Karen Arthur became the first woman to win a directing award

CBS’ Cagney and Lacey, the women’s detective series, became a groundbreaking series for women when it debuted in 1982, but the 1985 Emmy Awards were particularly historic for the series starring Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless as NYPD detectives. At the ceremony at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Karen Arthur became the first woman to win an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series, honored for “Heat,” a fourth-season episode.

Arthur was well aware of what her triumph meant for other women in the industry: men had dominated the category for more than 35 years. A woman would not win the category again until Mimi Leder’s victory in 1996 for EAST (Betty Thomas won the comedy series award in 1994). “I was up against the big dogs, the men. The big guys who always win. And so the fact that I made them understand that also said something, which would have helped break the glass ceiling at that time,” recalls Arthur, now 82, on the 80s TV Ladies podcast last year.

Cagney and Lacey ultimately won six Emmy Awards that night, including Outstanding Drama Series and Lead Actress for Daly. This was particularly gratifying given that the Orion television series had been canceled in 1983 and only renewed following an extensive fan-led letter-writing campaign. When he returned in season three, THR wrote in his review: “Even based on characterization and strong acting alone, this series deserves to be around for a while.” The series ended its run in 1988 after seven seasons and 14 total Emmy Awards.

This story first appeared in a June standalone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.