The second 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 territori ...

on September 14, 1998, concluded on May 24, 1999, and consisted of 23 episodes. On March 22, 1999, Fox aired a special titled ''Life and Trials of Ally McBeal'' in which Bill Maher interviewed the cast after nearly finishing two seasons of the show. The special was produced by a different company. The entire season originally aired Mondays at 9pm, just like the season before. It was released on DVD as a six disc boxed set under the title of ''Ally McBeal: Season Two'' on October 7, 2002. and the U.S. on April 6, 2010. The second season had an average rating of 13.8 million viewers in the United States and was ranked #20 on the complete ranking sheet of all the year's shows. This was the highest rated season of ''Ally McBeal''. On the

51st Primetime Emmy Awards The 51st Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 12, 1999. The ceremony show was hosted by Jenna Elfman and David Hyde Pierce. It was broadcast on Fox. The comedy-drama '' Ally McBeal'' won Outstanding Comedy Series, which not onl ...

, the show won three Emmy Awards in the categories of ''Outstanding Comedy Series'', ''Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or a Special'' for the episode ''Love's Illusions'', and the ''Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series'' for

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'' ( ...

's portrayal of Dr. Tracy on the episode ''Sideshow''. On the

56th Golden Globe Awards The 56th ceremony of the Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 1998, were held on January 24, 1999, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. The nominations were announced on December 17, 1998. Winners ...

, the show won in the category of Best Series second year in a row.

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 just like the season before, with the exception of co-writing the episode ''Just Looking'' with Shelly Landau. Jonathan Pontell and Jeffrey Kramer served as the co-executive producers.

Cast

The second season had ten major roles receive star billing.

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 199 ...

as Ally McBeal,

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" ...

as Richard Fish, Peter MacNicol as John Cage,

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,

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) ...

as Renée Raddick,

Gil Bellows Gil Bellows (born June 28, 1967) is a 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 television series '' Ally McBeal'' (1997� ...

as Billy Thomas and

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 ...

as Georgia Thomas, all returned to the main cast. Former recurring star

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 ...

was upgraded to series regular after appearing in nearly every episode of the previous season.

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 sta ...

and

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 w ...

premiered as new characters,

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'' * Lin ...

and Nelle Porter, in the season premiere and appeared on recurring status until episode ''Making Spirits Bright'', when they were also upgraded to series regulars. Lucy Liu originally auditioned for the role of Nelle, but

ended up creating a whole new character for her. Various supporting characters from season one returned to reprise their recurring roles, including

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 Holly ...

as Judge Whipper Cone;

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;

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 ...

as Lisa Knowles;

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 Judge Happy Boyle; Jesse L. Martin as 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'', '' ER'', '' Ally McBeal'', '' Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero'', '' Melrose ...

as Reverend Mark Newman;

as Dr. Tracy Clark; 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. The season also included two celebrities:

Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...

appearing as a substitute therapist for Ally 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 ...

appearing as himself.

Episodes

References

External links

''Ally McBeal'' Episode List
at '' IMDb.com'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Ally Mcbeal 1998 American television seasons 1999 American television seasons Ally McBeal