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N.Y.P.D. Is an ABC network crime drama series created by Arnold Perl and David Susskind.
The show aired from September 5, 1967 to March 25, 1969, lasting for two seasons & 49 episodes.
It was produced by Talent Associates, in association with the ABC Television Network.
Plot[]
The series centered on three New York City police detectives (Lt. Mike Haines, Detective Jeff Ward & Detective Johnny Corso) who fight a wide range of crimes and criminals.
The show featured many real New York City locations, as well as episodes based on actual New York City police cases.
Cast[]
- Jack Warden as Lieutenant Mike Haines
- Robert Hooks as Detective Jeff Ward
- Frank Converse as Detective Johnny Corso
- Ted Beniades as Detective Richie
- Denise Nicholas as Ethel
- Tom Rosqui as Detective Jacobs
Broadcast History[]
In both seasons, "N.Y.P.D." appeared in the evening, 9:30 p.m. time slot. During the second season, the show was joined by "The Mod Squad" and "It Takes a Thief" to form a 2½ hour block of crime dramas.
Production[]
"N.Y.P.D." was a production of Talent Associates, Ltd., a company founded by Alfred Levy and David Susskind. Talent Associates had produced 14 years of the anthology program "Armstrong Circle Theatre" and "The Kaiser Aluminum Hour."
Television producer, movie producer, and talk show host Susskind created "N.Y.P.D." with screenwriter Arnold Perl (Cotton Comes to Harlem).
At the time of his death in 1971, Arnold Perl was working on a screenplay about assassinated black activist Malcolm X (which would later become the basis for Spike Lee's 1992 film, "Malcolm X".)
Daniel Melnick (the show’s executive producer) was a partner with Susskind in Talent Associates and had brought Mel Brooks and Buck Henry together to create the TV comedy "Get Smart" in 1965.
Producer Susskind and actor Harvey Keitel would work together again on Martin Scorsese's 1974 film, "Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore."
Scripted by writers like Lonne Elder, who would later be the first African-American nominated for a Best Screenplay Oscar (for 1972's Sounder), the stories came with such titles as "Cruise to Oblivion," "Which Side Are You On?," "The Screaming Woman," and "Deadly Circle of Violence."
In the show's scripts, there were white cops and black cops, white suspects and black suspects, white witnesses and black witnesses, an unselfconscious racial blend that would not otherwise be seen for several years on U.S. network television ("Room 222" and "Hawaii Five-O" were among the next series to feature casts situated similarly.)
Casting[]
Among the actors who appeared in the series were Al Pacino, Jill Clayburgh, Jane Elliot, Ralph Waite, Harvey Keitel, James Earl Jones, Charles Durning, Gretchen Corbett, and Roy Scheider.