''The District'' is an American

crime drama Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

and

police procedural The police procedural, police show, or police crime drama is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasises the investigative procedure of police officers, police detectives, or law enforcement agency, law enforcement agencies ...

television series that aired on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

from October 7, 2000, to May 1, 2004. The show followed the work and personal life of the

chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

police department The police are a constituted body of people empowered by a state with the aim of enforcing the law and protecting the public order as well as the public itself. This commonly includes ensuring the safety, health, and possessions of citize ...

Premise

Former

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

Police Commissioner and New York Transit police officer Jack Mannion is hired as the chief of the bureaucracy-laden Washington, D.C. police force. Together with his

detectives A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

and allies, he must fight crime as well as internal corruption and the powers of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

in order to reorganize and renovate the force.

Production

''The District'' was inspired by the real-life experience of former

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Deputy Police Commissioner

Jack Maple Jack Maple (September 23, 1952 – August 4, 2001) was a New York City Transit officer and remembered for holding the first newly created position of deputy police commissioner for operations and crime control strategies, succeeded by Ed Norris. ...

. Along with Police Commissioner

William Bratton William Joseph Bratton CBE (born October 6, 1947) is an American businessman and former law enforcement officer who served two non-consecutive tenures as the New York City Police Commissioner (1994–1996 and 2014–2016) and currently one of ...

, he had reorganized the

NYPD The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

, and one of the achievements was the

CompStat CompStat (also written COMPSTAT) is a police management system created by the New York City Police Department in 1994 with assistance from the New York City Police Foundation. Today, variations of the system are used in police departments worldwid ...

program (comparative statistics), which has its own major role in the TV series. After the success in New York, the CompStat program has been adapted by other cities. However Jack Maple himself chose to publish his experiences—along with Chris Mitchell he wrote a book (''The Crime Fighter'', 2000), and along with

Terry George Terence George (born 20 December 1952) is an Irish screenwriter and director. Much of his film work (e.g. '' The Boxer'', '' Some Mother's Son'', and '' In the Name of the Father'') involves "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland. He was nominated ...

he prepared a TV series concept. His impact on the storyline after season 1 was limited; he died of colon cancer on August 4, 2001. Primary filming was in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, with some location shooting in Washington, D.C.

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

Jean Smart Jean Elizabeth Smart (born September 13, 1951) is an American actress. Jean Smart filmography, Her work includes both comedy and drama, and List of awards and nominations received by Jean Smart, her accolades include six Primetime Emmy Awards a ...

as Det. Sherry Regan * Wayne Duvall as Sgt. Phil Brander *

Richard Fancy Richard Ronald Fancy (born August 2, 1943) is an American actor and comedian known for his recurring role on ''Seinfeld'' as publisher Mr. Lippman, Elaine Benes's employer. Early life Fancy was born August 2, 1943, in Evanston, Illinois, to ...

as U.S. Attorney Bruce Logan * Segun Ajaga (season 1) and William Turner (seasons 2–3) as Ricky Alvarez *

Michelle Forbes Michelle Renee Forbes Guajardo (born January 8, 1965) is an American actress who has appeared on television and in independent films. She is a Saturn Award winner with three nominations. Forbes first garnered attention for her dual role in t ...

as Helen York (season 1) *

John Amos John Allen Amos Jr. (December 27, 1939 – August 21, 2024) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as James Evans Sr. on the CBS television series ''Good Times''. His other well known roles were as the adult Kunta Kinte in the l ...

as Mayor Ethan Baker (season 1) *

Kristen Wilson Kristen Wilson (born September 4, 1969) is an American former actress, best known as Miranda DuBaer in '' Twitches'' and ''Twitches Too'' and as Lisa Dolittle in the films '' Dr. Dolittle'', '' Dr. Dolittle 2'', and '' Dr. Dolittle 3''. Early l ...

as Kendall Truman (seasons 1–2) *

Christopher B. Duncan Christopher B. Duncan is an American actor. He is known for his television series regular roles like Braxton P. Hartnabrig on ''The Jamie Foxx Show'', President William Johnson in '' The First Family'', and his portrayal of Clarence Weidman on '' ...

as Sgt. Ray Cutter (seasons 2–4) *

Gregory Alan Williams Gregory Alan Williams (born June 12, 1956) sometimes credited as Gregalan Williams, is an American actor and author. He is best known for portraying LAPD Officer Garner Ellerbee in ''Baywatch''. From 2011 until 2013, Williams portrayed the role ...

as Clive Rodgers (seasons 2–4) * Rita S. Jett as Ferris Gluck (seasons 2–4) *

Ving Rhames Irving Rameses Rhames ( ; born May 12, 1959) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying IMF Agent Luther Stickell in the Mission: Impossible (film series), ''Mission: Impossible'' film series (1996–2025) and crime boss Marsellus Wal ...

as Attorney General Troy Hatch (season 3) *

Kelly Rutherford Kelly Rutherford (born November 6, 1968) is an American actress. She is known for her television roles as Stephanie "Sam" Whitmore on the NBC daytime soap opera '' Generations'' (1989–1991), as Megan Lewis on the Fox primetime soap opera '' ...

as Melinda Lockhart (season 3) * Carol Bodine as Carol Bodine (season 3) * Joseph C. Phillips as Mayor Morgan Douglas (seasons 3–4) *

Jaclyn Smith Jaclyn Smith (born October 26, 1945) is an American actress. She is most notable for her role as Kelly Garrett in the television series ''Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1981), and was the only original female lead to remain with the series for it ...

as Vanessa Cavanaugh (seasons 3–4) *

Alexandra Barreto Alexandra Barreto is a Puerto Rican actress who starred in the 2006 television series '' Pepper Dennis'' with her husband Rider Strong and Rebecca Romijn and in the horror film '' Tooth and Nail'', a part of the annual After Dark Horrorfest in ...

as Maria Rodriguez (seasons 3–4) *

Vanessa Bell Calloway Vanessa Bell Calloway ( Bell; born March 20, 1957) is an American actress. Beginning her career as a dancer, Bell Calloway became known for her film roles as Princess Imani Izzi in the 1988 comedy ''Coming to America'' and its sequel. Since the ...

as Gwen Hendrix (season 4) ;Notes * In 2001,

was nominated for an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for "Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series" for her performance as "Sherry Regan". * On March 12, 2003, Thigpen died of a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as hemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain (i.e. the parenchyma), into its ventricles, or into both. An ICH is a type of bleeding within the skull and one kind of stro ...

in her

Marina del Rey, California Marina del Rey ( Spanish for "Marina of the King") is an unincorporated seaside community in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The eponymous harbor is a major boating and water recreation destination of the Greater Los Angeles ar ...

, home. The show's third-season finale had a tribute to her character.

Ratings

Note: Throughout ''The District's'' entire run it was aired in a Saturday night timeslot and also it was the last U.S. scripted series to air on its Saturday night schedule until ''

Ransom Ransom refers to the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release. It also refers to the sum of money paid by the other party to secure a captive's freedom. When ransom means "payment", the word ...

'' debuted in 2017.

International broadcasts

*In Australia, ''The District'' aired on the

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

in late night slots throughout its run. *In

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, the first two seasons aired on Nova Television. The whole series was aired on

AXN AXN is a pay television channel brand by Sony Pictures Television, which was first launched in September 1997 in Asia. Local versions have since been launched in several parts of the world, including Europe, Asia, and Latin America, with some ne ...

with subtitles and later on

AXN Crime AXN Crime was a European movie channel owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is broadcast eighteen hours per day, between 11:00 am and 05:00 am. It was available in Poland, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria on Boom Extrasatelit, Boom TV, Bulsat ...

. Later

Fox Crime Fox Crime (stylized as FOXCRIME), was a television network, launched by the Fox Networks Group, which aired across several countries of Europe, Africa and Asia such as Italy, Portugal, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Turkey. Its basic programming including n ...

repeated the first two seasons and the dub was rerecorded with the same actors. The third season started in October 2010. *In

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, ''The District'' aired on

TV4 TV4 or TV 4 may refer to: *TV4 (Polish TV channel), a private Polish television station *TV4 (Swedish TV channel), a Swedish television network **TV4 AB, owners of the Swedish television station *SABC TV4, a channel operated by the South African st ...

. *In

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, ''The District'' aired on the

Universal Channel Universal TV, formerly Universal Channel, is an international pay television network specializing in movies and television series in the Thriller (genre), thriller, Drama (genre), drama, comedy, Horror (genre), horror, Crime (genre), crime and in ...

. *In Germany, ''The District'' airs on VOX. *In the United Kingdom, it aired on

CBS Justice CBS Justice, formerly CBS Action, is a television channel specializing in factual programming ranging from action films to drama and murder-mysteries. Currently available only in Africa since 21 November 2019 via DStv and Ireland, it was previo ...

(formerly

CBS Action CBS Action may refer to: * CBS Justice CBS Justice, formerly CBS Action, is a television channel specializing in factual programming ranging from action films to drama and murder-mysteries. Currently available only in Africa since 21 November 2 ...

) and was also previously broadcast in late night slots on ITV1. *In

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, it aired on

RTS RTS may refer to: Medicine * Rape trauma syndrome, the psychological trauma experienced by a rape victim * Revised Trauma Score, a system to evaluate injuries secondary to violent trauma * Rubinstein–Taybi syndrome, a condition characterized by ...

. *In

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

, it aired on the now defunct

Prva TV Prva (; sr-Cyrl, Прва, lit=First) or Prva Srpska Televizija ( sr-Cyrl, Прва српска телевизија, lit=First Serbian Television), is a Serbian commercial television network with national coverage. It was launched on 31 Dece ...

, later it aired on

Fox Life Fox Life, now rebranded as Star Life and FX Life, was an international pay television network, launched by the Fox Networks Group in 2004. The network has been discontinued in several markets over time. The network's scheduling has varied wi ...

(Bulgaria & Balkans region). *In

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

, ''The District'' aired on CVM TV. *In

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

it aired on

TVR1 TVR 1 (; spelled out as ''Televiziunea Română 1'', "Romanian Television 1") is the main channel of the Romanian public broadcaster TVR. The most important show of the channel is Jurnalul TVR, whose motto is ("The news journal as it should ...

and

TVR2 TVR 2 (, spelled out as ''Televiziunea Română 2'', "Romanian Television 2") is the second channel of the public broadcaster TVR. The channel was launched on 2 May 1968, but it was suspended from 20 January 1985, until 19 February 1990. From ...

. *In

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

it aired on

Rai 2 Rai 2 is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's second television channel, and is known for broadcasting '' TG2'' news bulletins, ta ...

from November 29, 2004 to 2008. *In

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, ''The District'' aired on

France 2 France 2 () is a French free-to-air public television channel. The flagship channel of France Télévisions, it broadcasts generalist programming including news, entertainment (such as dramas, films, and game shows), factual programmes, and sp ...

(as Washington Police)

Syndication

It ran for a time on

USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...

as well as on

The Biography Channel FYI (stylized as fyi,) is an American basic cable channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between the Disney Entertainment subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Communications (each owns 50%). The network features lifestyle p ...

after cancellation. On February 7, 2020 it joined the day shift in the Friday slot on

Heroes & Icons Heroes & Icons (H&I) is an American digital multicast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Usually carried on the digital subchannels of its affiliated television station in most markets, the network airs classic television series ...

. Without explanation as of Feb. 20, 2020 the program was pulled and Fridays reverted to

NUMB3RS ''Numbers'' (stylized as ''NUMB3RS'') is an American crime drama television series that originally aired on CBS from January 23, 2005, to March 12, 2010, with a total of six seasons consisting of 118 episodes. The series was created by Nico ...

.Tomorrow, Clock into the Day Shift with The District!
(comments confirm abrupt pulling) As of mid-2020 it was back on the Heroes and Icons TV schedule weekdays from 1AM to 3AM Eastern Standard Time. As of October 2023, it has been pulled from the Heroes and Icons TV schedule once again.

References

External links

* *
USA Network site
(Archived copy)
CBS Network site
(Archived copy) {{DEFAULTSORT:District 2000 American television series debuts 2004 American television series endings 2000s American crime drama television series 2000s American police procedural television series Television series by CBS Studios Television series by Universal Television Television series by Paramount Television Television shows set in Washington, D.C. Montgomery County, Maryland in fiction CBS crime dramas