Hill Street Blues : Synopsis, Pictures, Photos, Trivia, Filming Locations

The original "ensemble drama," this is the story of an overworked, under-staffed police precinct in an anonymous inner city patterned after Chicago. We follow the lives of many characters, from the lowly beat and traffic cops to the captain of the precinct himself. This is the show that blazed the trail followed later by such notable ensemble dramas as "St. Elsewhere" and "L.A. Law."

Regarded as a hallmark in American dramatic television. First dramatic series to incorporate long shots and handheld shots and continuous storylines. Nominated for 21 Emmys for its first season - a record despite having low ratings.

Captain Furillo's office has the usual police academy type group photos on the walls. However, in at least one episode, one of these is actually a publicity still from the 1973 film Electra Glide in Blue (1973).

Original plans were for this series to be shot with hand held 16mm cameras only and in black and white.

Most episodes were written so that the action took place over the course of a single day.

The opening credit sequence was shot in Chicago, while the episodes were shot in Los Angeles. Location scouts said it was hard to find L.A. locations for the show because the locations could not have visible palm trees. (At least the first episode (possibly as many as the first three) was shot on location in Chicago)

The pilot script said the show took place in an unnamed Midwestern city. Throughout the show's seven year run, the exact name of the city was never mentioned.

The theme music to the show written by Mike Post became a hit song. Post said they when he was writing the theme, at first he wanted the music to match the gritty visuals he was shown. He then decided to instead do the opposite, to create a theme that was beautiful, that "took you away" from what you were seeing a bit.

Dominique Dunne appeared in an episode as a battered woman, the marks on her neck were real, given to her by her boyfriend and killer, John Sweeney. The episode aired 2 weeks after her death.

NBC executives supported the series in its infancy despite a lack of viewers; in 1981, it became the lowest-rated series ever renewed for a second season. When it was renewed, it was not renewed for the entire season, it was only renewed for 10 episodes. It was only picked up for the full season after ratings improved.

Writer Anthony Yerkovich left this show to write the pilot for Miami Vice (1984) (TV).

Dennis Franz appeared earlier on the show in the role of dirty cop Sal Benedetto before taking on the role of Lt. Norman Buntz.

First weekly television series to receive $1,000,000 from the network to film a single episode.

Originally, Hill and Renko were supposed to die in the shooting in the drug house in the first episode. When it was decided that the series needed more uniformed cops to justify its title, several finished or in-production episodes were reworked to show that they had survived and to bring them back; other uniforms' parts were expanded as well.

The pilot episode "Hill Street Station" premiered in Finland on the TV2 channel on May 25th 1983, when the show continued from episode "Presidential Fever" on MTV (Mainostelevisio) on 1 June 1983.

The Police Station exterior shots was a real Chicago Police station. Now no longer used by The City, it was once the home of the 7th district, located near the old Maxwell Street Market, and is called the Hill Street Blues Station. It is now used by The UIC police,

Filming locations:

Big Bear Lake, Big Bear Valley, San Bernardino National Forest, California, USA

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Los Angeles, California, USA

North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Pacoima, Los Angeles, California, USA

Republic Studios/CBS Studio Center - 4024 Radford Ave., Studio City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, USA

• Creation date: 2003/07/01 by abdest