Here’s Why Meg Foster Was Fired From ‘Cagney & Lacey’

I have to admit that I have always been mesmerized by Meg Foster‘s unique, pale blue eyes, which I first took note of back when she starred in an adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic literary work, The Scarlet Letter.  The next time I saw Meg on TV, it was on a new CBS crime drama called Cagney & Lacey. And then, without any sort of warning, Meg was gone, replaced by an actress Sharon Gless, previously of another CBS TV show, the Wayne Rogers comedy House Calls. So why was Meg Foster fired from Cagney & Lacey? The answer has to do with the kind of female cop TV executives though viewers would get behind.

But first, it’s important to note that Meg Foster wasn’t the first Detective Chris Cagney. In the 1981 TV movie that preceded the television series, Loretta Swit actually played that character. Loretta was passionate about this role and actually had some input on the casting of Tyne Daly as her partner. However, when the decision was made to move forward with a weekly TV series, Loretta was unable to work something out with the producers of M*A*S*H, and so the search for a new actress was on. Producers settled on Meg.

When the new series debuted in March of 1982, it was hailed by critics as a step in the right direction when it came to the portrayal of strong female characters. The writing was top-notch, and both Meg and Tyne made the most of their lines.  

Everett Collection

Without a doubt, Meg was excited to be part of this program. Speaking about her character, here’s what she told journalist Will Jones in 1982: “I could live with this character. A modern working woman. I could wear this hat comfortably for a few years.” 

However, when the ratings for the series weren’t on par with the television movie, network executives started scrutinizing the show, and at the very top of their list of nitpicks was Meg Foster. 

They said that she looked too much like Tyne. They also thought that the character was too aggressive and not feminine enough. Clearly, the executives wanted Christine Cagney to be more like Loretta Swit. They were even worried about whether viewers would think that Cagney was gay. However, none of these concerns seemed to matter all that much when CBS made the decision to cancel the show due to low ratings after just six episodes. 

So, imagine my surprise when Cagney & Lacey did return for a second season and Meg was no longer part of the show. Apparently, the network had a change of heart when Sharon Gless became available after House Calls was canceled. 

Truthfully, we shouldn’t feel too darn bad for Meg, because she went on to have an amazing career, at least when it comes to movies that I enjoyed mightily. Yep. I’ll be the first to admit that I thought the 1987 Masters of the Universe movie was pretty darn good, and Meg was freaking awesome as the villainous Evil-Lyn. 

And then the following year, she showed up in another favorite of mine, John Carpenter‘s classic movie They Live. Folks, if you haven’t seen this one, do yourself a favor and carve out a couple of hours for this gem of a film. 

More recently, Meg has had significant roles in the TV series Pretty Little Liars and its spinoff, Ravenswood. While she’s gotten older, her eyes remain as mesmerizing as ever. She was also heard (but not seen) as a character called Mother Mayhem in a direct to video animated adaptation of the classic DC Comics Teen Titans graphic novel, The Judas Contract. And wouldn’t you know it? The animators took the time to give Meg’s character the same hypnotic pale blue eyes.