# The Trials of Rosie O'Neill

The Trials of Rosie O'Neill is an American drama television series which aired on CBS from September 17, 1990 to May 30, 1992. The show stars Sharon Gless as Fiona Rose "Rosie" O'Neill, a lawyer working in the public defender's office for the City of Los Angeles. The show marked the return of Gless to series television after her run on Cagney & Lacey.
"Rosie" was created by Beth Sullivan and Joe Cacaci, and produced by Cagney & Lacey producer Barney Rosenzweig, whom Gless married in 1991. The writing staff included Beth Sullivan, Joe Cacaci, Josef Anderson, Nicole Yorkin and Dawn Prestwich. The show was cancelled by CBS in 1992.

## Plot

Each episode opens with Rosie talking with her therapist (Rosenzweig), whose face was never seen on camera. Rosie had been at the receiving end of an unwanted divorce, after her attorney husband had an affair. The advertisement for the series which appeared in TV Guide the night the series debuted told the story as follows: "I'm 43 and divorced. He got our law practice, the Mercedes, and the dog. It's only fair that I should be angry. I really liked that dog."

## Cast

The show's cast also included Dorian Harewood, Ron Rifkin, Georgann Johnson, Lisa Rieffel and Robert Wagner. Season 2 saw two new cast additions: Ed Asner joined the cast as the cantankerous Kovac, a retired cop hired by Rosie's law firm as one of their investigators. David Rasche was cast in a recurring dramatic role as Patrick Ginty, Rosie's ex-husband who was often referred to but never seen in the first season. Adding Asner to the regular cast squeezed out Dorian Harewood, who was billed as "Special Guest Star" in all season 2 episodes.

## Episodes
### Season 1: 1990–91

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
| 1 | 1 | "Starting Over" | Ron Lagomarsino | Beth Sullivan & Joe Cacaci | September 17, 1990 (1990-09-17) |
| 2 | 2 | "The Rapist" | Sharron Miller | Beth Sullivan & Dawn Prestwich & Joe Cacaci & Nicole Yorkin | September 24, 1990 (1990-09-24) |
| 3 | 3 | "So Long Patrick" | David Carson | Josef Anderson | October 1, 1990 (1990-10-01) |
| 4 | 4 | "Late Night Callers" | Reza Badiyi | Dawn Prestwich & Nicole Yorkin | October 15, 1990 (1990-10-15) |
| 5 | 5 | "Shalom" | Reza Badiyi | Story by : Kip Orgullo & Beth Sullivan & Joe Cacaci and Nicole Yorkin & Dawn Prestwich Teleplay by : Nicole Yorkin & Joe Cacaci & Dawn Prestwich | October 22, 1990 (1990-10-22) |
| 6 | 6 | "An Act of Love" | Joel Rosenzweig | Judy Merl & Paul Eric Myers | October 29, 1990 (1990-10-29) |
| 7 | 7 | "When I'm 44" | Sharron Miller | Beth Sullivan & Josef Anderson & Joe Cacaci & Dawn Prestwich & Nicole Yorkin | November 5, 1990 (1990-11-05) |
| 8 | 8 | "Rosie Gets the Blues" | James Frawley | Terry Abrahamson | November 19, 1990 (1990-11-19) |
| 9 | 9 | "The Gang's All Here" | Nancy Malone | Josef Anderson | November 26, 1990 (1990-11-26) |
| 10 | 10 | "Mr. Right" | Reza Badiyi | Joe Cacaci | December 3, 1990 (1990-12-03) |
| 11 | 11 | "The Man from E.L.F." | Reza Badiyi | Josef Anderson | December 17, 1990 (1990-12-17) |
| 12 | 12 | "Mother Love" | Victoria Hochberg | Nicole Yorkin & Dawn Prestwich | December 31, 1990 (1990-12-31) |
| 13 | 13 | "State of Mind" | Sharron Miller | Story by : Beth Sullivan & Barbara Schiffman Teleplay by : Beth Sullivan | January 7, 1991 (1991-01-07) |
| 14 | 14 | "Time Will Tell" | Gwen Arner | Debbie Smith & Danna Doyle | January 14, 1991 (1991-01-14) |
| 15 | 15 | "Reunion" | Nancy Malone | Story by : Michael Corey Teleplay by : Dawn Prestwich & Nicole Yorkin & Josef Anderson | January 28, 1991 (1991-01-28) |
| 16 | 16 | "A Conflict of Interest" | Joel Rosenzweig | Joe Cacaci | June 9, 1991 (1991-06-09) |
| 17 | 17 | "Environmental Robin Hood" | Reza Badiyi | Barry Schkolnick | June 16, 1991 (1991-06-16) |
| 18 | 18 | "Special Circumstances" | Sharron Miller | Dawn Prestwich & Nicole Yorkin | June 23, 1991 (1991-06-23) |

### Season 2: 1991–92

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
| 19 | 1 | "Real Mothers" | Unknown | Carol Mendelsohn | September 12, 1991 (1991-09-12) |
| 20 | 2 | "Knock Knock" | Unknown | Dawn Prestwich & Nicole Yorkin | September 19, 1991 (1991-09-19) |
| 21 | 3 | "Domestic Silence" | Unknown | Susan Miler | September 26, 1991 (1991-09-26) |
| 22 | 4 | "Wolf Pack" | Unknown | Kathy McCormick | October 3, 1991 (1991-10-03) |
| 23 | 5 | "This Can't Be Love" | Unknown | Eric Overmyer | October 31, 1991 (1991-10-31) |
| 24 | 6 | "Life Support" | Unknown | Cai Emmons & Richard Howorth | November 7, 1991 (1991-11-07) |
| 25 | 7 | "Happy Birthday or Else" | Unknown | Nicole Yorkin & Dawn Prestwich | November 14, 1991 (1991-11-14) |
| 26 | 8 | "Dr. Psychedelic" | Unknown | Carol Mendelsohn | November 15, 1991 (1991-11-15) |
| 27 | 9 | "Family Business" | Unknown | Joe Cacaci | November 22, 1991 (1991-11-22) |
| 28 | 10 | "Battle Fatigue" | Unknown | Babs Greyhosky | December 12, 1991 (1991-12-12) |
| 29 | 11 | "Lady Luck" | Unknown | James Kramer | December 19, 1991 (1991-12-19) |
| 30 | 12 | "The Other Woman" | Unknown | Carol Mendelsohn | April 11, 1992 (1992-04-11) |
| 31 | 13 | "Heartbreak Hotel" | Nancy Malone | Susan Miller | April 18, 1992 (1992-04-18) |
| 32 | 14 | "Sweet Sixteen" | Unknown | Dawn Prestwich & Nicole Yorkin | April 25, 1992 (1992-04-25) |
| 33 | 15 | "Double Bind" | Unknown | Tim Raphael & Sally Nemeth & James Kramer | May 9, 1992 (1992-05-09) |
| 34 | 16 | "Role Reversal" | Unknown | Story by : Sherri Ziff Teleplay by : Cai Emmons & Richard Howorth and Nicole Yorkin & Dawn Prestwich | May 30, 1992 (1992-05-30) |

## Production

Production of the series was rushed for airing as a last-minute replacement for the intended Monday night vehicle, Face to Face with Connie Chung, in order to meet the air date.

## Notability

The series received some notoriety for its debut episode in which O'Neill jokes about getting breast augmentation surgery. She does so by asking if she "should get my tits done". The use of the word "tits" (famously cited by George Carlin as one of the seven dirty words that could not be said on television or radio) led to some controversy.
On a different note, the series was notable for being one of the few television shows to include an observant Jew—Ben Meyer, Rosie's boss, played by Ron Rifkin—as a regular character. Equally notable is that, although the Meyer character wore a kippah (skullcap), his religious identity was, with the exception of occasional instances when it figured directly in the plot, usually treated casually and without overt mention, without either melodrama or condescension.

## Theme song

The theme song, entitled "I Wish I Knew", was written by Carole King and performed over the first season's credits by Melissa Manchester. Carole King made a guest appearance in a first season episode, performing an extended version of the song herself along with Gless and a few other series guests. The second season's intro (changed to the dismay of many fans) dropped the Manchester vocals, instead using an instrumental version of the theme. The series would revert to Manchester's vocal later on in the second season, prior to the cancellation by CBS.

## Reception

The show gained a modest reception from critics.
For the episode, State of Mind, in which Rosie becomes preoccupied with curing the ills of a system that allows Irene Hayes (Peggy McCay), a mentally unstable woman, to live on the streets, McCay was awarded a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series.