The fourth 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 October 12, 2000, concluded on May 21, 2001, and consisted of 23 episodes. The entire season originally aired Mondays at 9pm, just like the seasons before. It was released on DVD as a six disc boxed set under the title of ''Ally McBeal: Season Four'' on February 10, 2002, and this was the very first season of ''Ally McBeal'' to be released on DVD. The fourth 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 12.0 million viewers in the United States and was ranked #40 on the complete ranking sheet of all the year's shows. This was the third highest rated season of ''Ally McBeal''. On the

53rd Primetime Emmy Awards The 53rd Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, November 4, 2001, seven weeks later than originally scheduled. The ceremony was rescheduled twice from its original date of September 16 at the Shrine Auditorium because of the September 11, 20 ...

, the show won its final two Emmys in the categories of '' Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series'' for the work of Nikki Valko and Ken Miller, and in the category of '' Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series'', for Peter MacNicol's portrayal of John Cage. On the

58th Golden Globe Awards The 58th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 2000, were held on January 21, 2001. The nominations were announced on December 21, 2000. Winners and nominees Film The following films received multip ...

, Robert Downey, Jr. won an award for his portrayal of Larry Paul and got a standing ovation as he approached the stage.

Crew

The season was produced by ''

20th Television 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Comp ...

'' and ''David E. Kelley Productions''. The executive producers were Bill D'Elia 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 all 23 episodes just like the seasons before. Staff writers Alicia Martin, Barb Mackintosh,

Melissa Rosenberg Melissa Anne Rosenberg is an American television writer, television producer, and screenwriter. She has worked in both film and television and has won a Peabody Award. She has also been nominated for two Emmy Awards, and two Writers Guild of A ...

, Kerry Lenhart and John J. Sakmar each co-wrote one episode with Kelley. Alice West served as the co-executive producer.

Cast

The fourth season had nine 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,

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 w ...

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 sta ...

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 ...

all returned to the main cast. Robert Downey, Jr. was added as a new character named Larry Paul and served as Ally's love interest during the season, but due to the actor's problem with

drug addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use oft ...

, he was written out. The show's season finale was titled ''The Wedding'' and was originally going to include Ally's and Larry's wedding. The fifth season had already been planned out, revolving around the characters' married life, and had to be rewritten. Former castmember

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 ...

returned to guest star on episode ''Girls' Night Out'', where she reunited with

Marcia Cross Marcia Anne Cross (born March 25, 1962) is an American actress. She acted in daytime soap operas such as ''The Edge of Night'', '' Another World'', and ''One Life to Live'' before moving to primetime television with a recurring role on ''Knots ...

, with whom she worked together on '' Melrose Place''.

James LeGros James Le Gros () (born April 27, 1962) is an American actor. He was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in '' Living in Oblivion''. Career James Le Gros appeared as Rick in Gus Van Sant's 1989 ...

was upgraded to contract status after recurring the previous season, but his character was slowly phased out during the season and written out by the end of it.

, an original cast member, announced in June 2001 that she would not return for the next season either. 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,

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,

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, 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.

Taye Diggs Scott Leo "Taye" Diggs (born January 2, 1971) is an American stage and film actor. He is known for his roles in the Broadway musicals '' Rent'' and '' Hedwig and the Angry Inch'', the TV series '' Private Practice'' (2007-2013), ''Murder in th ...

appeared as recurring character Jackson Duper and was intended to return as a regular in the following season, but he wasn't picked up. Anne Heche signed on to play John's love interest Melanie;

Lisa Edelstein Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...

appeared as Mark's love interest Cindy;

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 ...

appeared as a troubled teenager, Malcolm Wyatt;

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 vers ...

appeared as Steven Miler, Ally's therapist. This season also featured special guest stars

Chubby Checker Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans; October 3, 1941) is an American rock and roll singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including The Twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnight ...

, Sting and Anastacia.

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 2000 American television seasons 2001 American television seasons Ally McBeal