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Season guide

Cagney & Lacey: Season 4

22 episodes Premiered Oct 15, 1984
Previously on Cagney & Lacey

Season 4 Lore Primer

Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.

  • ⚡ Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of Cagney & Lacey Season 3.
  • ⚡ Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
  • ⚡ Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
  • ⚡ Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Season 4 Episodes

Episode Guide

🛡️ SPOILER SHIELD

Season 4 Progress Shield

Future titles & synopses blurred. Tap "Reveal" on any card to peek.
Binge Efficiency Engine

Season 4: Filler vs. Essential Canon

Filter episodes by narrative weight. Focus on essential mytharc and skip standalone side quests.

23%
77%
Mytharc (5): Crucial lore & season climaxes
Core (17): Character development & subplots
Side Quest (0): Standalone / filler
S4·E1 Mytharc

Child Witness

Oct 15, 1984

A little girl appears to have been molested by her babysitter, but the girl's father doesn't want her to testify, not because he's a bad guy, but because he doesn't want her to fac

S4·E2 Core

Heat

Oct 22, 1984

Mary Beth is taken hostage by a very dangerous man.

S4·E3 Core

Insubordination

Oct 29, 1984

Dory McKenna is back, rehabilitated from cocaine, and C&L again get to assist him. Meanwhile, Samuels must deal with a former subordinate who is now a captain and wants to ""improv

S4·E4 Core

Old Debts

Nov 5, 1984

A cop killer has just been paroled. C&L have to guard him for only a little while, but of course he gets killed on their shift. This was a popular killing, but the ladies don't lik

S4·E5 Core

Fathers and Daughters

Nov 12, 1984

Both the wife and daughter confess to a killing, but they can't both have done it. ADA Feldberg has a great time sarcastically pointing out how two confessions are not better than

S4·E6 Core

Taxicab Murders

Nov 19, 1984

This is the only episode with the title displayed. The cabbies of New York are disappearing, and the detectives drive shifts to find the killer. This so worries Michael Lacey that

S4·E7 Core

Unusual Occurrence

Nov 26, 1984

Cagney shoots an Hispanic teenager. It doesn't matter that he attacked her or that he was full of angel dust - the local press has her drawn and quartered.

S4·E8 Core

Thank God It's Monday

Dec 3, 1984

The 14th Precinct has done its paperwork so badly that everyone (except for Petrie) has to come in over the weekend and clear it up. but C&L discover a statute of limitations that'

S4·E9 Core

Hooked

Dec 10, 1984

Dory's sponsor in the cocaine rehabilitation program is caught with cocaine. When Dory defends him, Chris has to consider the possibility that Dory is still using it himself

S4·E10 Mytharc

Lady Luck

Dec 17, 1984

The episode begins with Mary Beth talking a successful businesswoman out of jumping off a ledge. Not so successful - she has a good income, but horrendous gambling debts. When she

S4·E11 Core

Out of Control

Dec 31, 1984

The crime story concerns a cat burglar who never uses a gun. Yet somebody gets shot. Chris is now sufficiently involved with Dory to meet his kids by a prior marriage

S4·E12 Core

American Dream

Jan 7, 1985

A company is getting ahead in business by some well-placed fires. The small firms can choose between burning and blackmail

S4·E13 Core

Happily Ever After

Jan 14, 1985

Dory finally pops the question. Will Christine marry him? Of course he will; there's just a few things to iron out. The crime story concerns a fellow who works in the credit depart

S4·E14 Core

Rules of the Game

Jan 28, 1985

C&L think it's wonderful to be assigned to a hot case under the hot Captain Hennessey. it seems that his interest in Chris is more personal than professional. Finally, Chris announ

S4·E15 Core

Stress

Feb 4, 1985

Cagney is a witness to a stabbing. The bad guy has the charming habit of erasing people he doesn't like, such as witnesses, and he goes after her

S4·E16 Core

Who Says It's Fair (1)

Feb 11, 1985

A two parter where Mary Beth discovers that she has a lump in her breast, but she refuses to talk about it or do anything about it. Chris finds out when Harvey gets worried and sne

S4·E18 Mytharc

Lost and Found

Feb 25, 1985

Cagney's car (a yellow Corvette) has been stolen and boy is she mad. She doesn't get much help from Mary Beth, who is convalescing at home and considering quitting for good. The go

S4·E19 Core

Two Grand

Mar 4, 1985

In a sequel to #18, the noted jewel thief Albert Grand returns. All Chris asks of him is that he not give her anything stolen. It is considered a classic episode for Albert Grand's

S4·E20 Core

Con Games

Mar 11, 1985

Cagney's sexual harassment case comes to trial (follow up to #49). Lacey is busy with the bunco squad. She manages to get approached by a completely different bunco scam and reels

S4·E21 Mytharc

Violation

Mar 18, 1985

A teenager is thrown into a very tough jail by mistake for am minor offense and gets raped. The angry parents file a lawsuit for $7 million dollars against the NYPD

S4·E22 Mytharc

Organized Crime

Apr 8, 1985

When a nun is killed, C&L assume it's their case. However, the nun's family was friends with the Godfather, and the ladies find themselves with some very efficient but unwanted ass