:David E. Kelley

David Edward Kelley was born on April 4, 1956 in Waterville, Maine, raised in Belmont, Massachusetts, and attended the Belmont Hill School. His father is Jack Kelley, a member of the United States Ice Hockey Hall of Fame. Kelley was a stick boy for the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association in their inaugural season of 1972–1973 when his father coached the team.{{cite web |url=http://goterriers.cstv.com/hallfame/kelley-john-h.html |title=Boston University Hall of Fame: John H. "Jack" Kelley |access-date=February 8, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090104220140/http://goterriers.cstv.com/hallfame/kelley-john-h.html |archive-date=January 4, 2009}}{{cite book |last=Willes |first=Ed |year=2004 |title=The Rebel League: The Short and Unruly Life of the World Hockey Association |url=https://archive.org/details/rebelleagueshort0000will |location=Toronto |publisher=McClelland & Stewart |isbn=0771089473 |url-access=registration }} Kelley was captain of the Princeton Tigers men's ice hockey team at Princeton University, where he graduated in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in political science.{{cite news |date=March 2, 1998 |last=Carter |first=Bill |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/02/arts/unintended-career-tv-s-prolific-writer-real-law-office-two-fictional-ones.html |title=The Unintended Career Of TV's Prolific Writer; From Real Law Office to Two Fictional Ones |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 26, 2008}}

Demonstrating early on a creative and quirky bent, in his junior year at Princeton, Kelley submitted a paper for a political science class about John F. Kennedy's plot to kill Fidel Castro, written as a poem. For his senior thesis, he turned the Bill of Rights into a play. "I made each amendment into a character", he said. "The First Amendment is a loudmouth guy who won't shut up. The Second Amendment guy, all he wanted to talk about was his gun collection. Then the 10th Amendment, the one where they say leave the rest for the states to decide, he was a guy with no self-esteem." Also while at Princeton, he was a member of the Princeton Triangle Club.{{cite news|date=November 18, 2007|author= La Gorce, Tammy|url= http://select.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?emc=tnt&tntget=2007/11/18/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/18trianglenj.html&tntemail0=y|title= From Trenton to Piscataway, a Virtual Tour of the State for Laughs|access-date=2007-11-18| work=The New York Times}}

Kelley received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Boston University School of Law, where he wrote for the Legal Follies,{{cite web|url=http://www.bu.edu/law/central/follies/|title=Boston University School of Law – BU Law Central – Legal Follies – Welcome!|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910191619/http://www.bu.edu/law/central/follies/|archive-date=2015-09-10}} a sketch comedy group composed of Boston University law students which still holds annual performances. He began working for a Boston law firm,{{which|date=January 2020}} mostly dealing with real estate and minor criminal cases.

In 1983, while considering it only a hobby, Kelley began writing a screenplay, a legal thriller, which was optioned in 1986 and later became the Judd Nelson feature film From the Hip in 1987.{{cite news|date=February 7, 1990|author= Carter, Bill|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1990/02/07/arts/he-s-a-lawyer-he-s-a-writer-but-can-he-type.html|title= He's a Lawyer. He's a Writer. But Can He Type?|work= The New York Times|access-date=2008-03-26}}

In 1986, Steven Bochco was searching for writers with a law background for his new NBC legal series, L.A. Law. His agent sent him Kelley's movie script for From the Hip. Enthusiastic, Bochco made him a writer and story editor for the show. During this first year, Kelley kept his law office in Boston as a hedge. However, his involvement in the show only expanded. In the second year, he became executive story editor and co-producer. Finally, in 1989, Bochco stepped away from the series, making Kelley the executive producer. While executive producer, Kelley received two Emmys for Outstanding Writing in a Dramatic Series and the show received the award for Outstanding Drama Series for both years. For the first five seasons that he was involved with the show, he wrote or co-wrote two out of three episodes. Kelley left after the fifth season in 1991 and ratings began to fall. As Newsday's TV critic wrote, "The difference between good and bad L.A. Law ... was David Kelley."Levine, David E. Kelley: The Man Behind Ally McBeal. p. 24 Midway through the sixth season, both Bochco and Kelley were brought in as creative consultants after the show received bad press about its decline in quality.{{cite news|date=January 30, 1992|author= Carter, Bill|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/30/news/la-law-to-halt-slide-reaches-back-to-bochco.html|title= 'L.A. Law,' to Halt Slide, Reaches Back to Bochco|work= The New York Times|access-date=2008-03-26}}

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In 1992, after co-creating Doogie Howser, M.D. with his mentor Steven Bochco, Kelley formed his own production company, David E. Kelley Productions, making a three-series deal with CBS.Levine, David E. Kelley: The Man Behind Ally McBeal. p. 28 Its first creation, Picket Fences, airing in 1992 and influenced by Twin Peaks and Northern Exposure,Levine, David E. Kelley: The Man Behind Ally McBeal. p. 27 focused on the police department in the fictional quirky town of Rome, Wisconsin. Kelley wrote most of the episodes for the first three years.Levine, David E. Kelley: The Man Behind Ally McBeal. p. 31 The show was critically acclaimed but never found a sizable audience.{{cite news|date= May 3, 2001|author= Levine, Stuart|url= https://variety.com/2001/tv/features/kelley-acts-as-judge-jury-for-series-quality-1117798567/|title= Kelley acts as judge, jury for series quality|publisher=Variety|access-date= 2007-04-02|url-status= live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071030095158/http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117798567.html?categoryid=1048&cs=1&query=David+E.+Kelley+|archive-date= October 30, 2007}} Picket Fences went on for four years, receiving a total of 14 Emmy awards including consecutive Emmys for Outstanding Drama Series for its first and second seasons.{{cite web|url= http://www.emmys.com/award_history_search?person=david+e.+kelley&program=&start_year=1949&end_year=2010&network=All&web_category=All&winner=All|title= Advanced Primetime Awards Search|access-date=2007-04-08}}

In 1995, the fourth and final season, Kelley wrote only two episodes. "We had almost 10 writers try to come in and take over for this one man", said Picket Fences actress Holly Marie Combs. "The quality was not nearly what it was."{{cite web|date=July 10, 1997|author= Urankar, Stan|url= http://www.sunnews.com/entertain/features/hollycombs.htm|title= Outside those "Picket Fences"|publisher=Sun News Ohio|access-date=2007-04-01 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070302162603/http://www.sunnews.com/entertain/features/hollycombs.htm |archive-date = 2007-03-02}}

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Under pressure from CBS to develop a second series even though he didn't feel ready to produce two shows simultaneously,Levine, David E. Kelley: The Man Behind Ally McBeal. p. 35 Kelley launched the medical drama Chicago Hope, starring Mandy Patinkin and Adam Arkin, which premiered in 1994.{{cite news|date=September 19, 1994|author= O'Connor, John J.|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/19/arts/television-review-doctor-shows-for-the-high-tech-90-s.html|title= Doctor Shows for the High-Tech 90's|work= The New York Times|access-date=2007-04-08}} Airing at the same time as the season's other new medical drama, NBC's ER, the ultimate ratings leader,For the six seasons, ER ranked in the top four, Chicago Hope's highest ranking was 23rd.[http://theenvelope.latimes.com/extras/lostmind/ratings/ratings.htm] Chicago Hope plotted "upscale medicine in a high-tech world run by high-priced doctors".{{cite news|date=October 23, 1999|author= O'Connor, John J.|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/23/arts/television-view-the-operation-was-a-success-er-lives.html|title= The Operation Was a Success: 'E.R.' Lives|work= The New York Times|access-date=2007-04-08}} During its six-year run, it won seven Emmys and generally high critical praise, but only middling ratings.Levine, David E. Kelley: The Man Behind Ally McBeal. p. 37

Originally intending to write only the first several episodes in order to return full-time to Picket Fences, Kelley eventually wrote most of the material for both shows, a total of roughly 40 scripts. Expressing a desire to focus more on his production company and upcoming projects, Kelley ceased day-to-day involvement with both series in 1995, allowing others to write and produce. Towards the end of the fifth season in 1999, facing cancellation, Kelley fired most of the cast members added since he had left the show, brought back Mandy Patinkin and began writing episodes again.{{cite news|date=May 23, 1999|author= Carter, Bill|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/12/arts/tv-notes-calling-dr-geiger.html|title= Calling Dr. Geiger|work= The New York Times|access-date=2008-03-26}}

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In 1995, Kelley entered into a five-year deal with 20th Century Fox Television to produce shows for both the ABC and FOX television networks, each agreeing to take two series. If one network passed on a project, the other got first refusal. Kelley retained full creative control.Caves, Switching Channels: Organization and Change in TV Broadcasting. p. 26 Ally McBeal on FOX and The Practice on ABC were the first two projects to come from this deal.The other two projects were Ally, a short-lived 30 minute edit of Ally McBeal on FOX and the quickly cancelled Snoops on ABC.

Premiering as a midseason replacement for the 1996–1997 season, The Practice was Kelley's chance to write another courtroom drama but one focusing on the less-glamorous realities of a small law firm. The Practice would be the first of four successful series by Kelley that were set in Boston, proximal to his hometown of Belmont, Massachusetts. Receiving critical applause (along with two Emmys for Outstanding Drama Series) but low ratings in its starting seasons, it eventually became a popular top 10 program.{{cite news|date= May 3, 2001|author= Kissel, Rick|url= https://variety.com/2001/tv/features/practice-s-good-legal-standing-1117798566/|title= 'Practice's' good legal standing|publisher=Variety|access-date= 2007-04-02|url-status= live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071109145244/http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117798566.html?categoryid=1048&cs=1&query=David+E.+Kelley+|archive-date= November 9, 2007}} The New York Times described the show as "the profoundly realistic, unending battle between soul-searching and ambition". Full-time writers on the first season of The Practice included David Shore, later the creator of House, Stephen Gaghan, a future Oscar winner for Traffic, Michael R. Perry, the creator of the 2011–12 series The River, and Ed Redlich, co-creator of the 2011–12 series Unforgettable. Later the writing staff would grow to 10, most with law degrees.{{cite news|date= May 3, 2001|author= Levine, Stuart|url= https://variety.com/2001/tv/features/as-former-lawyers-writers-on-same-page-1117798580/|title= As former lawyers, writers on same page|publisher=Variety|access-date= 2007-04-02|url-status= live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071030095641/http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117798580.html?categoryid=1048&cs=1&query=David+E.+Kelley+|archive-date= October 30, 2007}} By the fifth season, he would usually only edit the final script and was generally not on the set during filming.{{cite news|date= May 3, 2001|author= Wethington, Jessica|url= https://variety.com/2001/tv/features/script-to-b-cast-a-race-vs-deadline-1117798570/|title= Script-to-b'cast a race vs. deadline|publisher=Variety|access-date= 2007-04-02|url-status= live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071225191330/http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117798570.html?categoryid=1048&cs=1&query=David+E%2E+Kelley+|archive-date= December 25, 2007}}

In 2003, due to sagging ratings, ABC cut Kelley's budget in half for the eighth and final season. He responded by firing most of the cast and hiring James Spader for the role of Alan Shore,{{cite web|date=September 17, 2003|url= https://www.tvguide.com/News-Views/Interviews-Features/Article/default.aspx?posting=%7BF18D410B-1143-401A-B10C-F1F9B25B627A%7D|title= Kelley Defends The Practice|publisher=TV Guide|access-date=2007-04-06}} whom The New York Times described as "a lecherous, twisted antitrust lawyer with a breezy disregard for ethics."{{cite news|date=September 27, 2003|author= Stanley, Allesendra|url= https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01EEDA123DF934A1575AC0A9659C8B63&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fK%2fKelley%2c%20David%20E%2e|title= Same Old Law Firm, New Snake|work= The New York Times|access-date=2007-04-02}} The final episodes of The Practice were focused on introducing the new characters from his next show, Boston Legal.

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When Ally McBeal premiered in 1997 on FOX, Kelley was also shepherding his other two shows, Chicago Hope and The Practice, although he was not actively participating in Chicago Hope at the time. The title character Ally is a young, attractive, impulsive, Harvard-educated lawyer described by a New York Times journalist as "stylish, sexy, smart, opinionated, and an emotional wreck."{{cite news|date=November 23, 1997|author= Kimberly, Stevens|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1997/11/23/style/noticed-ally-the-talk-around-the-water-cooler.html|title= NOTICED; Ally, the Talk Around the Water Cooler|work= The New York Times|access-date=2008-03-26}} In contrast to The Practice and its idealistic lawyers, the law firm in Ally McBeal was founded only to make money.Levine, David E. Kelley: The Man Behind Ally McBeal. p. 8

The New York Times felt that the show uniquely emphasised "character and caricature".{{cite news|date=April 27, 1998|author= James, Caryn|url= https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03E1DA113FF934A15757C0A96E958260&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fK%2fKelley%2c%20David%20E%2e|title= Ally McBeal Teams Up With Less Flitty Lawyers|work= The New York Times|access-date=2007-04-02}} The show lasted five seasons, seven Emmys (one for Outstanding Comedy Series for its second season), mostly positive reviews and a barrage of criticism for its portrayal of women, with many journalists saying that the character Ally was a giant step backwards.Levine, David E. Kelley: The Man Behind Ally McBeal. pp. 62–63

Parallel to The Practice, Kelley penned all the scripts for the first season, then brought in other writers in subsequent years, although he continued to write many episodes himself.

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When the program Ally McBeal first ran, many women lauded its portrayal of the lead character. Sharon Waxman, writing for The Washington Post, commented that Kelley had a keen insight into the human nature of both men and women. She quoted Dyan Cannon: "This man understands the way a woman thinks, ... the complex ways we've found to hide our fears."{{Cite news | last = Waxman | first = Sharon | author-link = Sharon Waxman | title = America Follows His Script | newspaper = The Washington Post | page = G.01 | date = February 22, 1998 | url = https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/26542008.html?dids=26542008:26542008&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Feb+22%2C+1998&author=Sharon+Waxman&pub=The+Washington+Post&edition=&startpage=G.01&desc=America+Follows+His+Script | access-date = July 6, 2017 | archive-date = October 1, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121001184906/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/26542008.html?dids=26542008:26542008&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Feb+22,+1998&author=Sharon+Waxman&pub=The+Washington+Post&edition=&startpage=G.01&desc=America+Follows+His+Script | url-status = dead }} A New York Times writer used the character as an example of a strong television woman's role,{{cite news|date=December 18, 1997|author= Sterngold, James|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/18/arts/strong-women-in-tv-they-d-sure-better-be-progress-but-slowly-on-camera-and-off.html |title= Strong Women in TV? They'd Sure Better Be; Progress, but Slowly, on Camera and Off|work= The New York Times|access-date=2008-03-26}} another saw herself, at times, in the character's portrayal of self-absorption and reflection, her crafted neuroses, her vulnerabilities.

Later, however, much press coverage was spent on the controversial nature of women in Ally McBeal. Time featured a cover story about the decline of feminism with a picture of Ally (among a pantheon of feminist heroines) on the cover.{{cite magazine|date=June 29, 1998|author= Time cover|url= http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19980629,00.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070206044708/http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19980629,00.html|url-status= dead|archive-date= February 6, 2007|title= Time cover of June 29, 1998|magazine= Time|access-date=2007-04-10}} In the article, Ginia Bellafante used the McBeal character as a modern exemplar proving that "[M]uch of feminism has devolved into the silly."{{cite magazine|date=June 29, 1998|author= Bellafante, Ginia|url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,988616-1,00.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071226035244/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,988616-1,00.html|url-status= dead|archive-date= December 26, 2007|title= It's All About Me!|magazine= Time|access-date=2007-04-10|author-link= Ginia Bellafante}} In response, author Erica Jong felt that the Time journalist diminished her argument by using only pop-cultural references and ignoring the majority of real-world women who have made significant progress.{{Cite news | last = Jong | first = Erica | author-link = Erica Jong | title = Ally McBeal and Time Magazine Can't Keep the Good Women Down | work= The New York Observer | pages = 19 | date = July 13, 1998 | url = http://www.ericajong.com/nyobserver980713.htm | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061125193957/http://www.ericajong.com/nyobserver980713.htm | archive-date = November 25, 2006 }}

Writing in Salon.com, Joyce Millman disputed that Ally McBeal should even be described as a "women's show"—that its representations of women were, in fact, a male fantasy. She felt that Kelley treated his female characters "sadistically" in general, beginning all the way back to L.A. Law, saving only The Practice for positive remarks.

Kelley's Ally McBeal was hugely successful in attracting the 18-to-34-year-old women audience demographic. The New York Times columnist, Maureen Dowd, quoted two young, professional women saying they liked shows with female characters like themselves, single, even obsessed. Dowd quoted the executive producer of Law & Order, Dick Wolf, "I think there is a wish-fulfillment factor when you put an attractive woman in a situation where she is doing real, adult stuff."{{cite news|date=July 22, 1998|author= Dowd, Maureen|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/22/opinion/liberties-she-tv-me-tv.html|title= Liberties; She-TV, Me-TV|work= The New York Times|access-date=2008-03-26|author-link= Maureen Dowd}}

In 2000, 20th Century Fox Television extended its arrangement with Kelley.{{cite news|date=January 12, 2000|author= Carter, Bill|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/12/arts/tv-notes.html|title= TV NOTES|work= The New York Times|access-date=2008-03-26}} The deal, which ran for six years, reportedly made Kelley the highest-paid producer in TV history—up to $40 million a year—in return for a first-look at his projects.{{cite news|date= January 12, 2000|author= Flint, Joe|url= https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/wsj/access/47822960.html?dids=47822960:47822960&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Jan+12%2C+2000&author=By+Joe+Flint&pub=Wall+Street+Journal&edition=Eastern+edition&startpage=1&type=91_1996&desc=News+Corp.+May+Make+David+Kelley+Highest-Paid+Producer+in+TV+History|title= News Corp. May Make David Kelley Highest-Paid Producer in TV History|publisher=The Wall Street Journal|access-date= 2007-04-06|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070930231941/https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/wsj/access/47822960.html?dids=47822960%3A47822960&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS%3AFT&date=Jan+12%2C+2000&author=By+Joe+Flint&pub=Wall+Street+Journal&edition=Eastern+edition&startpage=1&type=91_1996&desc=News+Corp.+May+Make+David+Kelley+Highest-Paid+Producer+in+TV+History|archive-date= 2007-09-30|url-status= dead}}

Premiering on FOX in 2000, Boston Public, which follows the lives of teachers and administrators at a Boston inner-city high school, joined The Practice and Ally McBeal for the season, meaning Kelley was responsible for writing or overseeing 67 episodes.

The program was initially considered a modest hit but received less than glowing reviews. The previous season, Kelley stumbled with both the short-lived Snoops, his first attempt at delegating most of the responsibilities to others, and with Ally, the experiment with 30-minute shortened episodes of Ally McBeal. The TV critic from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram opined that these failures and the weaknesses he saw in Boston Public were a sign that Kelley had lost the Midas touch.{{cite web|date=December 13, 2000|author= Perkins, Ken Parish|url= http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-68020775.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110516213752/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-68020775.html|url-status= dead|archive-date= May 16, 2011|title= Prolific writer/producer David E. Kelley can't seem to sustain hits|publisher=Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service|access-date=2007-04-09}} The show lasted four seasons, garnering one minor Emmy.

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In addition to Snoops, Kelley continued to have a string of unsuccessful series: Girls Club in 2002, The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire in 2003 and the reality show The Law Firm in 2005. All the while, he continued overseeing Boston Public and The Practice.

Boston Legal on ABC, premiering in 2004, gave continuity and success to the Kelley franchise. It was a spin-off of his long-running legal drama The Practice, and followed attorney Alan Shore (a character who became the star of The Practice in its final season, played by James Spader) to his new law firm, Crane, Poole & Schmidt. It also starred veteran television actors Candice Bergen and William Shatner. Critically popular with less than spectacular ratings (ranked 27th for the first season,{{cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/television/feature_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000937471 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=2005-05-27 |title=2004–05 Final audience and ratings figures |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060708154445/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/television/feature_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000937471 |archive-date=July 8, 2006 }} 46th for the second),{{cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/television/feature_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002576393 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=2006-05-26 |title=2005–06 primetime wrap |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070114153530/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/television/feature_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002576393 |archive-date=January 14, 2007 }} the show was an "Emmy darling" during its run, winning seven times and being nominated over 25 times. The show won the Peabody Award in 2005 for its signature political commentaries.

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In 2007, Boston Legal began to see a rise of viewership as a result of its following ABC's popular Dancing with the Stars series, mostly ranking either first or second most-watched program of the evening in its ten o'clock time period, beating out CBS and NBC's shows.{{cite web|date=May 30, 2007|url=http://www.zap2it.com/tv/ratings/zap-ratings052907,0,2974350.story?coll=zap-tv-ratings-headlines|title='House' Finale Wins Tuesday for FOX|publisher=Zap2it|access-date=2007-05-30|archive-date=2011-05-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522042850/http://www.zap2it.com/tv/ratings/zap-ratings052907,0,2974350.story?coll=zap-tv-ratings-headlines|url-status=dead}}

The fifth and final season began in 2008 with Kelley writing most of the episodes. The season only aired thirteen episodes, making a series run of 101 episodes. The two-hour series finale drew 11 million viewers. Still, the show drew over 15 million viewers much of its first season—and Kelley felt ABC's treatment of the show over the years ultimately killed it, saying to TV Guide that ABC always treated the show like its "bastard child". Boston Legal aired on four different nights (Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Monday) in its five-season run, with the ratings slipping after each move. In the second-to-last episode of the series, Kelley blatantly wrote a show questioning the legitimacy of the Nielsen ratings and the network's treatment of the show by including a plot about a lawsuit against an unnamed television network.{{cite web|date= 2008-05-13|last= Porter|first= Rick|url= http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-bostonlegalfinalseason,0,7596840.story|title= 'Boston Legal' Bowing Out|publisher=Zap2it|access-date= 2008-10-08|archive-date= 2014-08-26|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140826030114/http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-bostonlegalfinalseason,0,7596840.story|url-status= dead}}{{cite news|date= 2008-05-23|last= Martin|first= Ed|url= https://www.huffingtonpost.com/ed-martin/why-emboston-legalem-is-o_b_103255.html|title= Why Boston Legal is One of Broadcast's Best|work= The Huffington Post|access-date= 2008-10-08}}

In 2007, Kelley received the Justice in the Arts Award from Death Penalty Focus, an organization dedicated to the abolition of the death penalty. He previously received an award from this organization in 2000 for his work on the show The Practice.{{cite web|date=April 13, 2007|author= Boston Legal|url= http://www.boston-legal.org/news.shtml|title= 'Justice in the Arts Award for David E. Kelley|publisher=Boston Legal|access-date=2010-04-23}}

Kelley's The Wedding Bells premiered in fall 2007 and was canceled after seven episodes.{{cite news |date=April 3, 2007 |title='Bells' stop ringing after seven episodes |publisher=CNN |url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/04/03/television.bells.reut/index.html?eref=rss_showbiz |access-date=2007-04-03}} {{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Additionally, Kelley worked on an Americanized version of the BBC show Life on Mars for the 2007–2008 season on ABC and also worked on an adaptation of Joseph Wambaugh's Hollywood Station. He later handed production to another creative crew.{{cite news |last=Steinberg |first=Jacques |author2=Eliott, Stuart |date=2008-05-13 |title=ABC Fall Roster Is Heavy on the Already Proven |work=The New York Times |url=http://select.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?emc=tnt&tntget=2008/05/13/business/media/13adco.html&tntemail0=y |access-date=2008-10-08}}{{cite magazine |author=Stack, Tim |date=November 17, 2006 |title=David E. Kelley makes a big comeback |url=https://ew.com/article/2006/11/10/david-e-kelley-makes-big-comeback/ |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=2007-04-10 |archive-date=2007-03-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070317052905/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1557734,00.html |url-status=live }}

In May 2008, Kelley signed a deal with Warner Bros. Television{{cite news|date= 2008-05-28|last= Andreeva|first= Nellie |url= https://www.reuters.com/article/televisionNews/idUSN2831046020080528|title= David E. Kelley leaving studio after 22 years|publisher=Reuters|access-date= 2008-10-11}} and later penned a spec script for another legal drama entitled Legally Mad in a comic vein. NBC ultimately rejected the series. NBC would pay a two million dollar penalty to Warner Bros. for Kelley's scripts.{{cite web|url=http://www.movieweb.com/news/NEiMHomqBdrQlr|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120905123755/http://www.movieweb.com/news/NEiMHomqBdrQlr|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 5, 2012|title=NBC Drops 'Legally Mad' Pilot|author=Brian Gallagher|date=12 May 2009|work=MovieWeb}} Kelley was the creator and executive producer of Harry's Law, which premiered on NBC on January 17, 2011. The series starred Kathy Bates in the titular role.{{cite web|date= 2009-01-11|url= http://insidetv.aol.com/2010/01/11/will-new-shows-from-j-j-abrams-david-e-kelley-and-jerry-bruck/|publisher=AOL|title= Will New Shows From J.J. Abrams, David E. Kelley and Jerry Bruckheimer Save NBC?|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100114210631/http://insidetv.aol.com/2010/01/11/will-new-shows-from-j-j-abrams-david-e-kelley-and-jerry-bruck|archive-date= 2010-01-14}}{{cite web|url=http://www.cleveland.com/tv/index.ssf/2010/01/nbc_announces_shows_in_develop.html|title=NBC announces shows in development for next season|work=cleveland.com|date=11 January 2010}} The show was cancelled in 2012 even though it was the network's second most-watched drama, because its audience skewed too old as the more desirable 18–49 demographic viewership was very low.{{cite web|date= May 13, 2012|last= Collins|first= Scott |url= http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2012/05/nbc-bye-harrys-law-viewers.html|title= NBC says buh-bye to 'very old' 'Harry's Law' viewers|work= Los Angeles Times|access-date= May 14, 2012}}

In 2011, Kelley wrote a script for the pilot episode of a new Wonder Woman TV series for Warner Bros. Television, but the pilot was rejected by NBC for its fall 2011 lineup.[http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/05/12/nbc-rejects-wonder-woman/ NBC rejects 'Wonder Woman'] Entertainment Weekly 2011-05-12

A new medical series, Monday Mornings, co-created with Sanjay Gupta, premiered February 2013 on TNT, the cable television channel owned by Time Warner. Set in Portland, Oregon, the show stars Ving Rhames, Alfred Molina and Jamie Bamber.{{cite web|date= May 8, 2012|last= Kenneally|first= Tim|url= https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sns-rt-us-davidekelleybre8471dh-20120508,0,5092299.story|title= David E. Kelley medical drama to be TNT series|work= Chicago Tribune|access-date= May 14, 2012}} {{Dead link|date=August 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} In May 2013, the show was canceled by TNT.{{cite web|url=http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/05/10/southland-canceled-by-tnt/182028|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606210035/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/05/10/southland-canceled-by-tnt/182028/|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 6, 2013|title='Southland' & 'Monday Mornings' Canceled by TNT|last=Kondolojy|first=Amanda|work=TV by the Numbers|date=May 10, 2013|access-date=May 10, 2013}}

A new comedy series created by Kelley, The Crazy Ones, starring Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar, premiered on CBS on September 26, 2013. The show was cancelled after a season due to lukewarm reception.

In 2015, Kelley created the Amazon Studios series Goliath.{{cite web|url=http://www.celebrityextraonline.com/p/q-and-week-of-oct-1.html|title=Celebrity Q&A|last=Elavsky|first=Cindy|publisher=King Features|date=September 21, 2015|access-date=October 1, 2015|archive-date=June 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607191943/http://www.celebrityextraonline.com/p/q-and-week-of-oct-1.html|url-status=dead}}

In 2017, Kelley spearheaded a new HBO series, Big Little Lies, which won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series.{{Cite web|url=https://www.vulture.com/2017/02/david-e-kelley-big-little-lies-adapting-book-to-series.html|title = David e. Kelley on the 'Messy Mix' of Comedy and Drama in HBO's Big Little Lies| date=17 February 2017 }} He was also a showrunner on the TV adaptation of the Stephen King novel Mr. Mercedes.{{cite web|website=Deadline Hollywood|url=https://deadline.com/2017/01/mr-mercedes-brendan-gleeson-harry-treadaway-cast-audience-network-drama-series-1201896871/|title='Mr. Mercedes' Sets Cast Led By Brendan Gleeson & Harry Treadaway|date=30 January 2017|language=en}}

In March 2018, it was announced that HBO had given a series order for The Undoing, a miniseries based on the 2014 novel You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz. The series was written by Kelley, who also served as executive producer with Nicole Kidman (who starred alongside Hugh Grant and Donald Sutherland), Per Saari, and Bruna Papandrea. Susanne Bier directed the miniseries. It premiered in October 2020, and was the most-watched show on HBO that year.{{cite web |last1=Zorrilla|first1=Mónica Marie|title='The Undoing' Becomes HBO's Most-Watched Series of 2020, Surpasses 'Big Little Lies' Audience (EXCLUSIVE)|url=https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/undoing-hbo-most-watched-series-1234909406/|website=Variety|access-date=February 17, 2021|language=en|date=February 17, 2021}}

In June 2019, Kelley wrote a script for a CBS crime drama series, The Lincoln Lawyer, based from the 2005 novel of the same name by Michael Connelly.{{cite web |last1=Andreeva|first1=Nellie|title='The Lincoln Lawyer' Drama From David E. Kelley & A+E Studios Gets CBS Series Production Commitment|url=https://deadline.com/2019/06/the-lincoln-lawyer-drama-david-e-kelley-ae-studios-cbs-series-production-commitment-1202637812/|website=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=January 31, 2020|language=en|date=June 25, 2019}} On May 2, 2020, CBS announced that the pilot would not be moving forward.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2020/05/the-lincoln-lawyer-drama-series-david-e-kelley-not-going-forward-dead-cbs-1202924365/|title='The Lincoln Lawyer' Drama Series From David E. Kelley Not Going Forward At CBS|date=May 2, 2020|last=Andreeva|first=Nellie|work=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=May 17, 2020}} However, on January 11, 2021, the series was picked up by Netflix.{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2021/01/the-lincoln-lawyer-drama-david-e-kelley-netflix-series-order-manuel-garcia-rulfo-star-formerly-at-cbs-1234666034/ |title='The Lincoln Lawyer' Drama From David E. Kelley Lands Netflix Series Order; Manuel Garcia-Rulfo To Star|website=Deadline Hollywood|first=Nellie|last=Andreeva|date=January 11, 2021|access-date=January 11, 2021}}

Kelley was announced as the writer and showrunner on the ABC crime drama series Big Sky, based on the book The Highway by C. J. Box.{{cite web |last1=Andreeva|first1=Nellie|title=David E. Kelley PI Drama 'The Big Sky' Ordered To Series By ABC From A+E Studios|url=https://deadline.com/2020/01/david-e-kelley-drama-the-big-sky-series-by-abc-1202846788/|website=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=January 31, 2020|language=en|date=January 30, 2020}}

Kelley served as writer, executive producer and showrunner on The Calling, an American adaptation of Israeli television series Missing File on Peacock.{{cite web|title=David E. Kelley Scores Series Order at Peacock for Crime Drama 'The Missing' Based on Israeli Novel (EXCLUSIVE)|url=https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/david-e-kelley-peacock-the-missing-1235096878/|work=Variety|first=Joe|last=Otterson|date=October 25, 2021}}

Kelley writes his first drafts longhand using a Bic ballpoint and yellow legal pad. He typically writes scripts in two to four days, initially working without collaboration, finding it faster and easier than trying to explain what he wants to others.

Kelley has been criticised for not delegating. A Picket Fences writer described his time on the show as "the most boring period of my life—you'd write a scene... [and Kelley would] rewrite it completely. Or he just cut you out completely—you learned nothing. Having a writing staff was a needless expense for the network."Tucker, Kissing Bill O'Reilly, Roasting Miss Piggy: 100 Things to Love And Hate About TV. p. 4 Kelley gradually became more comfortable bringing in writers for ideas and taking over writing responsibilities. Kelley described this as a natural evolution:

{{blockquote|There's a period at the beginning of a series [when] you're doing most of the writing and then you go through another period where you have the ideas and you're assigning those stories and ideas to other people and hopefully they execute them. Then if you're lucky you get a staff where they come into the room with their own ideas and specific takes on how to execute them and they do.}}

Kelley structures his episodes with multiple storylines. An episode may include a self-contained subplot plus other story arcs that either began in a previous episode or will continue subsequently—some will continue the entire season. The viewer is thereby rarely sure whether what appears as a simple incident will blossom into a major plot point.Ellis, Seeing Things: Television in an Age of Uncertainty p 123

Kelley seeds his plots with political and social "hot-button" issues. One method is by introducing provocative legal cases. Episodes have covered the gamut of contemporary issues from the culpability of tobacco companies and gun makers to assisted-suicide crusaders.{{cite web|date= September 20, 1999|author= Millman, Joyce|url= http://www.salon.com/ent/col/mill/1999/09/20/kelley/|title= Kelleyvision|work= Salon.com|access-date= 2007-03-31|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060602150422/http://www.salon.com/ent/col/mill/1999/09/20/kelley/|archive-date= June 2, 2006}} Another way is by undergirding the character's social interrelationships with serious explorations such as feminism, sexuality and divorce.{{cite web|date=November 3, 2006|author1=McNiff, Eamon |author2=Cuomo, Chris |url= https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2625856&page=1|title= David E. Kelley Likes Stirring the Pot|work= ABC News|access-date=2007-04-01}} Instead of lessons, Kelley strives to "raise moral and ethical questions without easy answers." He avoids a didactic narrative by not losing sight of the audience's desire to be entertained.Orlik, Electronic Media Criticism: : Applied Perspectives, p. 125 He states:

{{blockquote|You've got to honor your relationship with your audience—that they sit down because they want to be entertained. And that doesn't mean you can't provoke them and antagonize them and challenge them in the course of the entertainment as long as you keep the entertainment part of the equation alive.{{Cite news| date = June 12, 1995| last = Coe| first = Steve| title = The dramatic license of David Kelley.| work= Broadcasting & Cable}}}}

Instead of taking clear stands on issues, Kelley creates scenarios meant to challenge audience preconceptions. For example, an episode of Ally McBeal dealt with a female employee who sued for sexual harassment because she noticed that other prettier women were being promoted. There was deliberately no clear point of view.

Kelley uses humor and the surreal and mixes tragedy with farce. He describes his strategy as follows:

{{blockquote|Often we try to seduce the audience at the beginning that this is going to be fun, a romp or a ride, and then once the ride has begun, to reveal some serious subject matter for them to think about.Levine, David E Kelley: The Man Behind Ally McBeal. p. 31}}

In Ally McBeal, Kelley utilized two techniques: a voiceover providing an interior monologue for the title character, and Walter Mitty fantasy sequences (ala Dream On as critics have noted) giving a humorous and often deeply honest (but sometimes ironic) explanation of the character's inner thoughts.{{cite news|date=March 18, 1998|author= Jefferson, Margo|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/18/arts/critic-s-notebook-you-want-to-slap-ally-mcbeal-but-do-you-like-her.html|title= You Want to Slap Ally McBeal, but Do You Like Her?|work= The New York Times|access-date=2007-04-10}}Levine, David E Kelley: The Man Behind Ally McBeal. pp. 60–61{{cite news|date=September 10, 1997|author= Carter, Bill|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/10/arts/looks-like-a-hit.html|title= Looks Like a Hit|work= The New York Times|access-date=2007-04-09}}

Kelley frequently crossed the cast of different shows. One crossover program event (which crossed networks also) involved characters from Kelley's Ally McBeal on the Fox network appearing on his ABC show, The Practice, and, in turn, The Practice characters appeared on Ally McBeal. This was done in spite of the two shows' different tones (one a comedy, the other a drama).Caldwell, Television After TV: Essays on a Medium in Transition, p. 64 This crossover was partially credited for raising ratings for The Practice, which it sustained after those episodes.

Kelley repeated this maneuver with his Boston Public, Ally McBeal, and Boston Legal shows. Thereafter, many other crossovers occurred including shows not created by Kelley.

Kelley's most elaborate crossover was only partially successful. He sought to crossover an episode of his Picket Fences with Chris Carter's The X-Files. Both shows aired Friday nights, but on different networks. The intent was to begin the story on one show, then hope viewers would switch channels to watch the conclusion on another network. CBS balked, and both scripts were rewritten, with The X-Files' Fox Mulder no longer set to appear on Picket Fences. Yet, both episodes deal with Wisconsin and cows, with Fences referencing an FBI investigation in a neighboring town. CBS blurred the connection further by postponing the Fences episode by one week.{{cite web|last= Holbrook|first= Thom|url= http://www.poobala.com/picketandxfiles.html|title= Picket Fences and The X-Files|publisher=Thom Holbrook's Crossover & Spin Offs|access-date= July 15, 2011}}

Kelley often uses regular actors from older shows in newer shows. For example, Anthony Heald and René Auberjonois both played judges on The Practice, and both went on to be regular cast members in later shows (Heald on Boston Public as a vice-principal and Auberjonois on Boston Legal as a partner at a law firm). Both Kathy Baker and Justin Shenkarow (Picket Fences) have been used in Boston Public. Kathy Baker as Meredith "The Hook Lady" Peters and Justin Shenkarow as the student Warren Dickson. In addition many actors who either had the main roles or major roles in Kelley's previous shows would make at least one guest appearance in Boston Legal.

After the HBO series Big Little Lies, Kelley started a working relationship with Academy Award-winning actress Nicole Kidman. The pair have collaborated on several shows together, including Big Little Lies, The Undoing and Nine Perfect Strangers.{{Cite web|url=https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a30996516/nine-perfect-strangers-news-date-cast-spoilers-trailer/#:~:text=A%20limited%20series%20based%20on,will%20direct%20all%20eight%20episodes.|title=Hulu's Star-Studded 'Nine Perfect Strangers' Will Premiere in August|date=18 May 2021}}

The Practice was considered more accurate in its portrayal of the law than L.A. Law or Ally McBeal . The importance of legal strategy, sometimes at the expense of the truth, rang true. One attorney said, "[I]t's really about the tactics and the mistakes that opposing counsel makes." Judges were represented as complex, less-than-perfect human beings, sometimes with emotional problems. Plots demonstrated how a defendant's personality would impact the adjudication of a case.{{cite news|date= May 3, 2001|author= Speier, Michael|url= https://variety.com/2001/tv/features/attorneys-quick-to-offer-reality-check-1117798572/|title= Attorneys quick to offer reality check|publisher=Variety|access-date= 2007-04-02|url-status= live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071024093824/http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117798572.html?categoryid=1048&cs=1&query=David+E.+Kelley+|archive-date= October 24, 2007}} Stuart Levine of Variety magazine said, "[The Practice] isn't afraid to paint the firm's clients as the dregs of society." Kelley said,

{{blockquote|One of the most fundamental questions people have about defense attorneys is, 'How can you do that? How can you go to bat every day for a person whom you may not know is guilty but you have a pretty good idea that he's not so innocent?}}

Other aspects of the legal profession in Kelley's shows have been criticized as unrealistic. Attorneys have complained that:

• Ex parte meetings (where lawyers meet in a judge's chambers without opposing counsel present) do not happen.
• Judges would not allow attorneys to badger or attack witnesses.
• Shows overplayed prosecutorial and law enforcement misconduct.
• Time required to select and empanel a jury is not shown or in the story's timeline.
• Many of the cases would never have made it to trial.

Samuel G. Freedman, a professor of journalism at Columbia University, writing in The New York Times, praises Kelley's series Boston Public as an attempt to both reflect and change public opinion about public education, particularly the urban, overcrowded, underfinanced variety. He liked the realism of the setting, the mixed ethnicity of the faculty and (oftentimes antipathetic) student body and the bureaucratic struggles. He criticized Kelley, though, for pandering to stereotypes of teachers and students and for failing to show successful teaching strategies.{{cite news|date=December 17, 2000|author= Freedman, Samuel G.|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/17/arts/television-radio-a-report-card-for-boston-public-a-s-and-f-s.html|title= A Report Card for 'Boston Public': A's and F's|work= The New York Times|access-date=2008-03-26|author-link= Samuel G. Freedman}}

In The New York Times, Arthur Caplan, professor of bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania, felt that medical dramas such as Kelley's Chicago Hope do a good job of addressing bioethical issues such as who should receive a liver transplant or when should a patient be allowed to die. However, there is a lack of discussion concerning the primary money issue: "How do people pay for this?"{{cite news|date=December 15, 1996|author= Dreifus, Claudia|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/15/magazine/who-gets-liver-transplant-which-one-s-mother-when-you-lie-those-are-easy-ones.html|title= Who gets the liver transplant? Which one's the mother? When do you lie? (And those are the easy ones)|work= The New York Times|access-date=2007-04-08}} The show has been criticized for presenting a one-sided view of managed care, portraying HMOs as dramatically evil while glossing over the complexities. Doctors are too often shown as selfless patient advocates ready to battle whatever the financial cost.{{cite news|date=December 22, 1996|author= Bilger, Burkhard|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/22/arts/tv-s-powerful-doctor-shows-vs-the-hmo.html?sec=health&pagewanted=1|title= TV's Powerful Doctor Shows vs. the H.M.O.|work= The New York Times|access-date=2007-04-08}}

Kelley has incorporated religious subject matter from the beginning, including issues involving Protestantism, Judaism, Scientology and Catholicism among others. With the widespread media coverage of child sexual abuse cases in the Roman Catholic Church during the mid-to-late 1990s, Kelley began to introduce this controversy into his scripts. For instance, the character Bobby Donnell on The Practice, a Catholic, became personally estranged from the Church over the issue of sexually abusive priests. While the Catholic League did not object to this episode,{{cite news|date=November 7, 2002|author= Carter, Bill|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/07/arts/a-catholic-writer-brings-his-anger-to-the-practice.html|title= A Catholic Writer Brings His Anger to 'The Practice'|work= The New York Times|access-date=2008-03-26}} they frequently complained of anti-Catholic bias in Kelley's shows because of his references to this subject.{{Cite news| last = de Moraes| first = Lisa| author-link = Lisa de Moraes| title = 'Ally' Oops: Catholic League Says Fox Has Apologized for This Week's Episode| newspaper = The Washington Post| pages = D.07| date = November 6, 1998| url = https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/35741678.html?dids=35741678:35741678&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Nov+6%2C+1998&author=Lisa+de+Moraes&pub=The+Washington+Post&edition=&startpage=D.07&desc=%60Ally%27+Oops%3A+Catholic+League+Says+Fox+Has+Apologized+for+This+Week%27s+Episode| access-date = July 6, 2017| archive-date = December 24, 2008| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081224064852/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/35741678.html?dids=35741678:35741678&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Nov+6%2C+1998&author=Lisa+de+Moraes&pub=The+Washington+Post&edition=&startpage=D.07&desc=%60Ally%27+Oops%3A+Catholic+League+Says+Fox+Has+Apologized+for+This+Week%27s+Episode| url-status = dead}}{{cite web|date=December 3, 2002|url= http://www.catholicleague.org/02press_releases/pr0402.htm#DAVID%20E.%20KELLEY%20LASHES%20OUT%20AGAIN|title= David E. Kelley Lashes Out Again|publisher=Catholic League|access-date=2007-04-10 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070203043056/http://www.catholicleague.org/02press_releases/pr0402.htm#DAVID%20E.%20KELLEY%20LASHES%20OUT%20AGAIN |archive-date = 2007-02-03}}{{cite web|date= February 14, 2006|url= http://www.catholicleague.org/06press_releases/quarter%201/060214_Hollywood%20ACLU.htm|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060323023858/http://www.catholicleague.org/06press_releases/quarter%201/060214_Hollywood%20ACLU.htm|url-status= dead|archive-date= March 23, 2006|title= Hollywood and ACLU vs. Catholicism|publisher=Catholic League|access-date= 2007-04-10}}

Besides his first film, From the Hip, which received poor reviews,Levine, David E. Kelley: The Man Behind Ally McBeal. p. 23 Kelley wrote and produced three other films. 1996's To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday, a romance, co-starring his wife, Michelle Pfeiffer, received tepid critical and box office reception.Levine, David E. Kelley: The Man Behind Ally McBeal. p. 41 In 1999, came two films: Lake Placid, a combination of suspense, horror and comedy, and Mystery, Alaska, about a fictional small-town ice hockey team that plays a game against the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League

File:Michelle Pfeiffer and David E. Kelley.jpg in 1994]]

Although he is sometimes assumed to be a Catholic because his programs address Catholic issues, Kelley was raised a Protestant.{{cite news |date=November 25, 2002|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/25/nyregion/c-corrections-084360.html |title= Corrections|work= The New York Times|access-date=2007-04-10}}

In January 1993, Kelley was set up on a blind date with actress Michelle Pfeiffer; he took her to see Bram Stoker's Dracula the following week and they began dating seriously.

Pfeiffer had entered into private adoption proceedings before she met Kelley.{{cite web|url=http://parade.com/104802/dotsonrader/06-michelle-pfeiffer-on-love-family/|title=Michelle Pfeiffer: What She Knows Now|date=May 6, 2012|first=Dotson|last=Rader|work=Parade |access-date=May 6, 2016}} In March 1993, she adopted a newborn daughter Claudia Rose.{{cite news|first=Gill|last=Pringle|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/michelle-pfeiffer-the-former-beauty-queen-is-back-after-a-fiveyear-break-456966.html|title=Michelle Pfeiffer: The former beauty queen is back after a five-year break|work=The Independent|publisher=Independent Print Limited|date=2007|access-date=July 3, 2011|location=London}} {{dead link|date=May 2016}} They married on November 13, 1993, and christened Claudia the same day.{{cite web |url=http://www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/biographies/michelle_pfeiffer_biog/9 |title=Michelle Pfeiffer Biography |publisher=Tiscali.co.uk |date=October 23, 2008 |access-date=October 23, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080926071548/http://www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/biographies/michelle_pfeiffer_biog/9 |archive-date=September 26, 2008 }} In August 1994, Pfeiffer gave birth to a son, John Henry.Levine, David E. Kelley: The Man Behind Ally McBeal. p. 34

David's brother, Mark Kelley, is the former Director of Amateur Scouting for the Chicago Blackhawks.{{Cite web|url=https://www.eliteprospects.com/staff/6289/mark-kelley|title=Mark Kelley at eliteprospects.com|website=www.eliteprospects.com}}

David was drafted in the tenth round of the WHA World Hockey Association draft by the Cincinnati Stingers in 1977.[https://www.eliteprospects.com/draft/wha-amateur-draft/1977 1977 WHA Amateur Draft] Elite Prospects

Miniseries

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bar:LALaw from:09/15/1986 till:05/21/1992 color:writer text:L.A. Law

bar:Howser from:09/19/1989 till:03/24/1993 color:cocreator text:Doogie Howser, M.D.

bar:Picket from:09/18/1992 till:06/26/1996 color:creator text:Picket Fences

bar:Chicago from:09/18/1994 till:05/02/2000 color:creator text:Chicago Hope

bar:Practice from:03/04/1997 till:05/16/2004 color:creator text:The Practice

bar:McBeal from:09/08/1997 till:05/20/2002 color:creator text:Ally McBeal

bar:Snoops from:09/26/1999 till:12/19/1999 color:creator text:Snoops

bar:Public from:10/23/2000 till:01/30/2004 color:creator text:Boston Public

bar:girls from:10/21/2002 till:10/28/2002 color:creator text:girls club

bar:Poland from:09/24/2003 till:10/22/2003 color:creator text:The Brotherhood of Poland, NH

bar:Legal from:10/03/2004 till:12/08/2008 color:creator text:Boston Legal

bar:Firm from:07/28/2005 till:08/04/2005 color:creator text:The Law Firm

bar:Wedding from:03/07/2007 till:04/06/2007 color:creator text:The Wedding Bells

bar:Harry from:01/17/2011 till:06/01/2012 color:creator text:Harry's Law

bar:Monday from:06/01/2013 till:08/31/2013 color:cocreator text:Monday Mornings

bar:Crazy from:09/23/2013 till:02/27/2014 color:creator text:The Crazy Ones

bar:Goliath from:10/13/2016 till:10/04/2019 color:cocreator text:Goliath

bar:Lies from:02/19/2017 till:07/17/2019 color:creator text:Big Little Lies

bar:Mercedes from:08/09/2017 till:11/12/2019 color:creator text:Mr. Mercedes

bar:Undoing from:10/25/2020 till:11/30/2020 color:writer text:The Undoing

bar:BigSky from:11/17/2020 till:12/31/2021 color:creator text:Big Sky

bar:BigShot from:04/16/2021 till:12/31/2021 color:cocreator text:Big Shot

bar:NineStrangers from:08/18/2021 till:09/22/2021 color:creator text:Nine Perfect Strangers

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Note: The above timeline does not include the three additional episodes of Snoops and the final two episodes of Boston Public broadcast in non-U.S. markets nor the short-lived Ally.

1. Information from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences online database
2. Several shared writing nominations not included.
3. In 1999, he was the first producer ever to take home Emmys for both Best Comedy Series (Ally McBeal) and Best Drama (The Practice).{{cite web

|date= October 1, 2001

|author= Stevens, Dana

|url= http://fray.slate.com/id/2107604/

|title= The Kelley Curse

|publisher=Slate.com

|access-date= 2007-04-01

|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070412155706/http://fray.slate.com/id/2107604/

|archive-date= April 12, 2007

|url-status= dead

}}

Among the actors and actresses who have won Emmys for playing roles in Kelley's series are Peter MacNicol, Tracey Ullman, Sharon Stone, William Shatner, James Spader, Alfre Woodard, Charles S. Dutton, Michael Emerson, James Whitmore, Beah Richards, Edward Herrmann, Michael Badalucco, Holland Taylor, John Larroquette, Camryn Manheim, Christine Lahti, Héctor Elizondo, Mandy Patinkin, Kathy Baker, Ray Walston, Paul Winfield, Richard Kiley, Fyvush Finkel, Leigh Taylor-Young, Tom Skerritt, Richard Dysart, Paul McCrane, Christian Clemenson, Jimmy Smits, Larry Drake, Nicole Kidman, Alexander Skarsgård, and Laura Dern.

The following information is from the Peabody Awards database.[http://www.peabodyawards.com/results/David%20E.%20Kelley/1/null/null/title/asc Peabody Awards for David E. Kelley] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006115314/http://www.peabodyawards.com/results/David%20E.%20Kelley/1/null/null/title/asc |date=2014-10-06 }}, accessed September 2014.

In 2014, David E. Kelley was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2013/12/julia-louis-dreyfus-david-e-kelley-jay-leno-rupert-murdoch-ray-dolby-brandon-stoddard-named-to-tv-academys-hall-of-fame-652977/|title=Julia Louis-Dreyfus, David E. Kelley, Jay Leno, Rupert Murdoch, Ray Dolby, Brandon Stoddard Named To TV Academy's Hall of Fame|website=Deadline Hollywood|last=The Deadline Team|date=December 16, 2013|access-date=February 25, 2014}}

{{reflist}}

• Caldwell, John: "Convergence Television: Aggregating Form and Repurposing Content in the Culture of Conglomeration". Television after TV: Essays on a Medium in Transition. Ed. Lynn Spigel and Jan Olsson. Duke University Press, 2004 {{ISBN|978-0-8223-3393-7}}.
• Caves, Richard E.: Switching Channels: Organization and Change in TV Broadcasting. Harvard University Press, 2005. {{ISBN|978-0-674-01878-5}}.
• Ellis, John: Seeing Things: Television in the Age of Uncertainty. I. B. Tauris, 2000 {{ISBN|978-1-86064-125-1}}.
• Levine, Josh: David E. Kelley: The Man Behind Ally McBeal. ECW Press, 1999 {{ISBN|978-1-55022-372-9}}.
• Orlik, Peter B.: Electronic Media Criticism: Applied Perspectives. LEA, Inc., 2000 {{ISBN|978-0-8058-3641-7}}.
• Tucker, Ken: Kissing Bill O'Reilly, Roasting Miss Piggy: 100 Things to Love and Hate About TV. St. Martin's Press, 2005 {{ISBN|978-0-312-33057-6}}.

• {{IMDb name|0005082}}
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{{David E. Kelley|state=expanded}}

{{Navboxes

|title = Awards for David E. Kelley

|list =

{{International Emmy Founders Award}}

{{EmmyAward DramaWriting 1990s}}

{{Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television}}

{{TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Drama}}

{{2014 Television Hall of Fame}}

{{Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Long Form – Adapted}}

{{Paul Selvin Award}}

{{Laurel Award for TV Writing Achievement}}

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