The Opening Scene That Launched Hill Street Blues 40 Years Ago Today

It was 40 years ago today — January 15th, 1981 — that Hill Street Blues made its series premiere.

In this messy and chaotic opening scene from that very first episode, we see the gritty, realistic nature of the show that gave it its unique tone. This sort of thing seems a lot more commonplace these days, but back then, it was such a departure from how cop shows worked that it took audiences some time to warm up to it. But warm up they did, and the show went on to rack up 146 episodes over 7 seasons and 26 Emmy Awards.

Hill Street Blues is now streaming on Hulu.

Andy Hunsaker has a head full of sitcom gags and nerd-genre lore, and can be followed @AndyHunsaker if you're into that sort of thing.