''Beverly Hills Buntz'' is an American

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

television series and a spin-off of the acclaimed police drama '' Hill Street Blues''. Beverly Hills Buntz aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

from November 5, 1987, to May 20, 1988.

Overview

The show was a half-hour dramedy, a hybrid between light

private eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised ...

fare and a

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

. The main character, Norman Buntz, was previously seen as a morally and ethically questionable cop on '' Hill Street Blues'', which was a dramatic series (this series is one of a handful of examples of a series in one genre, drama, spinning off a series in another: comedy). The series has the character quitting the police force, moving to

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

, and becoming a private investigator. In a programming experiment,

president

Brandon Tartikoff Brandon Tartikoff (January 13, 1949 – August 27, 1997) was an American television executive who was head of the entertainment division of NBC from 1981 to 1991. He was credited with turning around NBC's low prime time reputation with several ...

announced that this show would be a "designated hitter" and was originally given prize time slots once a month following ''

Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American television sitcom, created by Glen and Les Charles, Glen Charles & Les Charles and James Burrows, that aired on NBC for eleven seasons from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/C ...

'' and ''

Night Court ''Night Court'' is an American television sitcom that premiered on NBC on January 4, 1984, and ended on May 31, 1992, after nine seasons consisting of List of Night Court episodes, 193 episodes. The show is set in the night shift of a Manhattan ...

''. The other two "designated hitters" that season were the Bruce Weitz and Nancy Walker sitcom, '' Mama's Boy,'' and the second season of the Edward Asner drama '' The Bronx Zoo'' (incidentally, each show would be canceled the following year). Eventually, Buntz was scheduled Fridays at 9:30pm between ''Night Court'' and ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo Tubbs, Ricardo "Rico" Tub ...

'' in March 1988. ''Night Court'' and ''Buntz'' were unsuccessful, but ''Miami Vice'' gained a fifth season with an improved performance having moved from 9pm back to 10pm. Three pilots of ''Buntz'' were filmed including one by director

Hal Ashby William Hal Ashby (September 2, 1929 – December 27, 1988) was an Cinema of the United States, American film Film director, director and Film editing, editor. His work exemplified the countercultural attitude of the era. He directed wide-rangi ...

. Thirteen episodes were filmed, of which only nine were broadcast. The first episode was broadcast November 5, 1987 and the last on May 20, 1988. The series starred

Dennis Franz Dennis Franz Schlachta (; born October 28, 1944), known professionally as Dennis Franz, is an American retired actor best known for his role as NYPD Detective Andy Sipowicz in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television series ''NYPD Blue' ...

as Norman Buntz, and Peter Jurasik as Sid "The Snitch" Thurston. Dana Wheeler-Nicholson joined the cast.

Cast

as Norman Buntz * Peter Jurasik as Sid Thurston * Dana Wheeler-Nicholson as Rebecca Griswold

Episodes

References

External links

* {{MTM Enterprises 1980s American crime television series 1980s American single-camera sitcoms 1987 American television series debuts 1988 American television series endings American crime comedy television series American English-language television shows Television shows set in Beverly Hills, California American television spinoffs Television series by MTM Enterprises Television series created by David Milch NBC sitcoms