Ally McBeal is an American
legalA legal drama is a work of dramatic fiction about crime and civil litigation. Subtypes of legal dramas include courtroom dramas and legal thrillers, and come in all forms, including novels, television shows, and films. Legal drama sometimes overlap with crime drama, most notably in the case of Law...
comedy-dramaComedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
series which aired on the
FoxFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
network from 1997 to 2002. The series was created by
David E. KelleyDavid Edward Kelley is an American television writer and producer, known as the creator of Picket Fences, Chicago Hope, The Practice, Ally McBeal, Boston Public, Boston Legal and Harry's Law, as well as several films. Kelley is one of the only screenwriters to have had a show created by him run on...
, who also served as the executive producer, along with
Bill D'EliaBill D'Elia is an American television screenwriter, producer, and director. He was an executive producer of Boston Legal and Ally McBeal, and is the co-creator and a principal screenwriter for Judging Amy....
. The series stars
Calista FlockhartCalista Kay Flockhart is an American actress who is primarily recognized for her work in television. She is best known for playing the title character in the Fox comedy-drama series Ally McBeal for which she won a Golden Globe Award...
in the
title roleAllison Marie "Ally" McBeal is the central fictional character in the Fox series Ally McBeal played by Calista Flockhart.Ally is a Boston-based lawyer. She is shown as a woman who believes in love and is continually looking for her soul mate...
as a young lawyer working in the fictional
BostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
law firm Cage and Fish, with other young lawyers whose lives and loves were eccentric, humorous and dramatic.
The show focused on the romantic and personal lives of the main characters, often using legal proceedings as
plot deviceA plot device is an object or character in a story whose sole purpose is to advance the plot of the story, or alternatively to overcome some difficulty in the plot....
s to contrast or reinforce a character's drama.