NYPD Blue is an American police procedural drama television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan.[1] Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble cast.
The series was originally broadcast on the ABC network, debuted on September 21, 1993‚ and aired its final episode on March 1, 2005. During the course of the series, 261 episodes of NYPD Blue aired over twelve seasons. It was ABC's longest-running primetime one-hour drama series until Grey's Anatomy surpassed it in 2016.
The episodes "Lost Israel (Part 2)" from season 5 and "Hearts and Souls" from season 6 both aired as extended 90-minute specials during their original airings on ABC. In order to fit in the show's usual 60-minute timeslot, each episode had a cut-down version produced that removed most subplots and focused only on the main storyline. The 60-minute version of each episode is the only version rebroadcast in reruns and syndication, the only version available on streaming services such as Hulu, and the only version that was remastered in HD. The full 90-minute versions of these episodes are available in standard definition on the DVD releases of the seasons.
The episode pairs "Lie Like a Rug: Part 1" and "Johnny Got His Gold: Part 2", and "Better Laid Than Never: Parts 1 & 2," from season 9, both originally aired as extended 120-minute specials edited as a single episode, without a second set of opening titles or end credits. The double-length episodes were divided into two 60-minute episodes each for future reruns, syndication, streaming.