Cop Rock

 ( 1990 American Television Series Debuts ) 

One of the only actors with singing experience, Teri Austin graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and performed "Lover Man" and "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" at her audition. Kathleen Wilhoite, who portrays Patricia Spence, had a record deal at the time, and decided to audition with "Easy to Be Hard", finding her casting as a "good gig for me, because singing is kind of my thing". McDaniel, on the other hand, turned down an offer to join the series but changed his mind after finding out it was created by Bochco, who he had worked with on the last season of Hill Street Blues.

Mick Murray was searching for an acting job in New York and was going through multiple pilots from ABC before hearing about Cop Rock and Bochco's involvement. At his audition, the casting director was Alexa Fogel, who was not of fan of his following a failed audition for the film Young Guns. As a result, Murray decided to perform a cappella by Terence Trent D'Arby, which Fogel responded to with "the warmest smile". At night, Murray received a phone call from his agent and was told that the production crew had expanded a small role for him so he could join as a series regular.

Larry Joshua brought his own guitar to his audition and performed "When She Wants Good Lovin'" and "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye". During this time, David Gianopoulos heard about the series after running into Joshua near 42nd Street. Revealing to his agent that he had been secretly singing in several bands for over six years, Gianopoulos auditioned with Ben E. King's "Stand by Me" at Lincoln Center, where several other cast members also had their auditions. Originally, Gianopoulos had auditioned for the role of LaRusso before being told by Bochco to audition for the role of Officer Andy Campo. The following day, he performed Bruce Springsteen's "Hungry Heart" and received the part.

Ronny Cox was told by pilot director Gregory Hoblit that he would get the role of Chief Roger Kendrick whether or not he could sing. Broadway performer Anne Bobby, however, had to audition, doing so on a Saturday where she said she saw her friend Jane Krakowski. Furthermore, Paul McCrane was told by Hoblit and Bochco that they did not have a part for him at the moment and reassured him that they would write a new character once the show entered production; McCrane was later cast as Detective Bob McIntire.

Several cast and guest stars had previously appeared on Hill Street Blues, including Bochco's wife Barbara Bosson (Fay Furillo on Blues, Mayor Plank on Cop Rock). Hill Street cast member Charles Haid was a producer and directed one episode. The seventh episode "Cop-a-Feeliac" opens with a roll call scene and musical number "Let's Be Careful Out There," based on the Hill Street Blues catchphrase. At the end of the scene, James B. Sikking makes a cameo appearance, uncredited and without dialogue, as his Hill Street Blues character Howard Hunter.

The show was a critical and commercial failure and was canceled by ABC after 11 episodes. The combination of a fusion of musical performances with serious police drama and dark humor with its high-powered production talent, made it infamous as one of the biggest television failures of the 1990s. TV Guide Magazine ranked it #8 on its List of the 50 Worst TV Shows of All Time list in 2002 and dubbed it "the single most bizarre TV musical of all time".

Despite an overwhelmingly negative receptionRecent examples include a 2009 review on the site Bad TV Shows and a 2004 review on the site Television Heaven. and short run, the series has been rebroadcast in later years, with VH1 and A&E Network airing it on separate occasions later in the 1990s, and Trio in the 2000s.