News headlines these days are dominated by allegations of police corruption, police brutality, and other things that cast law enforcement in a negative light. Classic police TV shows told a much different story. They portrayed cops as quintessential heroes doing everything to protect and serve the community.
Classic police TV shows shaped many aspects of the modern police procedural genre. They gave greater weight to behind-the-scenes police work like gathering evidence and interviewing suspects over random car chases and shootouts.
Here are four classic police TV shows that shaped the genre.
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1. “Dragnet” (1951-59, 1967-70)
No other police series from the early years exerted greater influence on the genre than "Dragnet." The original series followed detectives Joe Friday and Frank Smith as they used methodical police work to solve cases each week. The revival series paired Friday with a new partner – Bill Gannon. “Dragnet” popularized the police procedural, which examines the details of police work used in catching the criminal. It grew out of a same-named
radio series that ran from 1949 to 1957.
2. “Hawaii Five-0” (1968-80)
At a time when most police shows were set in Los Angeles or New York, “Hawaii Five-O” chose a much different setting to explore crime solving. The series centered on detectives that head up a fictional state police force. “Hawaii Five-O” became the first police show to use location shooting throughout the series in place of sound stages and studio backlots. The show’s catchphrase “Book 'em, Danno” also entered the cultural lexicon,
noted "Booking Hawaii Five-O" by Karen Rhodes.
3. "Police Woman" (1974-78)
“Police Woman” centered on Sgt. “Pepper” Anderson, an undercover police officer who worked with the Los Angeles Police Department, and her efforts to incriminate criminals while undercover. This series became the first successful hour-long drama to feature a female lead,
AARP magazine pointed out in an interview with actress Angie Dickinson. It led to similar shows down the road and actually created a spike in applications from women to police departments around U.S.
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4. "Miami Vice" (1984-89)
Police shows took a different turn when “Miami Vice” arrived on the scene. It featured a pair of Miami detectives working undercover. “Miami Vice” drew attention for focusing on seedy underworld elements in each episode and for possessing a cynicism with police work not really present in other police shows prior to its era. It earned the nickname “MTV Cops” through flashy visuals and its distinctive synthesized music sound track,
museum.tv noted.
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