It wasn’t just another cop show, but portrayed two women police detectives, Christine Cagney and Mary Beth Lacey, who were as tough and smart as their male counterparts. Finally, a cop drama where women got to do more than just fetch coffee!
The show’s six-season run is punctuated by numerous awards. Tyne Daly, who played Lacey, bagged four Emmy Awards for her role, while Sharon Gless, who portrayed Cagney, won two. (Loretta Swit initially played Cagney in the TV movie pilot, but due to her commitment to MASH, she couldn’t continue in the role when the series was picked up. Sharon Gless took over, and made the character her own.)
Actress Meg Foster played Cagney for the first six episodes of the first season, but apparently due to no fault of her own, the producers decided to go another direction with the character, and hired Gless.
Once the two leads were settled in their roles, it was clear to see that the series had what it took to be a success. The characters weren’t just well-acted, but were also complex, strong women making their way in a world mostly run by men.
What set Cagney and Lacey apart was its willingness to tackle serious issues. The show didn’t shy away from weighty themes like sexism, racism, and domestic violence. The scripts also often examined the personal lives of the two detectives, adding depth to the characters and making them relatable.
In its early days, the show faced its share of controversies, including a temporary cancellation. Fan support was overwhelming, however — leading to its resurrection.
Over its six-season run, it gained a solid fan base that loved its smart storytelling and groundbreaking focus on its lead characters.
Even now, years after the final episode, the show’s impact is hard to ignore. TV series like The Closer and Law & Order: SVU owe a tip of the hat to Cagney and Lacey for blazing the trail. It’s still a go-to example for how to portray women as multi-dimensional and strong — a lesson some of today’s shows could still learn from.
Have a look below at the photos and articles we’ve collected and reminisce about a show that stands out still today for its pioneering focus on strong, complicated women navigating both personal and professional lives.
From critical acclaim to its enduring cultural impact, the show’s significance is hard to overstate.
VIDEO: Cagney and Lacey theme song & opening credits
It balances drama with a sense of spirited friendship — letting you know you’re in for a ride that’s about more than just catching bad guys. It’s a memorable piece that adds an extra layer to the series without stealing the spotlight.
Cagney & Lacey real cops & robbers
Excerpted from an article by Michael Goldfarb in the Capital Times (Madison, Wis.) Nov 16, 1982
For Cagney and Lacey, the beat goes on. But this year’s Cagney, Sharon Gless, has the uneasy feeling that nobody’s noticed.
Gless herself is the product of the show’s general beefing-up — she’s the third Chris Cagney in as many years, making Tyne Daly, the one and only Mary Beth Lacey, the Jaclyn Smith of the show.
But this is no fashion-in-force show, no “Police Woman” braves danger and gets rescued by big brother. Between “Cagney and Lacey” and “Hill Street’s” officer Lucille Bates, this could be the year that policewomen get serious duty.
According to Daly, executive producer Barney Rosenzweig originally tried to sell “Cagney and Lacey” as a feature film. CBS bought it as a TV drama to star big gun Loretta Swit as Cagney. And Daly signed on as Lacey.
“I thought we were just making an MOW” — a movie of the week, Daly remembers. “But then we pulled these extraordinary ratings, and the idea for a series took hold.”
Swit was unavailable, on call for “M-A-S-H,” but Daly stayed on, and eventually Meg Foster was cast as Cagney. They shot six episodes, which ran with no great success.
“I thought that was the end of that. We’d euphemistically call it a mini-series, and I would get away with my dignity,” Daly said.
That might have been that, except Daly thought she had “laid the groundwork” for a quality show. She and Foster went traveling around the country trying to drum up support for the show.
During the summer the six episodes were rerun with better ratings, and finally “Cagney and Lacey” was given the go-ahead for another season.
But there was a switch when the show got the green light: Foster was fired. That hurt Daly. “I was paying attention to numbers like a network exec. You can get seduced by the businessman’s way of thinking,” she says. “Now I just act. That’s my job. Then I go home and take care of life.”
Life means her husband of 18 years and their two children. She says she is getting used to Gless as Cagney. “I’m good at partnering. After all, I’m a longtime married person.”
Her sentiments are echoed by Gless: “It’s not easy being the third Cagney. But I’ve been here before.” Earlier, Gless replaced Lynn Redgrave on “House Calls.” Gless says that the actresses’ private lives reflect their characters. “The basic premise is that Lacey has a personal life, a family, and Cagney is single and gets around a bit.”
Right now, Gless doesn’t get around much, working 14-hour days, five days a week. But she is “very” single, having recently ended a six-year relationship.
She says that one series episode, in an attempt to keep things topical, deals with Cagney practicing celibacy. “Of course, it doesn’t deal with your temperament going to seed when you do practice it.”
Because it’s a cop show, there are fights, but Gless doesn’t do her own stunts. “No, it’s too dangerous. There’s no use trying to injure yourself.”
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Daly doesn’t worry about “physical danger but finds the work psychically and emotionally dangerous,” adding, “It’s dangerous to have your picture taken every day. And we have no time to prepare; every day is a performance day.”
Will the third time be a charm for “Cagney and Lacey”? Gless says, “I don’t know what makes a show go, or for that matter what makes a relationship last.” Daly hopes it runs, but not forever. “I don’t want to be doing Lacey seven years from now.”
But she hopes the show has enough success to advance the image of women doing hard, real work on television. “‘Charlie’s Angels‘ had to happen first. Now we can be hipper, truer. We hope to be more honest about this sort of woman. The next series can take it even further.”
Where are they now? Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless in 2010
