It is official that ABC is working on a follow-up to the successful courtroom drama Ally McBeal, created by David E. Kelley. During its five-year run on Fox from 1997 to 2002, the programme won many Emmys and concluded with an episode that aired 20 years ago. Karin Gist is penning and exec producing the spinoff series, which will focus on a fresh protagonist. It’s been said that Gist is also running the show. According to reports, the new programme would centre on a talented young black woman who, upon graduating from law school, is hired by the same legal office where Ally McBeal had worked.
It has been said that Ally’s roommate Renée Raddick’s daughter would play a major role in the sequel series. Lisa Nicole Carson, who portrayed Renée in the first season of Ally McBeal, essentially retired from acting once the show finished. Calista Flockhart’s name has been bandied about as a possible executive producer and returned to the series as Ally McBeal. It has been reported that Flockhart would wait until the screenplay for the sequel series is complete before deciding whether or not to participate. Kelley, who has since developed the successful series Big Little Lies and Big Sky after Ally McBeal was cancelled, will not be participating in the new programme in any way, although he has supposedly given his approval.
In addition to his work on Girlfriends, House of Lies, Revenge, and Mixed-ish, Gist has produced a wide variety of other hit television series. Presently, Gist is working as the biography Mike’s showrunner. The Ally McBeal prequel will be produced by 20th Television, a division of Disney TV Studios. Starring as a young lawyer navigating the challenges of adulthood, Flockhart took on the role of Ally McBeal in the first series. To a large extent, Ally’s coworkers at Cage and Fish, the Boston legal firm where she works, were featured in the show. The show included a cast that included Robert Downey Jr., Lucy Liu, and Jon Bon Jovi, among many other famous people.
Careers of Jane Krakowski, Regina Hall, Julianne Nicholson, James Marsden, and Hayden Panettiere were also launched because of the series. Ally McBeal was honoured with two Golden Globes in 1998 and 1999 for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy, as well as an Emmy in 1999 for Outstanding Comedy Series. The original dancing baby meme may also be traced back to the original Ally McBeal sitcom. The production of an Ally McBeal spinoff is just getting started.