Hill Street Blues is a police drama that aired on NBC from 1981 to 1987. Chronicling the lives of the staff of a single police precinct in an unnamed American city, the show received critical acclaim and its production innovations influenced many subsequent dramatic television series that were made.

Hill Street Blues Cast A gritty, realistic look at the life of cops in a large (and unnamed) metropolitan city. Led by Capt. Frank Furillo (Daniel J. Travanti), the cops of the Hill Street Station kept the peace -- though there were plenty of casualties along the way. Focusing more on the characters within in the precinct than on the cases they were trying to solve, Hill Street Blues also featured Veronica Hamel as public defender Joyce Davenport (who later married Capt. Furillo), Michael Conrad (who passed away during the 1983 season) as gruff Sergeant Phil Esterhaus, James B. Sikking (Doogie Howser, M.D.) as Lt. Howard Hunter, Betty Thomas as Officer Lucy Bates and Bruce Weitz as Det. Mick Belker (who sometimes resorted to injuring the felons he apprehended).

Cast & Characters
  • Daniel J. Travanti as Capt. Frank Furllo
  • Michael Conrad as Sgt. Phil Estrehaus (1981-1984)
  • Michael Warren as Officer Bobby Hill
  • Charles Haid as Officer Andy Renko
  • Veronica Hamel as Joyce Davenport
  • Bruce Wietz as Det. Mick Belker
  • Rene Enriquez as Lt. Ray Calletano
  • Kiel Martin as Det. Johnny LaRue
  • Taurean Blacque as Det. Neal Washington
  • Joe Spano as Sgt./Lt. Henry Goldblume
  • Betty Thomas as Officer/Sgt. Lucille Bates
  • John Cypher as Chief Fletcher P. Daniels

Broadcast History

 First Telecast: January 15, 1981
Last Telecast: May 19, 1987
Original Network:  NBC
Number of Seasons: 7
Number of Episodes: 146
Original Primetime TV Schedule:
  • January 1981, NBC, Thursday/Saturday 10:00-11:00pm
  • January 1981- April 1981, NBC, Saturday 10:00-11:00pm
  • April 1981- August 1981, NBC, Tuesday 9:00-10:00pm
  • October 1981- November 1981, NBC, Thursday 10:00-11:00pm
  • December 1986- February 1987, NBC, Tuesday 9:00-10:00pm
  • March 1987- May 1987, NBC, Tuesday 10:00-10:00

Theme Song & Opening Credits

 "Hill Street Blues" by Mark Post and Larry Carlton

Watch opening intro:


Listen to theme song:

Hill Street Blues on DVD

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Hill Street Blues Trivia

 Hill Street Blues generated a "spin-off" series when Dennis Franz's character, "Lieutenant Norman Buntz" left New York and moved to southern California to open his own detective agency. Unfortunately, that series only lasted nine episodes, mostly due to Buntz's personality being changed from a hard-nosed cop to a funny guy who sometimes even acted like a buffoon! Franz would later recover from terrible encounter with comedy by starring for 12 seasons on "NYPD Blue"!