‘Ally McBeal’ Revival In The Works With Calista Flockhart Being Eyed To Return
Of all the shows clamoring for a reboot,Ally McBealmight not be the first one to come to mind. But ready your dancing (baby) shoes, because anAlly McBealrevival is what you’re going to get.
TV Linereports that anAlly McBeallimited series revival is in the early stages of development, with leading ladyCalista Flockhartbeing eyed to reprise the title role of the lawyer with the infamously short miniskirts. No word on whether thedancing babywill return as well.
Original series creatorDavid E. Kelly, who has been keeping busy on TV in the years sinceAlly McBealwent off the air in 2002 with award-winning dramas likeBig Little Lies, is set to be involved as executive producer. However a “female auteur would likely take the showrunner reins,” TV Line notes.
Kelly himself has said over the years that he is inclined toward the idea of a female showrunner taking overAlly McBeal. “I’d be open to the idea ofAlly McBealbeing done again, but I don’t think it should be done by me. If it were going to be done, it really should be done by a woman,” he toldThe Hollywood Reporterback in 2018. “If it’s going to be new, it should be new and different. And I did it: 100 hours.”
Ally McBealpremiered on Fox in 1997, becoming an instant pop culture sensation — both for its quirky spin on the legal drama and for pushing sexual boundaries (the latter of which got the series accused ofkilling feminism). But now it’s a series that was considered ahead of its time, though at its time it was recognized well enough, winning an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy series and turning Flockhart into a household name.
Over its five seasons,Ally McBeal’s ensemble featured a great many talents, including Courtney Thorne-Smith, Greg Germann, Lisa Nicole Carson, Jane Krakowski, Peter MacNicol and Gil Bellows, with Portia de Rossi and Lucy Liu joining the cast in Season 2. It also was notably the start of Robert Downey Jr.’s career comeback (or maybe the end of his first comeback?) before he would transition from washed-up Hollywood star to Iron Man. Perhaps theAvengers: Endgamestar could even afford to stop in for a cameo.
As of now, theAlly McBealrevival does not have a network or streamer attached, though TV Line notes that Hulu is the logical destination, as the originalAlly McBealwas made under 20th Television, now under Disney’s corporate umbrella. All five seasons ofAlly McBealare also now streaming on Hulu.
