Legendary producer pushed TV boundaries
Gritty shows shook up police dramas
Steven Bochco was a celebrated television writer and producer whose sophisticated prime- time portrayals of gritty courtrooms and police station houses redefined television dramas and pushed the boundaries of onscreen vulgarity and nudity.
Bochco died April 1 in Los Angeles of complications of cancer. He was 74.
Over three decades starting in the early 1980s, Bochco, whose shows Hill Street Blues and L.A. Law upended the traditional hour- long drama, was one of Hollywood’s most prolific and sought- after producers. He mixed elements of daytime soap operas — like storylines that stretch over multiple episodes and feature a rich ensemble of characters — with a true-to-life visual style and colourful language.
Critic David Bianculli called Bochco “one of the most important figures in the history of television.” Bianculli, who has covered the entertainment industry for more than 40 years, said television police dramas could be divided between those that came before and after Hill Street Blues.
“We wouldn’t have the excellence on TV, on cable, broadcast and streaming if it wasn’t for what Steven Bochco did on broadcast TV,” Bianculli said. “He was a pioneer.”
On Hill Street Blues in the 1980s and on NYPD Blue a decade later, Bochco lent a realism to police dramas and introduced twisting, sophisticated storylines and subplots. Detectives did not solve crimes in a single episode, and they had flaws just like the bad guys. They drank, swore and had messy personal lives — provocative portrayals that caused some episodes to carry “explicit warnings,” scared off some advertisers and led some network affiliates to refuse to broadcast episodes.
But his style forever changed the format.
“The idea of almost every other cop show was that the private lives of these folks was what happened t he other 23 hours of the day that you weren’t watching them, and we turned that inside out,” Bochco said in a 2014 interview.
But Hill Street Blues was not an overnight success. After its first season in 1981, the show ranked 87th out of 96 series in the ratings. But a few months later, it won eight Emmy Awards, including best drama, giving Hill Street Blues momentum that carried the series another six seasons on NBC. It also propelled Bochco’s career.
In 1986, he applied his trademark method to courtrooms, creating L.A. Law on NBC. It was no Perry Mason. The show brought a realism to lawyers and law firms and accurately portrayed legal issues, all while tackling tough and sensitive subjects.
In 1987, ABC lured him away from NBC with a firstof- its- kind network exclusive: a $ 50- million deal to create 10 series over eight years. Two shows were hits, NYPD Blue and Doogie Howser, M.D.
In Doogie Howser, a teenage doctor, played by Neil Patrick Harris, tried to balance his personal and professional life. A comedydrama, the show veered into new territory for Bochco, but it stuck with a core trait of his shows: pushing the boundaries on television.
But nothing shocked like NYPD Blue. Months before the show had its premiere in September 1993, Bochco predicted that its nudity and explicit language would make it the first “R rated” show on network television. When the first episode aired, it carried only a handful of national advertisers, and 57 of ABC’s 225 affiliates did not broadcast it.
Insisting that viewers be treated like adults, Bochco sparred with network executives and censors over details such as what percentage of a woman’s breast could appear on screen or how many times a profanity could be repeated.
The show survived the backlash, winning numerous awards over 12 seasons.
Bianculli said that one of Bochco’s lasting contributions was making characters real and relatable. Detective Andy Sipowicz on NYPD Blue, played by Dennis Franz, starts out “almost irredeemable but ends up being the soul” of the show, he said.