The first season of the television series '' Ally McBeal'' began airing in the United States on September 8, 1997, concluded on May 18, 1998, and consisted of 23 episodes. It tells the story of Ally McBeal, a young lawyer who found herself without a job after being sexually harassed by her boss, only to end up employed by her friend from college, Richard Fish, to work in the firm he created with his friend John Cage, named "Cage & Fish". The entire season aired Mondays at 9 pm. It was released on DVD as a six disc boxed set under the title of ''Ally McBeal: Season One'' on October 7, 2002. Due to

music rights Music licensing is the licensed use of copyrighted music. Music licensing is intended to ensure that the owners of copyrights on musical works are compensated for certain uses of their work. A purchaser has limited rights to use the work without ...

issues, several episodes of the first season of ''Ally McBeal'' were only available in the United States. The first 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 11.4 million viewers in the United States and was ranked #59 on the complete ranking sheet of all the year's shows. A month after the conclusion of the first season, a debate sparked by the show was the cover story of ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' magazine, which juxtaposed McBeal with three pioneering feminists and asked "Is Feminism Dead?". On the

50th Primetime Emmy Awards The 50th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 13, 1998. It was broadcast on NBC. When ''Frasier'' was announced as the winner of Outstanding Comedy Series, Emmy history was made. The NBC sitcom became the first show to win one o ...

, the show won its first

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 ...

in the category of Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or a Special for the episode "Boy to the World", and was nominated in nine other categories. On the

55th Golden Globe Awards The 55th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 1997, were held on January 18, 1998. The nominations were announced on December 18, 1997. Winners and nominees Film The following films received multi ...

, the show won in two categories, one for the Best Series, and one for the Best Actress, for

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 ...

's portrayal of Ally.

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 sole executive producer was 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 all 23 episodes, with the exception of co-writing with

Nicole Yorkin Nicole Yorkin is an American television writer and producer. In 1997, she shared an Emmy Award nomination with several producers of ''Chicago Hope'' in the category "Outstanding Drama Series". In 2003, she and her partner Dawn Prestwich won a Write ...

and

Dawn Prestwich Dawn Prestwich is an American television writer and producer. She attended The Hockaday School in Dallas, Texas and Stanford University. In 1997, she shared an Emmy nomination with several producers of '' Chicago Hope'' in the category "Outstandi ...

on the episode "Body Language" and with

Jeff Pinkner Jeff Pinkner (born November 16, 1964) is an American television and movie writer and producer. Life and career Born to a Jewish family,Jonathan Pontell Jonathan Pontell is a television director, producer and editor. A native of New York City, Pontell attended the School of Visual Arts, studying film and television. After graduation, he worked as a film editor on features such as ''The Exorcist' ...

served as the supervising producer, while

Jeffrey Kramer Jeffrey Kramer (born July 15, 1945) is an American film and television actor and producer. Life and career Kramer was born in New York City and grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey, graduating from Teaneck High School with the Class of 1963, before ...

served as the co-executive producer.

Cast

The first season had seven major roles receive star billing.

portrayed protagonist Ally McBeal, a lawyer employed by her friend Richard Fish, who was played by

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" ...

. Fish opened a firm with John Cage, played by

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'' ( ...

, who was billed as a guest star during the first eleven episodes and promoted to series regular status in episode number 12.

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 ...

played Ally's secretary Elaine Vassal, while the role of Ally's friend Renée Raddick was played by

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), ...

. Ally's love from childhood, Billy Thomas, was played by

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 ...

, while

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 ...

played his wife Georgia, who works with her husband at the same law firm. Various supporting characters included

Dyan Cannon Dyan Cannon (born Samille Diane Friesen; January 4, 1937) is an American actress, director, screenwriter, producer, and editor. Her accolades include a Saturn Award, a Golden Globe Award, three Academy Award nominations, and a star on the Ho ...

as Whipper Cone, a judge who had a relationship with Richard Fish for a while;

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 Seymore Walsh, a stern judge with little sense of humor and a general dislike of the Cage and Fish law firm;

Jennifer Holliday Jennifer Yvette Holliday (born October 19, 1960) is an American actress and singer. She started her career on Broadway in musicals such as ''Dreamgirls'' (1981–83), ''Your Arms Too Short to Box with God'' (1980–1981) and later became a su ...

as Lisa Knowles, the lead choir singer at the local church who had a history with the reverend;

Phil Leeds Phil Leeds (April 6, 1916 – August 16, 1998) was an American character actor. He is best known for appearing in many movies and television series, including guest appearances in ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'', '' Maude'', ''Friends'', ''Barney ...

as Happy Boyle, a very old judge who was obsessed with

dental hygiene Oral hygiene is the practice of keeping one's mouth clean and free of disease and other problems (e.g. bad breath) by regular brushing of the teeth (dental hygiene) and cleaning between the teeth. It is important that oral hygiene be carried out ...

;

Jesse L. Martin Jesse Lamont Martin ('' né'' Watkins; January 18, 1969) is an American actor and singer. He originated the role of Tom Collins on Broadway in the musical ''Rent'' and performed on television as NYPD Detective Ed Green on '' Law & Order'' and ...

as Ally's date, Dr. Greg Butters;

Harrison Page Harrison Page (born August 27, 1941) is an American television and film actor who has appeared in many popular series, including ''Sledge Hammer!'', ''Cold Case'', ''JAG (TV series), JAG'', ''ER (TV series), ER'', ''Ally McBeal'', ''Ultraman: The ...

as the reverend at the local church, who had a history with lead choir singer Lisa Knowles;

Tracey Ullman Tracey Ullman (born Trace Ullman, 30 December 1959) is a British-American actress, comedian, singer, writer, producer, and director. Her earliest mainstream appearances were on British television sketch comedy shows ''A Kick Up the Eighties'' (wi ...

as Ally's unconventional therapist; and

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 a musical performer at the bar where the lawyers used to hang out every night after finishing their daily jobs. Shepard performed in every episode of the entire season, and was upped to series regular status in the upcoming season.

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 ...

appeared at the bar as the Ikettes, the backup singers for Vonda and other performers. The first season also included a crossover episode from another

show, ''

The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy in 1 ...

''. The second part of the crossover was the episode titled "Axe Murderer" which began on the Ally McBeal episode titled "The Inmates", which aired April 27, 1998, and has several characters from ''The Practice''.

and

, in return, guest starred on ''The Practice'' episode "Axe Murderer".

Episodes

References

External links

''Ally McBeal'' Episode List
at

IMDb 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, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ally Mcbeal 1997 American television seasons 1998 American television seasons Ally McBeal