This hard-hitting police drama ran for 12 seasons, totalling a staggering 261 episodes.
Set in the fictional 15th Precinct of Manhattan, New York, the show followed the exploits of Detective Sergeant Andy Sipowicz, played by Dennis Franz, as he policed the Lower East Side. Yet Franz’s star role took a while to shine through as the early storylines focused more on his sidekick characters played by David Caruso (now seen brooding on CSI Miami), and Jimmy Smits (later of the West Wing). NYPD Blue deliberately tested the boundaries of broadcast restrictions on nudity and swearing, but its compelling storylines and engaging style soon overtook initial condemnations.
Jason Gay of The Boston Phoenix described Sipowicz as a “drunken, racist goon with a heart of gold” who was ‘the moral core’ of NYPD Blue. Former New York police officer-turned-writer Ted Hindenlang says: ‘Dennis Franz must have hung around some of the people I knew because his attitude, his dress, everything seemed so dead-on.’ Watch a montage of Franz’s most memorable moments here:
The show was produced with the help of former New York police officer Bill Clark and broadcast on the ABC network between September 1993 and March 2005. Its legions of fans are still awaiting its return. In 1995, it won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series. But is this police drama arresting enough to make it into your Timeless 50?