Hill Street Blues

Hill Street Blues
GenrePolice procedural
Created by
Starring
Theme music composerMike Post
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons7
No. of episodes146 (list of episodes)
Production
Production locationsRepublic Studios, Los Angeles, California
Running time49 minutes
Production companyMTM Enterprises
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseJanuary 15, 1981 (1981-01-15) –
May 12, 1987 (1987-05-12)
Related
Beverly Hills Buntz
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Hill Street Blues is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981,[1] to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes.[2] The show chronicles the lives of the Metropolitan Police Department staff of a single police station located on Hill Street in an unnamed large U.S. city. The "blues" are the police officers in their blue uniforms.

The show received critical acclaim, and its production innovations influenced many subsequent dramatic television series produced in the United States and Canada and has been widely regarded by many as one of the greatest television shows of all time.[3][4][5][6][7] In 1981, the series won eight Emmy Awards, a debut season record surpassed only by The West Wing, in 2000. The show won a total of 26 Emmy Awards (out of 98 Emmy Award nominations) during its run, including four consecutive wins for Outstanding Drama Series.

  1. ^ Starr, Michael (May 24, 2021). "How 'Hill Street Blues' made us care about the police". New York Post. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  2. ^ Shales, Tom (May 12, 1987). "'HILL STREET,' HAIL AND FAREWELL". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  3. ^ The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time (Collector's ed.). New York: Entertainment Weekly Books. 1998. pp. 22–23. ISBN 1883013429.
  4. ^ "TV Guide Names Top 50 Shows". CBS.
  5. ^ Roush, Matt (February 25, 2013). "Showstoppers: The 60 Greatest Dramas of All Time". TV Guide. pp. 16–17.
  6. ^ "TV Guide Magazine's 60 Best Series of All Time". tvguide.com. December 23, 2013.
  7. ^ "101 Best Written TV Series". Writers Guild of America West. June 2, 2013.