Cagney & Lacey (1981–1988)

Two female police detectives cooperate with each other both in their professions and in their personal lives.

Creators:

Barbara Avedon, Barbara Corday

Stars:

Tyne Daly, John Karlen, Al Waxman

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 34 wins & 53 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Tyne Daly	...	Det. Mary Beth Lacey (126 episodes, 1981-1988)
John Karlen	...	Harvey Lacey (121 episodes, 1982-1988)
Al Waxman	...	Lt. Bert Samuels (120 episodes, 1981-1988)
Sharon Gless	...	Det. Sgt. Christine Cagney (119 episodes, 1982-1988)
Martin Kove	...	Det. Victor Isbecki (117 episodes, 1982-1988)
Carl Lumbly	...	Det. Mark Petrie (104 episodes, 1981-1988)
Harvey Atkin	...	Desk Sgt. Ronald Coleman (89 episodes, 1981-1988)
Troy W. Slaten	...	Michael Lacey (72 episodes, 1982-1988)
Sidney Clute	...	Det. Paul La Guardia (68 episodes, 1982-1988)
Tony La Torre	...	Harvey Lacey, Jr. (66 episodes, 1982-1988)
Paul Mantee	...	Det. Al Corassa (54 episodes, 1983-1988)

Storyline

Television police drama starring two female cops as partners. Their contrasting personalities (one is tough and the other sensitive) strengthen them as a team, allowing each a different perspective on both personal and professional situations.

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Plot Keywords:

police | detective | police detective | unemployment | househusband | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 July 1982 (UK)

Also Known As:

Cagney et Lacey

Filming Locations:

Lacy Street Production Center - 2630 Lacy Street, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), Filmways Pictures, Orion Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min (125 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

The show was canceled at the end of the 1982-83 season, due to low ratings. In response, viewers wrote to CBS, protesting the cancellation. This effort, combined with the show's increasing ratings during the summer reruns, prompted the network to reverse the decision. Although the cast members had just been released from their contracts, they were soon brought back to work on the show. The series was reinstated in March of 1984, and ran until 1988.

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Quotes

Christine Cagney: We're gonna put the word out how you tried to set up the blacks, Eddie. You're gonna be a big hit in Attica. They're gonna be calling you the Queen of Soul!

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Crazy Credits

Actor Sidney Clute passed away during the run of the series. In every episode after his death, his name and picture still appeared in the opening credits. That was done by the producers as a tribute to him.

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theatre 3000: Bloodlust! (1994)

User Reviews

One of a handful of Cop shows from the 80's I loved

Most from the 80's will throw out Hill Street Blues as the greatest but to me there were others that were equally good but just never got the recognition. This was one of those shows.

This show really hit hard with issues like drug addiction to killers to the gay issue and even teenage prostitution. It ran the gamut. And it was no white-washed make everything rosy by the end of the show typical of usual TV shows of the day.

From Dt. Cagney, the single can never find the right guy who happens to be beautiful and hard nosed to Dt. Lacey, who was a wife, mother and housewife...on the side. Both characters gelled together. Couldn't have been a better yin and yang type duo. Both were women but both were totally different in personality.

I think my biggest complaint about the show is that it got to "political" towards the end of its run. Too many shows where the topic was preachy. You know, where they'll deal with a topic where it's pretty clear what their agenda was. I don't care for those types of shows as I can make up my mind on issues without any help.

To me, this was a great cop show of the 80's. Don't be off-put by the show having 2 female leads. If you are, you'll miss out because this was a really good show in it's day.