Official poster for Ally McBeal

Scripted series · FOX

Ally McBeal

A series that dares to reveal what's most exciting about a woman's body... her mind.

6.5IMDb368 votesWorth your time
Community0/20 ratingsYour ratingRateSign in to rate
1997 – 20025 seasons · 112 episodes~43 min per episodeEnded
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The Nutevio profile

TV DNA

How Ally McBeal actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.

Signature profile

Ally McBeal reads strongest on Character Depth, Humour and Serialized.

Character DepthVery strong7.4

How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.

HumourStrong6.5

How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.

SerializedStrong5.5

How much each hour depends on the one before it.

Emotional WeightPresent5.3

How much the series is designed to affect you.

BingeabilityPresent4.8

How hard it is to stop after one episode.

Cliffhanger IntensityPresent4.0

How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.

TensionPresent4.0

The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.

SpectacleLight3.5

Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.

World BuildingLight3.5

The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.

The story

What it's about

Ally McBeal is a young lawyer working at the Boston law firm Cage and Fish. Ally's lives and loves are eccentric, humorous, dramatic with an incredibly overactive imagination that's working overtime!

The run

Seasons

5 seasons · 112 episodes.

  • Official poster for Specials

    Season 0 · Complete

    Specials

    19991 episode

  • Official poster for Season 1

    Season 1 · Complete

    Season 1

    199723 episodes

    7.1IMDb

    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."

    Best episode · S01E09 The Dirty Joke

  • Official poster for Season 2

    Season 2 · Complete

    Season 2

    199823 episodes

    7.0IMDb

    The second season of the television series Ally McBeal commenced airing in the United States 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.

    Best episode · S02E13 Angels & Blimps

  • Official poster for Season 3

    Season 3 · Complete

    Season 3

    199921 episodes

    6.8IMDb

    The third season of the television series Ally McBeal commenced airing in the United States on October 25, 1999, concluded on May 22, 2000, and consisted of 21 episodes. The entire season originally aired Mondays at 9pm, just like the seasons before. A month before the premiere of the season, Fox began airing Ally, a half-hour show that consisted of re-edited scenes from the first two seasons and previously unseen footage, with the intention of making it a sitcom. 13 episodes of the show were shot, but only 10 were broadcast.

    Best episode · S03E16 Boy Next Door

  • Official poster for Season 4

    Season 4 · Complete

    Season 4

    200023 episodes

    6.7IMDb

    The fourth season of the television series Ally McBeal commenced airing in the United States 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. The fourth season had an average rating 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.

    Best episode · S04E16 The Getaway

  • Official poster for Season 5

    Season 5 · Complete

    Season 5

    200122 episodes

    6.6IMDb

    The fifth and final season of the television series Ally McBeal commenced airing in the United States 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. The fifth season had an average rating 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 or Golden Globe awards.

    Best episode · S05E12 The New Day

Where the series peaks

Best Episodes

The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.

Still from The Attitude

S01E07

The Attitude

7.8IMDb5 votes

Ally represents a Jewish woman who needs her Rabbi to grant her a spiritual release from her marriage to her comatose husband. Ally goes personally to the Rabbi's office to find out why he is being so rigid. Meanwhile, Georgia is the target of a senior partner's wife's insecurities.

3 Nov 199743 min
Still from Boy to the World

S01E10

Boy to the World

7.7IMDb6 votes

Judge Whipper Cone asks Ally to take on a pro-bono case of a young prostitute up on her third solicitation charge. Fish, meanwhile, wants to sue his uncle's church for discrimination, due to his uncle's overt bigotry towards vertically challenged people (short people). The church's contention is that they cannot support bigotry of any kind and allowing the uncle a service and proper burial is tantamount to endorsing the appalling views. Fish promises he will not propagate the attitudes in his eulogy. Renee talks Ally into double dating with the salad-dressing-on-the-chin guy if the Biscuit is invited.

1 Dec 199743 min
Still from The Promise

S01E06

The Promise

7.6IMDb5 votes

Ally has to defend a friend of Whipper brought up on solicitation charges. She is serving as second chair to Cage, whose idiosyncrasies become increasingly apparent and mystifying to Ally as well as the other attorneys. At the same time, on a different case, a severely rotund attorney passes out from a near heart attack just outside the courtroom and Ally has to give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

27 Oct 199743 min
Still from Silver Bells

S01E11

Silver Bells

7.6IMDb5 votes

Three intelligent, successful and motivated adults approach Judge Whipper Cone about the possibility of getting legal representation in their quest to have the courts approve a legal, binding, three-way marriage. Fish assigns Ally and Cage to the case, knowing Ally's incurable romanticism and Cage's legal acumen is a potent combination with Whipper assigned to the case. Ally is opposed, claiming the three-way relationship is morally repugnant, but Georgia, feeling punkish around the holidays, points out that the clients' triangle isn't very different from the one in which Ally, Georgia, and Billy find themselves. Georgia accuses Billy of being more relaxed and open in their marriage ever since Ally re-entered the picture. Whipper, herself experiencing an annual bout of Holiday Blues, causes Fish to propose marriage, even though both know he really doesn't want to.

15 Dec 199743 min
Still from Making Spirits Bright

S02E10

Making Spirits Bright

7.6IMDb5 votes

Richard throws his annual Christmas bash as Ally and Billy get drawn into a high stakes case involving a wealthy bond trader claiming wrongful termination. Renee and Matt consummate their affair but with painful consequences. Ling tries out Christmas cheer but it doesn't work. John tries to use the mistletoe to his advantage in trying to make a move on Nelle.

14 Dec 199843 min
Still from The Affair

S01E04

The Affair

7.5IMDb6 votes

Ally is asked to be a pallbearer at the funeral of her ex-law professor. The widow, Katherine Dawson, invites her to give the eulogy, but Ally's initial reluctance betrays the reason. In a moment of complete vulnerability, she confesses to Billy who supports her by agreeing to attend the funeral with her. This unnerves Georgia, and Cheanie, who are both feeling threatened when they realize Billy is helping Ally out during a difficult time in her life. Georgia confronts Billy, and Cheanie confronts Ally, who refuses to tell him why she's been upset lately. He doesn't understand why she chooses to confide in Billy over him.

29 Sept 199743 min

Recently aired

Latest Episodes

Still from Another One Bites the Dust

S05E19

Another One Bites the Dust

6.5IMDb2 votes
29 Apr 200243 min
Still from Love Is All Around (1)

S05E16

Love Is All Around (1)

7.0IMDb2 votes
15 Apr 200243 min

The craft

Key Crew

Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.

Executive production

Direction

Cinematography

Music

Where to watch

Streaming

Availability verified against regional listings.

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