Cop Rock is an American police procedural musical television series created by Steven Bochco and William M. Finkelstein for the American Broadcasting Company. It premiered on September 26, 1990, and broadcast eleven episodes before concluding on December 26. It was both a critical and commercial failure when it originally aired.
Premise
Following the Los Angeles Police Department, Cop Rock features an ensemble cast of police officers and detectives as they solve crimes across the city, with the series mixing musical and choreography throughout storylines and to introduce new characters. In its main storyline, Captain John Hollander (Larry Joshua) investigates the involvement of Detective Vincent LaRusso (Peter Onorati) in the execution of murder suspect Tyrone Weeks (Art Kimbro). Subplots include Detective Ralph Ruskin's (Ron McLarty) growing jealousy of his wife Officer Vicki Quinn (Anne Bobby), and her friendship with Officer Andy Campo (David Gianopoulos); Quinn helping drug addict Patricia Spence (Kathleen Wilhoite) recover her baby which Spence had sold for $200; and the relationship between corrupt Mayor Louise Plank (Barbara Bosson) and Chief Roger Kendrick (Ronny Cox).
In the early 1980s, a Broadway producer offered Steven Bochco a proposal to convert his series Hill Street Blues into a musical. As the plan was not practical, the proposal was declined, but Bochco kept the idea in mind and thought about doing the opposite instead, converting a Broadway show into a police procedural television series. In 1987, the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) gave Bochco a production commitment for ten of his future shows, and wanting to experiment, he developed Cop Rock as a "bold and adventurous" idea.[1] The head of ABC Entertainment at the time, Bob Iger, was one of the only people willing to give him a chance, allowing the creation of the series.[1] On the opportunity, James McDaniel stated that, "the media said it was impossible and that it was ridiculous, but nothing's impossible and ridiculous if you have the right pieces in place."[1]
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 53% based on 17 reviews, with an average rating of 5.33/10. The website's critical consensus states, "Cop Rock's ambition to innovate the police procedural is admirable, but the contrast of grit and glam proves too jarring with unmemorable music throwing the series' more promising dramatic beats askew."[23] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[24]
The show was a critical and commercial failure and was canceled by ABC after 11 episodes.[25] 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.[26][27] TV Guide Magazine ranked it #8 on its List of the 50 Worst TV Shows of All Time list in 2002[28] and dubbed it "the single most bizarre TV musical of all time".[29]
Despite an overwhelmingly negative reception[30] 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.
Home media
On May 17, 2016, Shout! Factory released the complete series on DVD in Region 1.[31]
Barbara Bosson (November 1, 1939 – February 18, 2023) was an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the television series Hill Street Blues (1981–1986) and Murder One (1995–1997), for both of which she received six Primetime Emmy Award nominations.
Biography
Bosson was born in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, to a tennis coach father. Her first feature film was the crime thriller Bullitt (1968). She was best-known for her role in the 1980s NBC television series Hill Street Blues as Fay Furillo during the series' first six seasons. She later went on to play the tough prosecutor Miriam Grasso on Murder One from 1995 to 1997, which earned her an additional Emmy Award nomination.[citation needed]
Bosson starred in the 1970s series Richie Brockelman, Private Eye as Sharon. Her other roles included the series Hooperman and Cop Rock. Some of Bosson's film appearances include her well-known role as Alex Rogan's mother in the science fiction film The Last Starfighter (1984).
Bosson made guest appearances on many series, including Mannix, Crazy Like a Fox, L.A. Law, Civil Wars, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (in episode "Rivals" as Roana), and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.
In 1970, Bosson married writer-producer Steven Bochco, who created several of the series in which she starred, including Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, Murder One, and Cop Rock. The couple had two children before divorcing in 1997.[citation needed]
Bosson died in Los Angeles on February 18, 2023, at the age of 83.[1]
