The BEST episodes of Cagney & Lacey season 5

Every episode of Cagney & Lacey season 5, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Cagney & Lacey season 5!

Mary Beth Lacey and Chris Cagney are teamed up as NYPD detectives in this landmark series. Their opposing personalities (one is tough and the other sensitive) mesh to make this one of the greatest crime-fighting duos of all time.

Last Updated: 2/23/2024Network: CBSStatus: Ended
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The Gimp
star
8.43
7 votes

#1 - The Gimp

Season 5 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/27/1986

Cagney gains insight into the life of the physically impaired when she takes to a wheelchair to nail muggers preying on the disabled.

Directors: Sharron Miller
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Ordinary Hero
star
8.17
6 votes

#2 - Ordinary Hero

Season 5 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/7/1985

Cagney and Lacey have no trouble with a case, thanks to their star witness. Alas, he's an illegal alien, who can only stay in the country until the trial ends. When the baddy takes a plea bargain, the witness and family are going to be deported

Directors: Reza Badiyi
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Parting Shots
star
8.17
6 votes

#3 - Parting Shots

Season 5 - Episode 24 - Aired 5/26/1986

The 14th precinct suffers the loss of one of their own, setting off a manhunt for a cop killer on the loose.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
A Safe Place
star
8.14
7 votes

#4 - A Safe Place

Season 5 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/12/1986

Cagney and Lacey race against time to catch a thief who stole more than he bargained for; meanwhile, Cagney faces another birthday, and the Laceys make an offer on a house.

Directors: Alexander Singer
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
On the Street
star
8.13
8 votes

#5 - On the Street

Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/30/1985

Cagney illegally detains a pimp to protect a prostitute who implicated him in murder.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Family Connections
star
7.88
8 votes

#6 - Family Connections

Season 5 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/10/1986

Cagney meets the new woman in her father's life; Isbecki regrets his lack of a family life; and, after a wild ride to the hospital, the Laceys welcome a new family member.

Directors: James Frawley
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Extradition
star
7.86
7 votes

#7 - Extradition

Season 5 - Episode 21 - Aired 5/5/1986

Cagney has an uneasy reunion with her brother when she and Lacey travel to Los Angeles to extradite a criminal.

Directors: Charles S. Dubin
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Power
star
7.71
7 votes

#8 - Power

Season 5 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/16/1985

Cagney's temporary command of the squad during Samuels' absence brings power-trip accusations from some of the men, particularly when she questions Isbecki's arrest of a hit man, and an order from Inspector Knelman to put Lacey on maternity leave.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Post Partum
star
7.71
7 votes

#9 - Post Partum

Season 5 - Episode 17 - Aired 2/17/1986

A West Point cadet caught with cocaine refuses to help himself avoid court-martial due to his code of honor; and Mary Beth receives an unwanted visit from her estranged father, who abandoned her and her mother thirty years ago.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Exit Stage Centre
star
7.71
7 votes

#10 - Exit Stage Centre

Season 5 - Episode 19 - Aired 3/10/1986

An investigation of an actress's apparent suicide reveals several murder suspects; Cagney makes an interesting date; and Harvey reveals a secret from his past to Mary Beth.

Directors: James Frawley
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Act of Conscience
star
7.67
6 votes

#11 - Act of Conscience

Season 5 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/13/1986

Cagney is teamed with a detective who broke the blue wall of silence by going to the press about fellow cops on the take.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Rapist (aka Rebukes)
star
7.67
6 votes

#12 - The Rapist (aka Rebukes)

Season 5 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/6/1986

Lacey's energetic replacement impresses Cagney with hard work that provides a suspect in a rape case, until her zeal for justice starts to threaten the investigation.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Filial Duty
star
7.67
6 votes

#13 - Filial Duty

Season 5 - Episode 8 - Aired 12/2/1985

Cagney's father is hospitalized; and a murder case prompts a pregnant Lacey to consider taking a desk job.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Mothers & Sons
star
7.57
7 votes

#14 - Mothers & Sons

Season 5 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/25/1985

A mother lies to clear her son of a violent robbery; and the Laceys disagree on how to handle a vandalism charge against Harvey Jr.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Old Ghosts
star
7.57
7 votes

#15 - Old Ghosts

Season 5 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/9/1985

A complaint charges Cagney with cowardice when a robbery suspect eludes her in a chase; and Chris' estranged brother wants their ailing father to join him in California.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Capitalism
star
7.57
7 votes

#16 - Capitalism

Season 5 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/7/1986

A lawyer who "helped" fellow Cambodian refugees for a fee is murdered; Lacey is affected by Harvey's job pressures; and Cagney tries to sell her car.

Directors: Alexander Singer
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Lottery
star
7.56
9 votes

#17 - Lottery

Season 5 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/28/1985

After the New York State Lottery has paid out millions, here comes another ticket. Somebody has a fake, but who? In the B story, Harvey and Mary Beth must face an IRS audit

Directors: James Frawley
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Entrapment
star
7.50
6 votes

#18 - Entrapment

Season 5 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/4/1985

Lacey faces an ethical dilemma when Cagney demands that she go along with Chris' lie that she didn't entrap a drug dealer; meanwhile, Isbecki betrays Petrie's confidence.

Directors: Al Waxman
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Clinic
star
7.50
8 votes

#19 - The Clinic

Season 5 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/11/1985

Cagney walks the line, while Lacey is clearly pro-choice in abortion discussions sparked by the bombing of a women's clinic.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
DWI
star
7.50
6 votes

#20 - DWI

Season 5 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/20/1986

Cagney starts to confront her own demons with the bottle while helping Lacey build a case against a drunken driver who put her neighbor's son in a coma.

Directors: Al Waxman
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Man Who Shot Trotsky
star
7.43
7 votes

#21 - The Man Who Shot Trotsky

Season 5 - Episode 18 - Aired 3/3/1986

Cagney presses an informant to get information on a drug supplier who walked away from an earlier arrest, after she admitted to entrapping him.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Psychic
star
7.40
5 votes

#22 - The Psychic

Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/21/1985

Cagney doubts the abilities of a psychic hired by an irate husband after police evidence indicates his missing wife is a voluntary runaway.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Model Citizen
star
7.33
6 votes

#23 - Model Citizen

Season 5 - Episode 23 - Aired 5/25/1986

Cagney and Lacey each deal with surprise visitors in their lives while they investigate the slaying of a "model citizen."

Directors: Jeffrey Hayden
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Play It Again, Santa
star
7.17
6 votes

#24 - Play It Again, Santa

Season 5 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/23/1985

Cagney and Newman don Santa suits to probe the disappearance of two street musicians; and Chris discovers that the lawyer she's dating is seeing other women.

Watch Now:Apple TV