Cop Rock

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Cop Rock
Cop-rock.jpg
Genre
Created by
Theme music composerRandy Newman
Opening theme"Under the Gun" performed by Randy Newman
Composers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes11 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerSteven Bochco
Producers
  • Charles Haid
  • Michael M. Robin
  • John Romano
  • Craig Zisk
Running time45–48 minutes
Production companies
Release
Original networkABC
Original releaseSeptember 26 (1990-09-26) –
December 26, 1990 (1990-12-26)

Cop Rock is an American police procedural musical television series that first aired on ABC in 1990. The show was co-created by Steven Bochco, who also served as executive producer. This mixture of musical performances with comedy and serious drama was a critical and commercial failure when it originally aired.

Synopsis[]

Cop Rock combined the police procedural with musical theatre and black comedy, the former a genre in which Bochco had already been successful with Hill Street Blues. The series centered on the LAPD and featured an ensemble cast that mixed musical numbers and choreography throughout storylines. For example, a courtroom scene in the pilot episode had the jury break into song, proclaiming their verdict on the defendant ("He's Guilty") Gospel-style; and Episode 2 had a lineup of Hispanic suspects proclaim in song "We're the local color with the coppertone skin / And you treat us like we're guilty of some terrible sin." The show also featured crossover appearances from other Bochco series; Episode 5 featured James B. Sikking reprising his Hill Street Blues role of Lt. Howard Hunter (Sikking was working on another Bochco series at the time, Doogie Howser, M.D.), while Episode 8 featured cameos by L.A. Law stars Jimmy Smits and Michele Greene.

The series' theme song, "Under the Gun", was written by Randy Newman, who also performed it in the series' title sequence music video-style in a recording studio, complete with a full backing band and the show's cast (appearing out of character) serving as an audience. Mike Post, who served as Cop Rock's music supervisor, was also part of Newman's band in that opening sequence; Post is the keyboardist in dark glasses sitting next to Newman.[citation needed]

The series' final episode, which aired on December 26, 1990, concluded with the cast breaking character and joining crew members in performing a closing song. The final episode featured a then-unknown Sheryl Crow appearing as a back-up singer.[1]

Reception[]

The show was a critical and commercial failure and was canceled by ABC after 11 episodes.[2] 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.[3][4] TV Guide Magazine ranked it #8 on its List of the 50 Worst TV Shows of All Time list in 2002[5] and dubbed it "the single most bizarre TV musical of all time".[6]

Despite an overwhelmingly negative reception[7] 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.

Cast[]

Main[]

Recurring[]

Episodes[]

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code
1"Pilot"Gregory HoblitSteven Bochco & William M. FinkelsteinSeptember 26, 1990 (1990-09-26)2101
2"Ill-Gotten Gaines"Gregory HoblitSteven Bochco & William M. Finkelstein & John RomanoOctober 3, 1990 (1990-10-03)2102
3"Happy Mudder's Day"Charles HaidSteven Bochco & William M. Finkelstein & John RomanoOctober 10, 1990 (1990-10-10)2103
4"A Three-Corpse Meal"Fred GerberS : Steven Bochco;
T : Toni Graphia;
S/T : William M. Finkelstein,
John Romano		October 17, 1990 (1990-10-17)2104
5"The Cocaine Mutiny"Arlene SanfordT : John Romano;
S/T : Steven Bochco,
William M. Finkelstein		October 24, 1990 (1990-10-24)2105
6"Oil of Ol' Lay"Michael FrescoT : Toni Graphia;
S/T : Steven Bochco,
William M. Finkelstein,
John Romano		October 31, 1990 (1990-10-31)2106
7"Cop-a-Feeliac"Arlene SanfordSteven Bochco,
William M. Finkelstein,
Michael A. Graham,
John Romano		November 7, 1990 (1990-11-07)2107
8"Potts Don't Fail Me Now"Brad SilberlingSteven Bochco,
William M. Finkelstein,
Michael Graham,
John Romano		November 21, 1990 (1990-11-21)2108
9"Marital Blitz"Gilbert M. ShiltonT : Toni Graphia;
S/T : Steven Bochco,
William M. Finkelstein,
John Romano		December 5, 1990 (1990-12-05)2109
10"No Noose Is Good Noose"Michael M. RobinT : Toni Graphia;
S/T : Steven Bochco,
William M. Finkelstein,
John Romano		December 12, 1990 (1990-12-12)2110
11"Bang the Potts Slowly"Fred GerberS : Steven Bochco;
T : Toni Graphia;
S/T : William M. Finkelstein,
John Romano		December 26, 1990 (1990-12-26)2111

Home media[]

On May 17, 2016, Shout! Factory released the complete series on DVD in Region 1.[8]

Awards and nominations[]

Year Award Category Recipient Episode Result
1991 Emmy Award Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Series Robert Appere, Gary D. Rogers, Ron Estes, and Mark Server "Oil Of Ol'Lay" Nominated
Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series Gregory Hoblit Pilot Nominated
Outstanding Achievement in Music and Lyrics Ron Boustead and Greg Edmonson "Oil Of Ol'Lay" Nominated
Outstanding Editing for a Series – Single Camera Production Joe Ann Fogle Pilot Won
Outstanding Achievement in Music and Lyrics Randy Newman Pilot Won

International broadcasts[]

In the United Kingdom, Cop Rock was televised on BBC1 and premiered on Monday 30 September 1991. The show premiered on Australian television via the Ten Network on Thursday 23 January 1992 at 11:00 PM.

See also[]

  • Hull High – A teen comedy television series with musical segments that debuted (and was canceled) in 1990.
  • Viva Laughlin – A 2007 television drama with musical segments. The show was canceled after just two airings due to poor ratings.
  • Crazy Ex-Girlfriend – A romantic musical comedy-drama series that premiered on October 12, 2015 and ran for four seasons.
  • Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist – A romantic musical comedy drama that premiered on January 7, 2020.

References[]

  1. ^ "'Cop Rock' Was A Bad Idea 30 Years Ago And Feels Like An Even Worse Idea Now". Stereogum. 2020-09-25. Retrieved 2021-08-26.
  2. ^ "ABC Cancels 'Cop Rock'". The New York Times. November 13, 1990. Retrieved August 28, 2008.
  3. ^ Weinraub, Bernard (November 11, 1991). "A Series Makes the Starting Gate". The New York Times. Retrieved August 28, 2008.
  4. ^ Tucker, Ken (June 4, 2004). "Flops 101: Lessons From The Biz". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 28, 2008.
  5. ^ Cosgrove-Mather, Bootie (July 12, 2002). "The Worst TV Shows Ever". CBS News. Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved August 28, 2008.
  6. ^ "TV Musicals: The Highs and Lows". TV Guide. Archived from the original on January 20, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
  7. ^ Recent examples include a 2009 review on the site Bad TV Shows and a 2004 review on the site Television Heaven.
  8. ^ Lambert, David (February 4, 2016). "Cop Rock – Shout! Factory Surprises Us with 'The Complete Series' on DVD!". TVShowsOnDVD.com. TV Guide Online. Archived from the original on March 29, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2016.

External links[]

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