The Trials of Rosie O'Neill poster

The Trials of Rosie O'Neill (1990)

Drama

The Trials of Rosie O'Neill is an American television drama series, which aired on CBS from 1990 to 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 Emmy-winning run on Cagney & Lacey. "Rosie" was produced by Cagney & Lacey producer Barney Rosenzweig, whom Gless married in 1991. Despite the show's brilliant writing and production, it did not sustain a sizable audience, and was canceled by CBS in 1992. Each episode opens with Rosie talking with her therapist, 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." 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.

IMDb rating
7.5 (206 votes)
Seasons
2
Streaming (US)
Amazon Prime Video · Dove Amazon Channel · The Roku Channel · Xumo Play · Tubi TV · Fawesome
Language
EN
Type
TV series

Ratings refreshed Jul 3, 2026 · 2 seasons indexed

Cast

Seasons

Season 1 (1990)

8.16 avg 18 episodes 8.3 → 8.6 48 min avg

Ep 1: 8.3 · 18 votesEp 2: 8.5 · 17 votesEp 3: 6.6 · 12 votesEp 4: 7.9 · 9 votesEp 5: 8.1 · 10 votesEp 6: 9.0 · 10 votesEp 7: 9.1 · 15 votesEp 8: 9.2 · 13 votesEp 9: 7.9 · 13 votesEp 10: 7.5 · 8 votesEp 11: 6.7 · 8 votesEp 12: 8.0 · 8 votesEp 13: 8.6 · 10 votesEp 14: 8.0 · 7 votesEp 15: 8.8 · 16 votesEp 16: 7.8 · 7 votesEp 17: 8.2 · 7 votesEp 18: 8.6 · 15 votes
Season 1 episodes — IMDb ratings
#TitleRatingVotes
1Starting Over8.318
2The Rapist8.517
3So Long Patrick6.612
4Late Night Callers7.99
5Shalom8.110
6An Act of Love9.010
7When I'm 449.115
8Rosie Gets the Blues9.213
9The Gang's All Here7.913
10Mr. Right7.58
11The Man from ELF6.78
12Mother Love8.08
13State of Mind8.610
14Time Will Tell8.07
15The Reunion8.816
16A Conflict of Interest7.87
17Environmental Robin Hood8.27
18Special Circumstances8.615

Season 2 (1991)

7.94 avg 16 episodes 8.8 → 8.6 48 min avg

Ep 1: 8.8 · 10 votesEp 2: 7.8 · 8 votesEp 3: 9.1 · 15 votesEp 4: 8.2 · 7 votesEp 5: 7.2 · 7 votesEp 6: 7.4 · 7 votesEp 7: 7.7 · 8 votesEp 8: 7.8 · 7 votesEp 9: 7.8 · 7 votesEp 10: 8.8 · 14 votesEp 11: 6.6 · 7 votesEp 12: 7.4 · 7 votesEp 13: 7.4 · 7 votesEp 14: 8.2 · 8 votesEp 15: 8.3 · 15 votesEp 16: 8.6 · 9 votes
Season 2 episodes — IMDb ratings
#TitleRatingVotes
1Real Mothers8.810
2Knock, Knock7.88
3Domestic Silence9.115
4Wolf Pack8.27
5This Can't Be Love7.27
6For Love or Money7.47
7Happy Birthday or Else7.78
8Dr. Psychedelic7.87
9Family Business7.87
10Battle Fatigue8.814
11Lady Luck6.67
12The Other Woman7.47
13Heartbreak Hotel7.47
14Sweet Sixteen8.28
15Double Bind8.315
16Role Reversal8.69