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Cagney & Lacey facts for kids
| Cagney & Lacey | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre |
|
| Created by | Barbara Avedon Barbara Corday |
| Starring | Tyne Daly Loretta Swit (Pilot) Meg Foster (Season 1) Sharon Gless (Seasons 2–7) Al Waxman John Karlen Carl Lumbly Martin Kove Sidney Clute (Seasons 1–5) Robert Hegyes Harvey Atkin Tony La Torre Troy Slaten |
| Theme music composer | Bill Conti |
| Composer(s) | Dana Kaproff |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 7 |
| No. of episodes | 125 (+ 4 TV movies) (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Barney Rosenzweig |
| Producer(s) | Steve Brown Terry Louise Fisher Georgia Jeffries Peter Lefcourt Richard M. Rosenbloom Harry R. Sherman Ralph S. Singleton April Smith Joseph Stern |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 45–48 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Mace Neufeld Productions Filmways Television (1982; season 1) Orion Television (1982–1988; seasons 2–7) |
| Distributor | MGM Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | March 25, 1982 – May 16, 1988 |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | Cagney & Lacey: The Return (1994) |
Cagney & Lacey was a popular American TV show. It was a police drama series. The show aired on the CBS network for seven seasons. It ran from March 25, 1982, to May 16, 1988.
The series is about two New York City police detectives. Their names are Christine Cagney and Mary Beth Lacey. They lead very different lives. Christine Cagney (Sharon Gless) is a single woman focused on her career. Mary Beth Lacey (Tyne Daly) is a married working mother. The show takes place in a made-up version of Manhattan's 14th Precinct. This area was known as "Midtown South."
The first TV movie had Loretta Swit as Cagney. The first six episodes of the series featured Meg Foster in the role. When the show returned for a full season, Sharon Gless took over as Cagney. She played the role for six years. During this time, both lead actresses won many awards. They each won the Emmy for Best Lead Actress in a Drama. Tyne Daly won four times, and Sharon Gless won twice. This was a rare achievement for a TV show.
Contents
Meet the Detectives: Cagney and Lacey
Who Played Christine Cagney?
The role of Christine Cagney was played by different actresses. In the first TV movie (October 1981), Loretta Swit played Christine. But she could not continue the role for the series. This was because her contract with the show M*A*S*H would not let her go.
When Cagney & Lacey became a series in 1982, Meg Foster played Christine. She was in the first six episodes. Later, Sharon Gless took over the role. This happened when the show was picked up for a full season. The network wanted the character of Cagney to be portrayed differently.
Christine Cagney's Background
When Sharon Gless joined, the show's creators developed Christine's story more. They explained that her mother, Maureen, was a professional woman. Her father, Charles Cagney (Dick O'Neill), was a police officer from a working-class background. Her parents separated when Christine and her brother Brian (David Ackroyd) were young.
Christine grew up partly in a wealthier area called Westchester. She liked this lifestyle. But she also missed her father's simpler life. Because of this, she and her father had a special connection. Christine was often quieter than her outgoing partner, Mary Beth Lacey. But she could still connect with people from all walks of life.
How Fans Saved the Show
Early Challenges and Cancellation
Cagney & Lacey first aired in March 1982. Many people in the TV industry had high hopes for it. But reviews for the series were mixed. Critics liked the stories. However, some felt that both Tyne Daly and Meg Foster played their characters too aggressively. After only six episodes, CBS canceled the show. The ratings were not good enough.
The show's executive producer, Barney Rosenzweig, wanted to bring it back. Sharon Gless, who later played Cagney, was not available at first. She had a long contract with another studio. She was also working on another CBS show called House Calls.
Why the Show Was Canceled (and Brought Back!)
Before new shows were announced, a CBS executive said Cagney & Lacey was canceled partly because the female leads seemed too tough. This comment caused a lot of protest. Barney Rosenzweig pushed CBS to bring the show back. He suggested that Sharon Gless replace Meg Foster. Gless agreed to join the show for the fall of 1982.
Even with Sharon Gless, the ratings were still low in the first year. CBS canceled Cagney & Lacey a second time in May 1983. But this time, there was a huge public outcry! Fans of the show, organized by Rosenzweig, started a letter-writing campaign.
At the same time, CBS moved the show to a new time slot for summer reruns. Suddenly, the ratings started to go up! The fan protests, better ratings, and an Emmy Award nomination for Tyne Daly (which she won!) convinced CBS. That fall, CBS announced that Cagney & Lacey would return.
The Show's Big Comeback
The show returned to air on March 19, 1984. TV Guide magazine celebrated its return. The cover read: "Welcome Back, Cagney & Lacey – You want them! You've got them!".
The show became very successful. It finished in the top 10 for the 1983–84 season. It received 36 Emmy Award nominations and won 14 of them. This included six nominations for Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless. Daly won four times, and Gless won twice. The series itself won two Emmy Awards for Best Drama Series in 1985 and 1986.
The show's ratings stayed strong for several seasons. It often ranked around 30th place. Many people believe this was the show's best period.
The Final Season
Cagney & Lacey continued to air on Monday nights. It competed against popular shows like Monday Night Football. Midway through its seventh season, the show moved to Tuesday nights. It then competed with Thirtysomething. Cagney & Lacey lost viewers to Thirtysomething.
CBS moved the show because they wanted to help another new show, Wiseguy, get more viewers. By the end of its seventh season, Cagney & Lacey was in 53rd place. The ratings had dropped a lot. CBS decided not to renew the show. The series ended on a cliffhanger.
Cagney & Lacey was also very popular in other countries. In the UK, it was shown on BBC1 and often made the top 10.
Theme Music
The first season of Cagney & Lacey had a theme song called "Ain't That the Way." It was sung by Marie Cain. This song played while the opening credits showed the two detectives getting promoted.
In the next season, the theme music changed. It became an instrumental song composed by Bill Conti. This new theme played over a mix of action and funny scenes from the show.
After the Series Ended
After the TV series finished, there were four TV movies. These movies brought Christine Cagney and Mary Beth Lacey back together. In the movies, Cagney had become a Lieutenant. She worked as a special investigator for the District Attorney's office. Lacey had retired from the police force. But Cagney convinced her to work for the D.A.'s office too. This reunited their old partnership.
Many original cast members appeared in the movies. John Karlen played Harvey Lacey, Mary Beth's husband. Molly Orr played their daughter, Alice. Other series regulars like Martin Kove (Isbecki) and Al Waxman (Lt. Samuels) made appearances in the first movie.
The four TV movies were:
- Cagney & Lacey: The Return (1994)
- Cagney & Lacey: Together Again (1995)
- Cagney & Lacey: The View Through the Glass Ceiling (1995)
- Cagney & Lacey: True Convictions (1996)
Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless also worked together again after Cagney & Lacey. They appeared in each other's TV shows three times, playing different characters.
Home Media and Downloads
DVD Releases
The first season of Cagney & Lacey was released on DVD on May 8, 2007. This release celebrated the show's 25th anniversary. It included the first full season with Sharon Gless as Cagney.
In 2009, the four TV movies were released together as "The Menopause Years" set. In November 2012, a complete series DVD set was released. This 32-disc set included all episodes from seasons 2–7.
A special "30th Anniversary Limited Edition" set was also released. This large 38-disc set had everything. It included all seven seasons, the original pilot movie, and all four TV movies. It also had special bonus features.
| DVD Name | Episodes | Release Date | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Complete First Season | 22 | May 8, 2007 | "Breaking The Laws of TV" featurette |
| The Menopause Years | 4 | September 29, 2009 | Includes all four post-series tele-films |
| The Complete Second Season | 22 | November 13, 2012 | |
| 30th Anniversary – The Complete Series | 119 | November 13, 2012 | Includes all Cagney & Lacey season 2–7 episodes |
| 30th Anniversary – The Complete Series Limited Edition with bonus features | 125 | November 27, 2012 | Includes all Cagney & Lacey season 1–7 episodes, the original made-for-TV movie starring Loretta Swit plus extra features |
| 30th Anniversary – The Best of Cagney & Lacey | 8 | July 15, 2014 | A best-of collection of Cagney & Lacey season 3–7 episodes |
Digital Downloads
Since October 2009, all 125 episodes of Cagney & Lacey have been available for digital download. You could find them on iTunes in the UK and North America. The show was also available on Netflix for a while. The four TV movies were also added to streaming services later.
Images for kids
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Daly and Gless in 1999.
See also
In Spanish: Cagney & Lacey para niños