The Best Detective Series Of The ’90s Finally On Streaming
More than a decade before HBO chronicled the lives of Baltimore police officers in its epic series The Wire, the NBC network followed the city’s fictional detectives week after week while they solved Charm City’s most violent crimes. Homicide: Life on the Street debuted on January 31, 1993 and immediately hooked fans of police dramas. For longtime fans and curious audiences, the series has found a new home streaming on the Peacock app.
Homicide: Life On The Street Is Rooted In Realism
Homicide: Life on the Street had its roots in a 1991 non-fiction book penned by Baltimore Sun reporter David Simon. Simon, who spent 1988 reporting on the Baltimore Police Department’s homicide unit, received the 1992 Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime for his work on Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets. He had the goal of shattering the illusion of police detectives being stoic, caring characters, and sought to lift the veil to show them as real life people who perceived violent acts as a part of their normal day-to-day interactions.
Simon’s realism captivated readers and critics alike. The reporter-turned-author successfully sold his concept to producers and was given the title of consultant and creator when Homicide: Life on the Street began its series run.
The Good Guys Don’t Always Win
The show’s powerful approach was to cast cops in a different light than any series focusing on police work had done before. The officers and detectives in Homicide: Life on the Street aren’t infallible, have their own life drama, and don’t always play nice with each other. Rather than have a police series where the good guys always come out on top, this show gave its audiences a sometimes-grim reality where people literally get away with murder.
Cleaning Up The Streets Isn’t Easy Work
The series followed numerous ensemble cast members playing characters that tried (sometimes in vain) to rid the streets of Baltimore of its worst elements. Homicide: Life on the Street sees detectives Frank Pembleton (Andre Braugher), Kay Howard (Melissa Leo), Tim Bayliss (Kyle Secor), John Munch (Richard Belzer), Stan Bolander (Ned Beaty), and Beau Felton (Daniel Baldwin) under the command of Lieutenant Al Giardello (Yaphet Kotto).
More Cameos Than You Could Count
Over the course of its seven season, 122-episode run, Homicide: Life on the Street featured an all-star cast of guest stars that took the form of fellow police officers, murder victims, and suspects. Fans tuning in each week saw the likes of Wilford Brimley, Lewis Black, Chris Rock, Eric Stoltz, Jerry Stiller, and countless others share the screen with their favorite series characters. But the show’s real appeal to many of its followers was its crossover with other hit shows of the era.
Let’s Hear It For Detective Munch
Homicide: Life on the Street featured multiple episodes that connected its characters to those belonging to Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and St. Elsewhere, but its most unique link stems from its own character, Detective Munch. Richard Belzer’s portrayal of the cynical cop has been logged on a total of more than 450 television episodes across nine separate series. The late actor’s most known character has guest starred on The Beat, Arrested Development, and American Dad, making him one of the most well-known cop faces across multiple genres.
You can catch every episode of Homicide: Life on the Street streaming with a subscription to Peacock.
