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In the ‘90’s, a new cop show flips the script on network television dramas.  NYPD Blue leaves audiences exhilarated and ABC censors uneasy.  The show popularized using stories ripped from the headlines.  In the early ‘90’s, the first commandment for most television shows can be summarized in four words: do not offend anyone.  NYPD Blue flew all over that.  However, 12 seasons and over 20 Emmy’s can’t be wrong.

Creator Steven Bochco already had quite the resume with Hill Street Blues and L.A. Law. He was kicked off Hill Street Blues for including too many actors with high salaries.  David Milch takes over the show in 1985 when Bochco leaves to create the legal drama L.A. Law.  When Hill Street Blues is cancelled two years later, Bochco and Milch reunite. Cable television was the way of the future at that time, with HBO and other channels owning the networks in ratings because they didn’t have the restrictions that networks did.  Bochco and Milch answer with their newest creation-NYPD Blue.  The “Blue” has a double meaning, as they somehow got away with more risqué programming on network television.

For all those who thought David Milch was a genius, the executives at ANC didn’t see it that way.  They reject his script and pressure Bochco to re-work the script.  He refuses.  ABC drops NYPD Blue from its 1992 lineup.  However, Milch isn’t ready to call it quits.  He takes a research trip to New York City to meet with veteran homicide detective Bill Clark.  Clark was, among other things, one of the Son of Sam cops.  “My name is Bill Clark.  I got a call one day from Steven Bochco’s office.  They said he would like to talk to me about policework.  It was David Milch.  I started telling him about cases I’d worked on”.

Back in Hollywood, ABC remains stuck in 3^rd place behind CBS and NBC.  In desperation, ABC changes its mind and greenlights NYPD Blue for its 1993 season.  Bochco immediately knows who he wants to cast as detective John Kelly, the show’s leading character.  Jimmy Smits had just wrapped the series finale of Bochco’s LA Law and thought it was too soon to jump into another series.  He turned down the role.  Bochco and Milch auditioned actor after actor for the role.  David Caruso comes in and nails it.  Milch wants to keep looking, as he remembers Caruso being difficult on Hill Street Blues.  Bochco overrules Milch and gives Caruso the gig. 

Bochco gets James McDaniel, who had a small part on Hill Street Blues.  They also wanted Dennis Franz, who was hesitant for a different reason than Smits.  Dennis already had 27 cop roles on his resume, from Die Hard 2 to Hill Street Blues.  Franz was promised that his character gets shot and dies in the first episode so Franz relents and agrees to make Detective Andy Sipowicz his 28^th cop role. His character did not die in the first episode.

The language in the show was bad enough but the sex scenes, while tame by today’s standards, were raunchy.  Many affiliates weren’t going to carry the show.  The raunchiness and sex fires up ‘90’s Christian crusader, Reverand Donald Wildman.  His media watchdog group, American Family Association, starts a campaign to ban the show as softcore pornography.  Bochco and Milch love the controversy.  Reverand Wildman proved wildly successful-at inadvertently promoting the show. 

While the show survived, David Caruso did not.  The actor was temperamental.  The cast and co-creator Milch were at odds with him.  In season two, it’s agreed they would let Caruso out of his contract.  As soon as his final scene was filmed, Caruso walked off set without saying a word to anyone.  He was replaced by their old LA Law friend Jimmy Smits.  Fans rooted for Smits, as did cast and crew.  Jimmy was the exact opposite of Caruso: pleasant, professional and caring.

David Milch’ addictions were getting the better of him.  His demons became the show demons of Detective Andy Sipowicz, Dennis Franz’ character.  With Bochco off working on new shows like Murder One, David Milch continued to spiral.  Last-minute script changes led to Jimmy Smits leaving the show after his contract was up. 

Losing Smits wasn’t the only change at NYPD Blue.  After being diagnosed with OCD and bipolar disorder, David Milch gets sober.  The cast was hoping things would get better.  They did not.  Milch got even more obsessive about the show and more controlling.  More actors were leaving when their contracts were up.  Finally, Milch left the show. When Milch left, the show suffered.  They brought in such television veterans as Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Rick Schroeder.  Still, NYPD Blue limped to the finish line.  On March 1, 2005, more than 16 million tuned into the series finale.  The cast and crew celebrated their incredible 12 seasons and a legacy that changed cop shows forever.

Check out the latest episode of my Blendertainment vlog here: https://youtu.be/02mCIfhbE5w?si=d_K0zJnfILp4428-