Ally McBeal Revival In Development; Calista Flockhart Eyed to Return

The Dancing Baby’s about to have a rebirth.

An Ally McBeal limited series revival is in the early stages of development, with titular leading lady Calista Flockhart being eyed to reprise her iconic role. The series’ creator, David E. Kelley, would be involved in the potential sequel series an an exec producer, but a female auteur would likely take the showrunner reins, as Kelly himself previously hinted.

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“I’d be open to the idea of Ally McBeal being done again, but I don’t think it should be done by me. If it were going to be done, it really should be done by a woman,” he told The Hollywood Reporter back in 2018. “If it’s going to be new, it should be new and different. And I did it: 100 hours.”

Ally McBeal became an instant pop culture phenomenon when the quirky legal drama premiered on Fox in 1997, winning the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, landing on the cover of Time magazine, and turning Flockhart into a household name (revisit the pilot’s biggest moments here). The series also became known for pushing the kind of sexual boundaries — particularly within the workplace — that would be verboten in the #MeToo era.

In addition to Flockhart, the OG ensemble included Courtney Thorne-Smith, Greg Germann, Lisa Nicole Carson, Jane Krakowski, Peter MacNicol and Gil Bellows. Portia de Rossi and Lucy Liu joined the cast in Season 2. In Season 4, Robert Downey Jr. came on board as a major love interest for Flockhart.

A network/streamer is not attached to the project, but Hulu would be one logical destination for Ally considering it’s under the same Disney corporate umbrella as the show’s studio, Twentieth Television (which declined to comment for this story). Additionally, Hulu is currently home to all five seasons of the show.

Launch Gallery: <i>Ally McBeal</i> Series Premiere: The Most '90s Moments

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