The lawyer-dramedy “Ally McBeal” enjoys cult status, especially in the USA, but also in Germany. Now all five seasons can be streamed on Disney Plus. A special highlight: the appearance of Robert Downey Jr.
David E. Kelley is probably one of the most distinguished authors in the world of series. Even today, thanks to celebrated productions such as “Big Little Lies” or “Goliath”, it is impossible to imagine the world without him. But he was also already in great demand at the end of the 90s thanks to previous cult shows like “Doogie Howser, M.D.”, “Picket Fences – Crime Scene Garden Fence” and “Chicago Hope”. However, he undoubtedly celebrated one of his greatest successes with the lawyer series “Ally McBeal”, produced from 1997 to 2002.
The story about the turbulent love and professional life of the neurotic-chaotic young lawyer Ally McBeal (Calista Flockhart), who – much like J.D. later in “Scrubs” – repeatedly loses herself in crazy daydreams, became an instant hit. The mix of comedy, drama and heartbreak worked thanks to the wonderfully quirky ensemble of characters (played, among others, by “Ghostbusters 2” villain Peter MacNicol and “Kill Bill” sword-wielder Lucy Liu) and the spot-on dialogue – at least for long stretches. And now you can easily convince yourself of that:
All five seasons of “Ally McBeal” with a total of 112 episodes can be accessed on Disney+ from today, 23 November 2022. After the two great opening seasons, Season 4 in particular stands out once again in a positive way – and for one reason in particular…
ROBERT DOWNEY JR. SAVES “ALLY MCBEAL” …
After the first two seasons of “Ally McBeal” were well-received and showered with awards, Season 3 wasn’t quite as well-received due to some strange character developments. With the fourth season, however, the series returned to its old strength – to which not least new cast member Robert Downey Jr. contributed, who enriched the series with his usual charm almost ten years before his mega-comeback in “Iron Man” (especially worth seeing and hearing: his “Every Breath You Take” duet together with Sting himself).
In almost every episode of the fourth season, the later Tony Stark starred as lawyer Larry Paul, Ally’s new love interest, and made pretty much every scene he appeared in a highlight – not to mention his great chemistry with co-star Calista Flockhart. The role ultimately also earned him a Golden Globe. And the whole thing could have been even more beautiful – if Downey Jr.’s private problems hadn’t interfered…
.. AND DESTROYS THE FINALE
In the 90s and even at the beginning of the new millennium, Robert Downey Jr. famously suffered from massive drug problems and was arrested several times for illegal drug possession, including during the production of “Ally McBeal”. This eventually became too much for the show’s creators, who ultimately fired Downey Jr. because of his drug escapades and despite his enormous popularity – which necessitated massive changes to the planned “Ally” schedule.
