A sequel to surreal legal drama Ally McBeal is in the works with a brand new lead.
Starring Calista Flockhart in the title role, Ally McBeal aired between 1997 and 2002 and followed the professional and personal life of the titular heroine, a lawyer at the fictional Boston law firm Cage & Fish.
According to Deadline, Fox's award-winning series will move to ABC for its sequel, set to focus on a young Black woman who joins the original show's law firm.
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The new protagonist is believed to have a connection to the original cast – she is the daughter of Ally's roommate Renée Raddick, a district attorney who later went into private practice played by Lisa Nicole Carson.
It has also been reported that Flockhart has been approached to appear in the sequel and executive produce it, though a final decision hasn't been made yet.
The follow-up is developed and produced by Karin Gist, known for being an executive producer and writer on the likes of Grey's Anatomy, mixed-ish, Our Kind of People and Revenge.
Among her upcoming projects, Gist will work on the threequel to Sister Act, in which Whoopi Goldberg is set to return as Deloris Van Cartier.
Created by David E Kelley, Ally McBeal kicks off with Flockhart's Ally joining her college friend Richard Fish's firm and discovering her ex-boyfriend Billy works there, too.
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Throughout its five seasons, the series often used the legal cases Ally and her colleagues were working on as narrative devices to zoom in on their private lives with a humorous, absurdist tone.
Alongside Flockhart, Ally McBeal's ensemble included Marvel star Robert Downey Jr, Charlie's Angels' Lucy Liu, 30 Rock's Jane Krakowski and Arrested Development's Portia de Rossi, as well as Scream's Hayden Panettiere and singer Bon Jovi.
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Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy.
Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).
