In an unusual twist for a police/adventure series, "Cagney and Lacey" featured the personal and professional lives of two undercover cops who happened to be women. Starring Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless, the series started life as a made-for-TV movie in 1981 (starring Loretta Swit as Cagney) and CBS scheduled a limited number of episodes in March 1982. The hour-long show returned as a regular series in the fall of 1983 and then was canceled, but a storm of viewer protest brought it back six months later. The renewed series enjoyed healthy ratings until 1988 when it was canceled for good.

The series won critical and popular praise for the reality that it projected and it won Emmys as Best Drama Series in 1985 and 1986. In September 1985, 125 episodes were placed in syndication.