Hearts and Souls

"Hearts and Souls" is the fifth episode of the sixth season and 115th overall of the American crime drama NYPD Blue. "Hearts and Souls" originally aired in the United States on ABC on Tuesday November 24, 1998, at 9:30 pm Eastern time as a 90-minute special. The episode was directed by Paris Barclay and written by Steven Bochco, David Milch, Bill Clark and Nicholas Wootton. It was the culmination of months of public speculation on the method of closure that would be employed to write Jimmy Smits's critically acclaimed Bobby Simone character out of the regular cast and clear the way for Smits' replacement, Rick Schroder. "Hearts and Souls" was a critical and commercial success, achieving both high ratings and positive critical feedback and is now regarded as one of the greatest episodes in television history. It marked the second high-profile replacement of the partner for lead character Detective Andy Sipowicz, played by Dennis Franz.

At the 51st Primetime Emmy Awards, this episode won awards for Direction for Paris Barclay and Guest Actress for Debra Monk as well as a nominations in Writing for Steven Bochco, David Milch, Bill Clark and Nicholas Wootton. Barclay also won a Directors Guild of America Award. The episode also won an Eddie Award and a Banff Rockie Award as well as a Cinema Audio Society Award nomination. While the episode was given a 90-minute timeslot on ABC when first aired, it has been shown in syndication as a regular episode covering around half of that time (the rest of the hour block is where commercials were in the pre-streaming era), with the subplot involving Greg Medavoy's angry interactions with an annoying complainant being entirely removed and the material with Andy and Katie being reduced somewhat.

This was Smits' last regular appearance as Simone, although he returned for one scene in an episode during the twelfth season. The episode highlights his rapid and mysterious physical demise, which has culminated in his need for a heart transplant. Many emotional portrayals are included to represent the feelings of loved ones, friends and colleagues when someone that they care about is suddenly in dire medical need. In another storyline, the episode simultaneously highlights the stress that can be caused when alcoholism afflicts a family through a critically acclaimed guest appearance by Debra Monk as the ex-wife of Sipowicz.