The series revolves around Calista Flockhart in the title role as a lawyer working in the Boston law firm Cage and Fish.

In March 2021, it was reported that a revival as a limited series was in early development by 20th Television with Flockhart possibly returning.

[2] In August 2022, it was reported that ABC was in early development of a sequel series and had approached Flockhart to reprise her role and executive-produce.

Even worse, Billy is now married to fellow lawyer Georgia (Courtney Thorne-Smith), who later joins Cage & Fish.

The series had many offbeat and frequently surreal running gags and themes, such as Ally's tendency to immediately fall over whenever she met somebody she found attractive, Richard Fish's wattle fetish and humorous mottos ("Fishisms" and "Bygones"), John's gymnastic dismounts out of the office's unisex bathroom stalls, or the dancing twins (played by Eric and Steve Cohen) at a frequented bar.

The show uses vivid, dramatic fantasy sequences for Ally's and other characters' wishful thinking; of particular note is the early internet sensation, the dancing baby.

Star contemporary singers also performed in the bar at the end of the shows, including acts such as Mariah Carey, Barry White and Anastacia.

Ultimately, in the series finale "Bygones", Ally leaves Cage & Fish and relocates to New York City.

[8] Seymore Walsh, a stern judge often exasperated by the eccentricities of the Cage & Fish lawyers and played by actor Albert Hall, was also a recurring character on The Practice.

Bobby Donnell, the main character of The Practice played by Dylan McDermott, was featured heavily in both this crossover and another Ally McBeal episode, "These are the Days".

Perhaps the most notorious example of the debate sparked by the show was the June 29, 1998, cover story of Time magazine, which juxtaposed the character of Ally McBeal with three real-life pioneering feminists (Susan B. Anthony, Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem) and asked "Is Feminism Dead?

Many of the songs Shepard performed were established hits with lyrics that paralleled the events of each episode, for example, "Both Sides Now", "Hooked on a Feeling" and "Tell Him".

Due to music licensing issues, none of the seasons of Ally McBeal were available on DVD in the United States until 2009, though the show had been available in Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Japan, Hong Kong, Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Taiwan, Australia, Brazil, and the Czech Republic with all the show's music intact since 2005.

[24] In 1999, at the height of the show's popularity, a half-hour version titled Ally began airing in parallel with the main program.

[26] In March 2021, it was reported that a revival as a limited series was in early development by 20th Television with Flockhart possibly returning.

[2] In August 2022, it was reported that ABC was in early development of a sequel series with Karin Gist writing and executive producing.

[28] Flockhart, Germann, MacNicol and Bellows reunited at the 2024 75th Primetime Emmy Awards in a choreographed dance to Barry White's "You're the First, the Last, My Everything" recreating the unisex bathroom from the series.

In the 2021 film The Mauritanian, Guantanamo Bay detention camp detainee Mohamedou Ould Salahi says to an American judge "Even in Mauritania, we have watched Law & Order and Ally McBeal."