Melnick in ''Meatballs'', Sergeant Ronald Coleman in ''Cagney & Lacey'', and for voicing King Koopa in ''The Super Mario Bros. Super Sh ...

played desk sergeant Ronald Coleman.

Jason Bernard Jason Bernard (born Ronald Carl Johnson, May 17, 1938 – October 16, 1996) was an American actor. Life and career Bernard was born in Chicago, Illinois. His first starring role was in the pilot episode of the television series '' The White ...

had the recurring role of Deputy Inspector Marquette during the first two seasons. When the show was brought back in March 1984, Marquette had been replaced by Dep. Inspector Knelman (

Michael Fairman Michael Fairman (born February 25, 1934) is an American actor and writer. Career He is best known for his various roles during his long career, which started when he was 31 years old. This includes the role of Nick Szabo on the daytime drama, ...

), who lasted the duration of the series. In the fourth season, Christine entered into a relationship with Sgt. Dory McKenna (

Barry Primus Barry Primus (born February 16, 1938) is an American television and film actor, director, and writer. Career While Primus is primarily an actor, he has also worked as a writer and director in films in which he has acted. For the first decade ...

), who battled a drug addiction. After a tumultuous courtship, Christine left him and soon after took up with a more stable suitor, David Keeler ( Stephen Macht), a local attorney. One of the most significant cast changes occurred early in the fifth season, upon the death of Sidney Clute from cancer on October 2, 1985, at the age of 69. Off-screen, Det. LaGuardia had retired from the 14th Precinct and moved to

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

with a new female companion less than half his age. Clute had completed filming a few episodes of the 1985–86 season prior to his death. In his honor, the producers kept Clute's name in the opening credits for the rest of the series. LaGuardia's immediate replacement in the fifth season was Det. Jonah Newman (

Dan Shor Daniel Shor (born November 16, 1956) is an American actor, director, writer, and acting teacher with a career spanning over 40 years. His most recognized roles include Enoch Emery in John Huston's ''Wise Blood'' (1979), Ram in ''Tron'' (1982), a ...

), a boyish ingenue with an elevated sense of himself. Newman, while popular with the guys, was not above stepping on anyone in order to get the coveted promotion of Detective Second Grade. As a result, Chris and Mary Beth had to force a strained relationship with him at best. Newman developed a crush on Chris but she never knew. Eventually, Newman was partnered with veteran Al Corassa (

Paul Mantee Paul Mantee (born Paul Marianetti; January 9, 1931 – November 7, 2013) was an American film and television actor. Biography Mantee was born Paul Marianetti in San Francisco, California. A journalism major at San Mateo Junior College, Mantee e ...

), who became a regular midway through season five (Mantee had made three guest appearances in late 1985, in which his character's name was Det. Thomas in the first two episodes, and Corassa in the third) and officially took up the role of experience that LaGuardia had vacated. Their partnership met a sad end in May 1986, when Newman was killed from a random gunshot outside of the local district court, just after receiving his promotion to Second Grade. The beginning of the sixth season saw the arrival of Manny Esposito (

Robert Hegyes Robert Bruce Hegyes (pronounced ''Hedyesh''; May 7, 1951 – January 26, 2012) was an American actor best known for his portrayal of high school student Juan Epstein on the 1970s American sitcom ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' and as detective Mann ...

), a young, street-savvy detective who became Corassa's new partner. There was quite a clash between the two, as Esposito's freewheeling lifestyle (represented by his casual dress on the job, the desire to make a quick buck, and three ex-wives) put him in contrast with Corassa, the older, more conservative family man with a heightened sense of professionalism. Supporting characters added to the precinct at this time were rookie Officer Tom Basil (Barry Laws) and Officer Beverley Faverty (Beverley Faverty). The following year, Petrie was promoted to sergeant and then departed the 14th Precinct (Carl Lumbly had decided to leave the series). In his place, singer

Merry Clayton Merry Clayton (born December 25, 1948) is an American soul and gospel singer. She provided a number of backing vocal tracks for major performing artists in the 1960s, most notably in her duet with Mick Jagger on the Rolling Stones song " Gimme S ...

joined the cast as Verna Dee Jordan, the first new female detective at the precinct since the additions of Cagney and Lacey. Jordan had joined law enforcement in middle age to better herself, after having been a single mother raising four children (now grown) on welfare.

played a recurring role as Cagney's alcoholic father, Charlie Cagney, a former NYPD officer who regaled her with stories of the old days; Christine later fought alcoholism as well. In the fourth season, Mary Beth becomes pregnant; she and Harvey welcome in a baby daughter, Alice, in the fall of 1985. Alice Lacey was played by alternating twins Dana & Paige Bardolph from 1985 to 1987, with toddler Michelle Sepe taking over for the seventh season.

Cancellation and return

''Cagney & Lacey'' premiered in March 1982 with high hopes from the industry, in the wake of the TV movie. Reviews of the series, however, with Meg Foster in place of Loretta Swit, were mixed. Critics praised the level of storytelling, but put emphasis on the aggressiveness that both Daly and Foster expressed with their characters. As soon as the six-episode order was finished in late April, CBS canceled the program due to poor ratings. Executive producer Barney Rosenzweig was determined to reverse the network's decision. Sharon Gless had been initially unavailable for the movie and series, which were produced by Orion, because of her long-running contract to

Universal Television Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a predeces ...

(she was the last actress ever to be signed to a long-term contract with a studio, in 1972). Gless was even actively utilizing her Universal contract at the time the series went into production, having taken over as female lead (from

Lynn Redgrave Lynn Rachel Redgrave (8 March 1943 – 2 May 2010) was an English actress. She won two Golden Globe Awards throughout her career. A member of the Redgrave family of actors, Lynn trained in London before making her theatrical debut in 1962. By ...

who left the series in a dispute with producers) on the CBS sitcom ''

House Calls A house call is medical consultation performed by a doctor or other healthcare professionals visiting the home of a patient or client, instead of the patient visiting the doctor's clinic or hospital. In some locations, families used to pay due ...

''. Those rumors were also rampant that ''House Calls'' was getting the axe that spring. Prior to the unveiling of that year's network upfronts, a CBS executive noted to the press that the cancellation of ''Cagney & Lacey'' was highly motivated by the jarringly tough nature of the female leads as well as low ratings. The official claimed in response to the strong portrayal of Daly and Foster that "we've perceived them as dykes". This remark set off massive protest, and put Rosenzweig into high gear in his dealings with CBS. The cancellation of ''House Calls'' was announced among insider circles just before upfronts, and Rosenzweig pressured CBS executives to relaunch ''Cagney & Lacey'' in the fall with Gless replacing Foster. Gless met with ''Cagney & Lacey'' producers again to consider the role, but while always having taken to the character, had doubts about joining for the fall of 1982 because, after ''House Calls'', she "didn't want to make a career of replacing actresses". Ratings were still low during the first year Daly and Gless co-starred on the series. ''Cagney & Lacey'' was canceled by CBS a second time in May 1983, but after almost a year of decreased buzz about the show, an ever-larger public outcry exploded upon the series's axing. Fans of the show, organized by Rosenzweig, staged a letter-writing campaign. At the same time, CBS switched its time slot for what was to have been its final three months on the air during summer reruns. This relocation resulted in the ratings suddenly rising. The viewer protest, coupled with the post-cancellation improvement in the Nielsens and the

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 ...

nomination that year (which

won in September), resulted in success for the public. That fall, CBS announced the return of ''Cagney & Lacey'' as a mid-season entry. The network would have wanted to return it sooner, but not long after the second cancelation came to pass, the sets at Orion had already been destroyed, and the cast had been let out of their contracts. One cast member, Tony La Torre, had already joined another series, the ABC sitcom '' 9 to 5''. When nearly all of the ''Cagney & Lacey'' cast received new contracts in late 1983, La Torre returned as well after ''9 to 5'' was canceled by ABC just weeks into the 1983–84 season. ''Cagney & Lacey'' went back into production in January 1984 and returned to air on March 19 of that year. ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' celebrated the show's return with the cover reading "Welcome Back, ''Cagney & Lacey'' – You want them! You've got them!". The show finished in the top 10 for the 1983–84 season, and went on to earn 36

Emmy Award 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 ...

nominations and 14 wins throughout its run until 1988, including six nominations each for stars Daly and Gless: four wins for Daly and two for Gless. The series itself won two consecutive Emmy Awards for Best Drama Series in 1985 and 1986. The show's ratings leveled out to where it hovered around 30th place in the Nielsens during seasons four to six, a period where many state the show to have been in its creative peak. The series continued to air Monday nights at 10:00p.m. EST/9:00p.m. CST until the middle of the 1987–88 season, holding its own against ABC's ''

Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, AB ...

'' and ''

NBC Monday Night at the Movies ''The NBC Monday Movie'' was a television anthology series of films that debuted on February 4, 1963 (in the middle of the 1962-63 season). It was referred to as ''Monday Night at the Movies'' prior to the mid-1980s. Contrary to popular contemp ...

''. Midway through its seventh season, ''Cagney & Lacey'' was moved to Tuesdays at 10:00p.m. EST/9:00p.m. CST, where it began to compete against ''

Thirtysomething ''Thirtysomething'' is an American drama television series created by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz for United Artists Television (under MGM/UA Television) and aired on ABC from September 29, 1987, to May 28, 1991."The 'don't trust anyo ...

'' (ABC) and '' Crime Story'' (NBC). ''Cagney & Lacey'' lost viewers to the first-year critical success of ''thirtysomething'', which, despite being the time slot winner, only ranked No. 45 overall. CBS' reason for relocating ''Cagney & Lacey'' was because it was believed that its Monday slot would further build an audience for '' Wiseguy'', another new critical hit of the season that had average ratings at best. By the end of the season, ''Cagney & Lacey'' was left at 53rd place, and the 20-point drop from the previous season was enough for CBS to have doubts about renewing the show. With the final episode of the seventh season ending on a cliffhanger, CBS was considering bringing the show back, but when May 1988 upfronts were released, ''Cagney & Lacey''s cancellation was confirmed. For the summer of 1988, the series moved one last time, not back to its familiar Monday time slot, but to Thursdays at 10 pm EST/9 CST. The series garnered considerable popularity internationally. It was originally shown in the UK on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

, where it regularly made the top 10.

Theme music

The first-season main titles are accompanied by the theme song "Ain't That the Way" by Michael Stull, sung by Marie Cain, and shows the two lead characters being promoted to plainclothes detectives and later disguised as prostitutes. This was replaced the following season by an instrumental theme composed by

Bill Conti William Conti (born April 13, 1942) is an American composer and conductor, best known for his film scores, including ''Rocky'' (and four of its sequels), ''The Karate Kid'' (and all of its sequels), '' For Your Eyes Only'', ''Dynasty'' (and its ...

set to a collage of action and comical scenes featuring the characters from the series.

Reception

Nielsen ratings

Awards and nominations

Primetime Emmy Awards

*1983 Nomination for Outstanding Drama Series *1983 Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Tyne Daly) *1983 Nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Sharon Gless) *1984 Nomination for Outstanding Drama Series *1984 Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Tyne Daly) *1984 Nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Sharon Gless) *1985 Award for Outstanding Drama Series *1985 Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Tyne Daly) *1985 Award for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series (

Karen Arthur Karen Arthur (born August 24, 1941) is an American film director, producer, and actress. Arthur has directed three feature films, including '' Lady Beware'' (1987) and '' The Mafu Cage'' (1978), but the majority of her work has been in televisi ...

) *1985 Nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Sharon Gless) *1985 Nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (John Karlen) *1986 Award for Outstanding Drama Series *1986 Nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Tyne Daly) *1986 Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Sharon Gless) *1986 Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (John Karlen) *1986 Award for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series (

Georg Stanford Brown Georg Stanford Brown (born June 24, 1943) is an American actor and director, perhaps best known as one of the stars of the ABC police television series '' The Rookies'' from 1972 to 1976. On the show, Brown played the character of Officer Terry ...

) *1987 Nomination for Outstanding Drama Series *1987 Nomination for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series (

Sharron Miller Sharron Miller is an American television and film director, producer, and screenwriter. She is one of the pioneering women directors who worked regularly in mainstream Hollywood in the 1970s and 1980s (along with Elaine May, Lee Grant, Joan Da ...

) *1987 Nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Tyne Daly) *1987 Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Sharon Gless) *1987 Nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (John Karlen) *1988 Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Tyne Daly) *1988 Nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Sharon Gless)

Golden Globe Awards

*1983 Nomination for Best Actress in a Drama Series (Tyne Daly) *1983 Nomination for Best Drama Series *1984 Nomination for Best Actress in a Drama Series (Tyne Daly) *1984 Nomination for Best Actress in a Drama Series (Sharon Gless) *1984 Nomination for Best Drama Series *1985 Nomination for Best Actress in a Drama Series (Tyne Daly) *1985 Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series (Sharon Gless) *1985 Nomination for Best Drama Series *1986 Nomination for Best Actress in a Drama Series (Tyne Daly) *1986 Nomination for Best Actress in a Drama Series (Sharon Gless) *1986 Nomination for Best Drama Series *1987 Nomination for Best Actress in a Drama Series (Sharon Gless) *1988 Nomination for Best Actress in a Drama Series (Sharon Gless)

Directors Guild Awards

*1987 Nomination for Best Director in a Drama Series (

)

After the series

The series was followed by four television films which reunite the characters Christine Cagney and Mary Beth Lacey. In the storyline, Cagney has been promoted to Lieutenant, and is now working at the District Attorney's office as a special investigator. Lacey, meanwhile, has retired from the police force. However, at Cagney's urging (and partly due to Mary Beth's strained financial circumstances), Mary Beth agrees to work for the D.A.'s office as well, thereby reuniting the old partnership. John Karlen appears in all four movies as Harvey Lacey, as does Molly Orr playing Harvey and Mary Beth's school-age daughter Alice (who was seen as an infant in various series episodes). Making cameos in the first movie only are series regulars Martin Kove as Isbecki, Al Waxman as Lt. Samuels, Carl Lumbly as Marcus Petrie, Vonetta McGee as Claudia Petrie, Robert Hegyes as Esposito, and Paul Mantee as Corassa. Also seen in the first two films are

James Naughton James Naughton (born December 6, 1945) is an American actor and director. He is best known as Michael Bower on '' Who's the Boss?'' (1984-1992) and was also notable for his earlier role as the astronaut Pete Burke in the 1974 single-season telev ...

as Christine's husband James Burton (they soon were divorced), and

David Paymer David Emmanuel Paymer (born August 30, 1954) is an American actor, comedian, and television director. He has been in films such as '' Mr. Saturday Night'', ''Quiz Show'', ''Searching for Bobby Fischer'', '' City Slickers'', ''Crazy People'', '' ...

as Deputy D.A. Feldberg. *''Cagney & Lacey: The Return'' (1994) *''Cagney & Lacey: Together Again'' (1995) *''Cagney & Lacey: The View Through the Glass Ceiling'' (1995) *''Cagney & Lacey: True Convictions'' (1996) Following the conclusion of ''Cagney & Lacey'', Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless have reunited onscreen three times: all three times playing different characters. Daly guest-starred in an episode of Gless's 1990 series ''

The Trials of Rosie O'Neill ''The Trials of Rosie O'Neill'' is an American drama television series which aired on CBS from September 17, 1990 to May 30, 1992. The show stars Sharon Gless as Fiona Rose "Rosie" O'Neill, a lawyer working in the public defender's office for th ...

''; Gless then guest-starred in 2003 on an episode of Daly's TV series ''

Judging Amy ''Judging Amy'' is an American legal drama television series that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly. Its main character (Brenneman) is a judge who serves in a ...

'', while Daly appeared in 2010 in an episode of Gless's series '' Burn Notice''.

In popular culture

In the television show ''

Brooklyn Nine-Nine ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' is an American police procedural comedy television series that aired on Fox, and later on NBC. The show aired from September 17, 2013, to September 16, 2021, for a total of eight seasons and 153 episodes. Created by Dan G ...

'', Lieutenant Terry Jeffords' twin daughters are named Cagney and Lacey.

Home media

On May 8, 2007,

MGM Home Entertainment Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment LLC (d/b/a MGM Home Entertainment and formerly known as MGM Home Video, MGM/CBS Home Video and MGM/UA Home Video) is the home video division of the American media company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. History 1 ...

and

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 ...

released Season 1 of ''Cagney & Lacey'' on DVD in Region 1. The release coincided with the 25th anniversary of the series and it features the first full season of the show (which is actually the second season of the series) when Sharon Gless joined the cast as Cagney. The quartet of TV movies entitled ''The Menopause Years'' was released in 2009 by S'more Entertainment. The deluxe set contains the complete collection of post-series TV movies. In addition, one of the features, ''Cagney & Lacey: The Return'', was released separately on the same day. As of 2012, these releases have been discontinued and are out of print. In November 2012,

Visual Entertainment Visual Entertainment Inc. (VEI) is a home video/television distribution company that is based in Toronto, Ontario. An independent label, it has released several well-known TV series on DVD, some through sub-licensing deals with other labels such ...

released ''Cagney & Lacey – The Complete Series'' on DVD in Region 1. The 32-disc set contains all episodes of the series featuring

and

(seasons 2–7). They also released a separate season 2 release on the same day. A separate collection only available to purchase online, entitled ''Cagney & Lacey – 30th Anniversary Limited Edition'' was released on November 27, 2012. This 38-disc set contains all the content from the ''Complete Series'' set as well as the pilot episode, the complete first season with Meg Foster as Cagney and Tyne Daly as Lacey, all four post-series ''Cagney & Lacey: The Menopause Years'' made-for-TV movies and special bonus features exclusive to this collection, such as an autographed photo from Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly, an audiobook of Barney Rosenzweig's ''"Cagney & Lacey ... and Me" An Inside Hollywood Story OR How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Blonde'', and footage of the British Film Institute's ''Cagney & Lacey'' 30th Anniversary Event from London. The Limited Edition DVD set is available through the official ''Cagney & Lacey'' website.

Downloads

Since October 2009, all 125 episodes of ''Cagney & Lacey'' have been available as a digital download on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

in the UK and North America and were also licensed to

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

for American viewers via the streaming option, which expired in April 2012, and is no longer available. In 2011, the four post-series telefilms were also added to the streaming option after they were licensed to Netflix partner

Starz Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consist ...

. That partnership ended in February 2012, and the telefilms ceased to run on Netflix streaming. *''Cagney & Lacey: The Lost Episodes'' — 6 episodes from Season 1 *''Cagney & Lacey: The True Beginning'' — 22 episodes from Season 2 *''Season 3'' — 7 episodes from Season 3 *''Season 4'' — 22 episodes from Season 4 *''Season 5'' — all 24 episodes from Season 5 *''Season 6'' — all 22 episodes from Season 6 *''Season 7'' — all 22 episodes from Season 7

Aborted reboot

In January 2018, CBS ordered a pilot for a reboot of the series. In March,

Sarah Drew Sarah Drew is an American actress and director. She played Hannah Rogers in The WB family drama series ''Everwood'' (2004–2006) and Dr. April Kepner in the ABC medical drama series ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2009–2018, 2021–2022). Early life D ...

and

Michelle Hurd Michelle Hurd (born December 21, 1966) is an American actress best known for her work in television. She first received recognition for portraying Monique Jeffries in the police procedural series '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (1999–20 ...

were cast as Cagney and Lacey, respectively, with

Bridget Carpenter Bridget Carpenter (born in New York City) is a television writer and playwright. Biography She received an M.F.A. from Brown University in 1995.Rodriguez, Bill"Bridget Carpenter swings into Trinity" providencephoenix.com, May 11–18, 2000 Her ...

writing the pilot and

Rosemary Rodriguez Rosemary Rodriguez is an American film and television director. She directed the 2015 film '' Silver Skies'' starring George Hamilton. ''Acts of Worship'' In 2001 Rodriguez wrote, produced and directed a feature film called ''Acts of Worship ...

directing.

Ving Rhames Irving Rameses Rhames (born May 12, 1959) is an American actor. He is best known for his supporting roles as IMF Agent Luther Stickell in the ''Mission: Impossible'' film series and gang kingpin Marsellus Wallace in ''Pulp Fiction''. He also ap ...

was cast in the role of police Captain Stark. CBS passed on the pilot on May 11.

References

External links

''Cagney & Lacey'' Official Website''Cagney & Lacey'' Official Episode Guide
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Entry at Encyclopedia of TelevisionSharon Gless Official Website
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Cagney & Lacey Shrine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cagney and Lacey 1982 American television series debuts 1988 American television series endings 1980s American crime drama television series 1980s American mystery television series 1980s American police procedural television series 1980s American workplace drama television series American detective television series American television series revived after cancellation CBS original programming English-language television shows Fictional portrayals of the New York City Police Department Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series winners Television duos Television series by MGM Television Television shows set in Manhattan Television series by Filmways