TV series
Two women cops working twice as hard for half the glory, twice the excitement!
Mary Beth Lacey and Chris Cagney are teamed up as NYPD police detectives. Their opposing personalities (one is tough and the other sensitive) mesh to make this one of the great crime-fighting duos of all time.
Streaming, rental and purchase options
Checked Jul 22, 2026
Cagney & Lacey is available to stream on Prime Video, Pluto TV, and The Roku Channel in United States. You can also buy it from Amazon and Apple TV. Use the direct links below to open the provider.
Mary Beth Lacey and Chris Cagney are teamed up as NYPD police detectives. Their opposing personalities (one is tough and the other sensitive) mesh to make this one of the great crime-fighting duos of all time.
Choose an episode, then use the watch options above for the show.
Episode 1
One of the uniforms accidentally kills a civilian, mistaking him for a perp. C&L both see it, but they have very different recollections of the event. Marquette and Samuels pressure Lacey to agree with Cagney, but you know how stubborn she is. The bad guy is a crewman on a foreign ship, and it ends with a chase on the ship.
Directed by Alexander SingerWritten by Paul LaurenceGuest stars Stephen Bogardus, Gloria Gifford
Episode 2
A uniform cop is shot in a restaurant. The assumption is that the cop was shot because he knew too much, but it was actually mistaken identity. The B story is that the precinct is going to field a softball team. Of course, Cagney wants to play and drags Lacey along. Isbecki is the captain and tries to keep them out but eventually has to allow them in when he learns that the team must include both men and women
Directed by Reza BadiyiWritten by Robert Crais, April SmithGuest stars Brian Robbins, Michael V. Gazzo, Alan Fudge, Bert Remsen, Martin Garner, Sab Shimono
Episode 3
A group of baddies is preying on wealthy patrons of beauty shops. They get into these shops by pretending to be policemen. C&L get to head up the task force, and Cagney befriends one of the victims
Directed by Reza BadiyiWritten by Robert Crais, April Smith, Harriett Weiss, Patt SheaGuest stars Larry Gelman, Anne Seymour, Dennis Patrick, Henry Polic II, Rhetta Greene
Episode 4
A construction worker falls to his death, and everyone thinks it's an accident, including Isbecki, who lets the ladies take over the case. You see, Harvey knew the fellow, and he thinks there's something funny. It turns out that the victim was on the take, and Harvey and Mary Beth go out to the construction site to inspect first hand.
Directed by Reza BadiyiGuest stars Conchata Ferrell, Pat Corley
Episode 5
A group of unrelated stranglings has the NYPD very worried. Turns out all the women work for telephone erotic hotlines. There's a very funny scene where C&L go to investigate and the hotline manager thinks they're looking for work.
Directed by Leo PennWritten by Frank AbatemarcoGuest stars Rick Lenz, Silvana Gallardo, Philip Baker Hall, Jason Bernard, Bobby Di Cicco, Stephen Liska, Rita Taggart, Richard Minchenberg
Episode 6
The 14th precinct has an informer in its midst. The undercover agents working on a truck hijacking are getting exposed. IAD ""asks"" C&L to investigate, since they're ""outsiders."" When Cagney refuses, the IAD lieutenant smirkily tells her that Charlie was on the take when he was a cop. All they turn up is that LaGuardia has a girlfriend and Samuels is seeing aa psychiatrist because of the effect of his divorce.
Directed by Alexander SingerWritten by Joanne PagliaroGuest stars Meshach Taylor, Louis Guss, Michael Durrell, Maidie Norman, Dick O'Neill, David Eisen, Frank Conn
Episode 7
A farmer from Vermont comes in looking for his wife, who has disappeared in New York City. Seems that she has ""married"" several men, and is collecting money from all of them.
Directed by James SheldonWritten by Jeffrey LaneGuest stars Judith Ivey, Henry Wilcoxon, Harvey Vernon, Peggy McCay, Fredric Lehne, David Eisen, Steven Keats, Amy Johnston
Episode 8
C&L and another detective are working on a case involving some illegal weapons. The catch is that the third detective has just had his picture turn up in a gay magazine. Is he gay? Will he be suspended before he helps C&L catch the bad guy?
Directed by Alexander SingerWritten by Rogers TurrentineGuest stars Tony Plana, Christopher Allport, Ismael 'East' Carlo, Robert Costanzo, Troy Slaten, Harvey Atkin
Episode 9
A Christmas episode, lighter than usual. The ""villain"" is a nebbish who steals from parking meters. When he gets arrested, he makes off with a squad car, which so enrages Samuels that nobody gets to leave early on Christmas Eve. The villain is played by character actor David Masur The ""B"" story is that Petri's Lauren daughter is born. We first meet Dory McKenna as Chris' boyfriend.
Directed by Burt BrinckerhoffWritten by Robert CraisGuest stars Milton Selzer, Michael C. Gwynne, Richard Masur, Barry Primus, Troy Slaten, Edith Fellows, Jason Bernard, John Del Regno
Episode 10
C&L are assigned to work for Sgt. Dory McKenna on a murder investigation. The baddy is a slumlord who is trying to get rid of his tenants so he can make a co-op out of his building. The kicker is that Dory is using cocaine. After he snorts up at Mary Beth's and doesn't show up as backup, Chris threatens to turn him in unless he gets help for his addiction.
Directed by Alexander SingerWritten by April SmithGuest stars Susan French, Peter Jason, Bunny Summers, Barry Primus, Israel Juarbe, Rafael Ferrer, Ron Max
Episode 11
A gang of thieves have an intriguing modus operandi. They wait until a family is at a funeral and then break in and steal everything. One of the victims is a crippled girl.
Directed by Peter LevinWritten by Frank AbatemarcoGuest stars Lance Henriksen, Barbara Tarbuck, Jan Miner, Troy Slaten, Richard Minchenberg, Floyd Levine, Suzy Barbieri, Randy Rocca
Episode 12
Albert Grand is the most famous jewel thief in the world. He has even written a book about his career. Can the elegant dog lover who stops a petty crime really be the great thief?
Directed by Victor LoblWritten by Michael PillerGuest stars John Furlong, Robert Pastorelli, Lelia Goldoni, Ferdy Mayne, Julius Harris, Forest Whitaker, Troy Slaten, John Diehl
Episode 13
A new detective has been assigned to the 14th. Lacey thinks it's nice to have another woman; Cagney thinks she's incompetent
Directed by Peter LevinWritten by Jeffrey LaneGuest stars Susan Peretz, Talia Balsam, Grace Zabriskie
Episode 14
Lacey is the main witness in an open-and-shut case, only it isn't that open-and-shut. in the ""B"" story, a witness in an old rape case has to testify. The defendants' strategy is stall and stall, and C&L have to support her when she wants to quit
Directed by Nicholas SgarroWritten by Terry Louise Fisher, Steve BrownGuest stars Walter Brooke, Jonelle Allen, Troy Slaten, Michael Zand, William Lanteau, Allan Rich, Buck Kartalian, Lionel Decker
Episode 15
a bag lady, is murdered. Only Cagney cares what happened, and strives to find the woman's real name. The ""B"" plot is very funny: our heroines are assigned to do recruiting, and wind up trying to do a commercial for the NYPD. Of course, they get replaced by ""real"" actresses.
Directed by Stan LathanWritten by Peter LefcourtGuest stars Mary Grace Canfield, Sal Viscuso, Richard Bakalyan, Stewart Moss, Doris Roberts, Paul Mantee, Peter Iacangelo, Jake Dengel
Episode 16
It's a rape case, but the victim knew her assailant, which makes it date rape. Cagney and Harvey think the woman asked for it; Lacey is more supportive. The ""B"" story is that the guys in the precinct are playing practical jokes such as fixing Isbecki up with a female impersonator and Samuels with a prostitute. Cagney thinks it's funny and points out that it's a great step forward for them to be included in this
Directed by John PattersonWritten by Steve Brown, Terry Louise FisherGuest stars Walter Brooke, William Hootkins, Carolyn Seymour, Robin Reed
Episode 17
The ""A"" story is that Cagney goes undercover as a nun to investigate the theft of drugs from a hospital. The ""B"" story is that she goes alone because Lacey has gone off AWOL. After her vacation is canceled at the last minute, she just says, ""the hell with it"" and disappears
Directed by Don WeisGuest stars Darlene Conley, Kenneth Mars, Rebecca Balding
Episode 18
When C&L screw up a backup assignment, Isbecki is taken hostage. The situation gets worse when Petri kills a child. As the child is black, public relations thinks they can solve the problem by putting Petri's picture in the paper, so everyone can see he's also black
Directed by Bill DukeWritten by Kevin Rodney SullivanGuest stars William Allen Young, Jimmie Walker, Michael Pataki, Kent Williams, Al Ruscio, Anthony Charnota, Harry Waters, Jr., Richard Minchenberg
Episode 19
A poor Jewish man is hit by a car, and we know who did it. The problem is that he's the son of an Arabian diplomat, and safe as long as he stays in the embassy. After he escapes twice, the women had better work something out.
Directed by Harry HarrisWritten by Peter LefcourtGuest stars Richard Romanus, Dick Anthony Williams, Takayo Fischer, Troy Slaten, Jason Bernard, Neva Patterson, Edmund Stoiber, Manny Kleinmuntz
Episode 20
To celebrate Petri's promotion to detective first grade, the gang goes out to celebrate. Alas, they get robbed (including their guns and shields), and have to restore face. LaGuardia is so upset that he threatens to quit.
Directed by Christian I. Nyby IIGuest stars Diana Douglas, Tracey Walter, Michael Des Barres, Gary Crosby, Xander Berkeley, Scott Edmund Lane
Episode 21
The "A" story is that a con man is doing very well, but when he's arrested as he's fleeing, there's nothing of value in his suitcase. The "B" story is that one of the cops working with them, who Mary Beth has known since academy days, is beating his wife.
Directed by Barbara PeetersWritten by Terry Louise Fisher, Chris AbbottGuest stars Vincent Schiavelli, Greg Mullavey, Stanley Kamel, Marie Denn, Sheila Larken, Charles Lucia, Daniel Pilon, David Byrd
Episode 22
To find out who's selling drugs to high school students, C&L use a teenage informer. But the youth is not to be trusted, and the detectives wind up with eggs on their face when it turns out that he's selling drugs himself.
Directed by Michael VejarWritten by Ronnie Wenker-Konner, Lawrence KonnerGuest stars Geoffrey Blake, Scott Brady, Peggy Feury, Arthur Rosenberg
Episode information updated Jul 24, 2026
Tyne DalyMary Beth Lacey
Meg FosterChristine Cagney
Sharon GlessChristine Cagney
John KarlenHarvey Lacey
Al WaxmanLieutenant Bert Samuels
Carl LumblyMark Petrie
Martin KoveDet. Victor Isbecki
Sidney ClutePaul La Guardia
CBSUnited States
Orion Television
CBSUnited States
Filmways PicturesUnited States
