[7][3][8][9][10][11] Under contract to ABC, McCarthy starred in several made-for-TV movies, including her debut A Cry For Love (1980), Crazy Times (1981), and Fugitive Among Us (1992).

Elsewhere, The Twilight Zone, Happy Days, Beauty and the Beast, Magnum, P.I., The Fall Guy, and played a lesbian character in an episode of Night Court called "Passion Plundered" that has been noted by critics.

McCarthy also played "Rosalind Grant", the name derived from Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant but the character itself a parody of Cybill Shepherd's character Maddie Hayes in Moonlighting, in the penultimate episode of the series called "If You Can't Beat Em, Join Em."

[19][20][21][22] Her character Evelyn Marsh[23] was a controversial addition, appearing in a string of episodes in a storyline that was meant to emulate film noir[24] during a weak stretch of the show's second season,[25] shortly after the conclusion of its main plotline (the reveal of Laura Palmer's killer) when the writers were struggling to come up with new storylines.

[26][27][28][29][1] McCarthy commented on her role in a later interview, saying "my scenes with James (Marshall) were a little overdramatic and some of the lines were pretty silly, but it was cute, what can I say?

[6] She later became an executive chef, specializing in Italian cuisine,[5][6] and a director of client services at Mercury Sound Studios.