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Season guide

Ally McBeal: Season 1

23 episodes Premiered Sep 8, 1997 Updated Jul 25, 2026

The first season of the American legal comedy‑drama Ally McBeal premiered in the United States on September 8, 1997 and concluded on May 18, 1998. The season comprises twenty‑three episodes that follow the titular character, a young attorney named Ally McBeal. After losing her position when she is sexually harassed by her former

Season overview

The first season of the American legal comedy‑drama Ally McBeal premiered in the United States on September 8, 1997 and concluded on May 18, 1998. The season comprises twenty‑three episodes that follow the titular character, a young attorney named Ally McBeal. After losing her position when she is sexually harassed by her former

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Episodes

S1·E1

Pilot

Sep 8, 1997 · 43 min

Ally McBeal, 28, and a recent graduate of Harvard Law School, is harassed on the job by a senior associate. When she confronts the partners, it backfires and she loses her job. On

S1·E2

Compromising Positions

Sep 15, 1997 · 43 min

Fish's partner, John Cage faces fines, jail, and public humiliation. To her dismay, Ally is assigned to be a litigator. Fish invites Ally along to dinner with a very wealthy potent

S1·E3

The Kiss

Sep 22, 1997 · 43 min

Ally senses Cheanie is withholding something when he neglects to kiss her goodnight after their first official date. Georgia asks Ally to assist her in trying an age discrimination

S1·E4

The Affair

Sep 29, 1997 · 43 min

Ally is asked to be a pallbearer at the funeral of her ex-law professor. The widow, Katherine Dawson, invites her to give the eulogy, but Ally's initial reluctance betrays the reas

S1·E5

100 Tears Away

Oct 20, 1997 · 43 min

Ally is arrested for aggravated assault and attempted shoplifting. Renee bails her out, but word spreads quickly, and Ally is brought before the State Bar Review Board. A litany of

S1·E6

The Promise

Oct 27, 1997 · 43 min

Ally has to defend a friend of Whipper brought up on solicitation charges. She is serving as second chair to Cage, whose idiosyncrasies become increasingly apparent and mystifying

S1·E7

The Attitude

Nov 3, 1997 · 43 min

Ally represents a Jewish woman who needs her Rabbi to grant her a spiritual release from her marriage to her comatose husband. Ally goes personally to the Rabbi's office to find ou

S1·E8

Drawing the Lines

Nov 10, 1997 · 43 min

Billy and Georgia are faced with a crisis of confidence in their marriage. Elaine threatens to sue the firm for sexual harassment if Fish and Cage don't meet her demands for improv

S1·E9

The Dirty Joke

Nov 17, 1997 · 43 min

The attorney, Caroline Poop, who represented Elaine in her short lived suit against Fish and Cage regarding the constant gawking directed at a beautiful delivery woman, returns. Th

S1·E10

Boy to the World

Dec 1, 1997 · 43 min

Judge Whipper Cone asks Ally to take on a pro-bono case of a young prostitute up on her third solicitation charge. Fish, meanwhile, wants to sue his uncle's church for discriminati

S1·E11

Silver Bells

Dec 15, 1997 · 43 min

Three intelligent, successful and motivated adults approach Judge Whipper Cone about the possibility of getting legal representation in their quest to have the courts approve a leg

S1·E12

Cro-Magnon

Jan 5, 1998 · 43 min

Ally is shocked to discover that her biological clock is ticking, unleashing strange libidinal impulses in her. During a sculpting class with live nude male models, she and Renee b

S1·E13

The Blame Game

Jan 19, 1998 · 43 min

Ally has a chance encounter with Glenn, the well-endowed artists' model, at a local Starbucks, and makes it very clear that she is irritated with him. On the legal side, John Cage

S1·E14

Body Language

Feb 2, 1998 · 43 min

Ally and Renee are bridesmaids at a friend's wedding. They both bristle at the absurdity of the rituals performed, and swear to never do it. Richard asks Ally to flirt with a wealt

S1·E15

Once in a Lifetime

Feb 23, 1998 · 43 min

Fish brings in a client, an 80-something world famous artist, who is battling his heirs to regain control of his estate. Ally and Billy co-counsel the case, and as a result of spen

S1·E16

Forbidden Fruits

Mar 2, 1998 · 43 min

A high-profile case opens up for Cage and Fish when a jilted spouse plans to sue a U.S. Senator for "interfering with happy marital relations". The Senator's case perversely parall

S1·E17

Theme of Life

Mar 9, 1998 · 43 min

Ally, Georgia and Renee sign up for a kick boxing class to relieve stress. Ally and Georgia wind up having to fight each other because they're both beginners. As they start to carp

S1·E18

The Playing Field

Mar 16, 1998 · 43 min

Ally is a passenger in a car accident with the firm's client Greg Butters, a handsome doctor to whom she finds herself attracted. She attempts to handle the doctor's case herself,

S1·E19

Happy Birthday Baby

Apr 6, 1998 · 43 min

Ally is in denial about her birthday but her co-workers aren't. Elaine orchestrates a party at the bar and asks Dr. Greg Butters to sing a romantic ballad dedicated to Ally. He doe

S1·E20

The Inmates

Apr 27, 1998 · 43 min

A wealthy client is brutally murdered and the wife is implicated. Her only defense when caught red-handed is that she has no recollection of what had taken place. Billy, anxious to

S1·E21

Being There

May 4, 1998 · 43 min

Cage prepares Ally for Renee's trial. Renee is fast becoming a basket-case because she's convinced Cage's untraditional tactics are going to cost her job. Georgia tells Billy that

S1·E22

Alone Again

May 11, 1998 · 43 min

John Cage must confront the cowardice of his convictions when he comes face to face with an ex-law school classmate who is coincidentally trying the case he's representing. It beco

S1·E23

These Are the Days

May 18, 1998 · 43 min

Cage must represent his second cousin, a harmless but eccentric man with a Cupid Complex. His cousin was brought up on assault charges for swatting couples in the head with a paddl