By 
"I've been searchin' my soul tonight..."
Can you believe it's been nearly two decades since Ally McBeal first graced our screens? The legal comedy-drama introduced us to Ally 'technically the worst lawyer in the world if this was real' McBeal and her quirky colleagues at lawfirm Cage and Fish.
The quintessentially 1990s show made us all jealous of their local bar (how did they book Elton John?), introduced us to the first viral sensation that was the 'Dancing Baby' (remember that?), and had us all thanking them for showing just why unisex toilets are not a good idea.
But how has the ensemble cast fared since the show ended in 2002? Let's find out...
15. Lisa Nicole Carson (Reneé)
Lisa had a busy career appearing in shows like ER and the comedy film Life by the time Ally McBeal came along, in which she played Ally's spunky best mate Renee. However, she withdrew from acting entirely after the show finished. But, she made her sudden comeback in an episode of creator David E Kelley's latest show Harry's Law - as Renee - in 2012. Her only project since then has been New Edition: The Movie, which comes out in 2017.
14. Vonda Shepard (herself)
Although she never exactly had any storylines, bar singer Vonda was technically a main cast member for nearly every single season of the show. Since then, Vonda hasn't done any notable acting roles, but she has released a couple more independent albums. But we'll always have that excellent theme tune, which cracked the UK top 10 in 1998.
13. Regina Hall (Coretta)
Regina joined the series in the final couple of years, but she had already found fame the year before as Brenda in Scary Movie, a role she returned to three more times. Other significant film roles since have included Malibu's Most Wanted, Think Like a Man and its sequel Think Like a Man Too, and the comedy Vacation last year. Her most recent role was an appearance in the hit comedy Black-ish.
12. Gil Bellows (Billy)
He had Ally and Georgia fighting over him for the majority of the series, and Billy is still Gil's best known role. Though, you might also remember him as Tommy in The Shawshank Redemption years before. Since the show, he's not been in anything huge but he's kept busy. His most notable roles include appearances in 24: Redemption, Smallville, FlashForward and Bones among others.
11. James LeGros (Mark)
James has had plenty of work since playing lawyer Mark in Ally McBeal, in mostly TV movies and one-off episodes of various TV shows. He had recurring roles in Justified, Revenge, Girls and Person of Interest, and had memorable appearances in Grey's Anatomy, The Good Wifeand House.
10. Greg Germann (Richard)
One half of Cage and Fish has appeared in all sorts of projects since playing the 'wattle'-loving boss. He has popped up in episodes of Desperate Housewives, CSI, House of Lies, NCIS and How To Get Away with Murder among many others. Most recently, he appeared in 10 episodes as the villainous Hades in Once Upon a Time, (BEWARE SPOILERS!) killing Robin Hood in the process.
9. Courtney Thorne-Smith (Georgia)
Courtney has only appeared in a handful of TV projects since saying goodbye to Ally's frenemy Georgia, but that doesn't mean she wasn't busy. In 2001, she joined the cast of According to Jim, appearing in 182 episodes as Jim Belushi's wife Cheryl. A year after that show ended, she signed up for Two and a Half Men, popping up 52 times as Alan's on-off lover Lyndsey.
8. Peter MacNicol (John)
The other half of Cage and Fish was played by Peter MacNicol, who was arguably the most interesting character of the lot (he won an Emmy for the role in 2001). He has been seen in loads of different things since then, particularly recurring roles in 24, Numbers, Grey's Anatomy, CSI: Cyber, Agents of SHIELD and Veep.
For the latter, he was nominated for an Emmy this year, but it was cruelly taken away from him as he technically featured in too many episodes to count for a 'guest' role. Harsh!
7. Calista Flockhart (Ally)
Ally McBeal transformed Calista into an international star overnight, but she stayed quiet for a few years after its lights were switched off. But the same year, she began dating Harrison Ford, marrying in 2010.
She returned to TV in the critically-acclaimed Brothers & Sisters from 2006 to 2011, and later featured here and there in Lisa Kudrow's Web Therapy. After a few more quiet years, she returned to the limelight as Cat Grant in Supergirl in 2015, and she'll be back for its second season.
6. Portia de Rossi (Nelle)
Since playing John's on-off partner Nelle in the show, Portia has had several high-profile TV roles. Her most famous and celebrated is Lindsay Funke in Arrested Development, a show she returned to for its revival in 2013. She has also had memorable roles in Nip/Tuck and Better Off Ted, and currently plays Elizabeth in Scandal. Meanwhile, she began dating Ellen DeGeneres in 2004, and they married four years later.
5. Hayden Panettiere (Maddie)
By the time Hayden joined the cast as Ally's surprise daughter in the final season, the child star had already appeared in One Life to Live and a few Disney projects. Since then, she became a worldwide star thanks to playing cheerleader Claire Bennet in Heroes.
She currently leads the cast of Nashville as country singer Juliette Barnes, and has also had roles in Scream 4, Malcolm in the Middle and played Amanda Knox in a Lifetime TV movie. She has dated boxer Wladimir Klitschko since 2009, and they had their first child together five years later.
4. Jane Krakowski (Elaine)
Jane earned a Golden Globe nomination for playing ditzy receptionist Elaine in Ally McBeal, and four years later she landed a main role in Tina Fey's 30 Rock as Jenna until 2013. She currently stars as socialite Jacqueline White in The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
She has also been a huge success on stage, winning a Tony Award for the Broadway revival of Nine, as well as Tony nominations for Grand Hotel and She Loves Me, and an Olivier Award for the West End revival of Guys and Dolls.
3. James Marsden (Glenn)
Yes, you probably forgot that James Marsden was a main cast member in the final season as the dashing Glenn Foy. The year before, he starred in the first X-Men movie as Cyclops, helping to kickstart Hollywood's obsession with superhero movies.
Since then, he's proved to be quite the movie star, appearing in an eclectic bunch of projects ranging from Superman Returns, Hairspray, Enchanted, Straw Dogs, Robot & Frank and The Butler. He also had a recurring role in 30 Rock, reuniting with Krakowski in 2012.
2. Lucy Liu (Ling)
Lucy first found fame as the vicious-but-she's-nice-really Ling Woo in Ally McBeal, receiving an Emmy nomination for her performance. During her time on the show, she branched out to movies, most notably in Charlie's Angels alongside Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore in 2000.
She also played O-Ren Ishii in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, and had starring roles in Chicago, Payback and Kung Fu Panda. She became one of the only Asian American stars to lead a US series in 2008's Cashmere Mafia, and she has since starred in Southland and currently plays Joan Watson in Elementary.
1. Robert Downey Jr (Larry)
He's now one of the highest-grossing actors of all time, but it wasn't always that way. Before joining Ally McBeal as Ally's on-off lover Larry, he had already found success in roles such as Chaplin and Natural Born Killers, but his star had fallen by the end of the 1990s due to his struggles with addiction. In fact, he has since said that during his time on Ally: "It was my lowest point in terms of addictions. At that stage, I didn't give a f**k whether I ever acted again."
However, he bounced back in tremendous style in 2008 by landing the role of Tony Stark in Iron Man, and has since appeared in several huge blockbuster Marvel hits including The Avengers and Captain America: Civil War. He has also played Sherlock Holmes in two movies and managed to get an Oscar nomination when going blackface for Kirk Lazarus in Tropic Thunder.
