Steven Bochco, the Emmy-winning creator of television classics like NYPD Blue, L.A. Law, and Hill Street Blues, died on Sunday following a multi-year battle with leukemia. He was 74 years old. “Steven fought cancer with strength, courage, grace, and his unsurpassed sense of humor,” spokesman Phillip Arnold said. “He died peacefully in his sleep [at home] with his family close by.”
The New York-native got his start in the 1960s, but before long, he was an in-demand television writer for Griff, McMillan & Wife, and Columbo (including an episode directed by a young Steven Spielberg). In 1969, he co-created his first series, The Bold Ones: The New Doctors, but it took until 1981, when Hill Street Blues premiered (TV Guide would later call it the greatest cop show ever), for Bochco to begin to push the boundaries of what a small-screen drama could be.
Do you count The Wire, or Breaking Bad, or The Sopranos among your favorite shows of all-time? They probably wouldn’t exist without the realistic grit and sprawling ensembles established in Hill Street Blues, which would receive 98 Emmy nominations over its seven-season run, or L.A. Law and NYPD Blue. He also created Cop Rock, but even the greats swing and miss from time to time.
Bochco’s legacy could be felt in the tributes that rolled in following his death.
“Steven reinvented the television drama by creating and executive-producing Hill Street Blues,” said television executive (and former NBC president) Warren Littlefield. “At first, television wasn’t quite ready for this groundbreaking drama, certainly not on a network known for a talking car… The DNA for quality drama at NBC was created by Steven Bochco and all of broadcasting would join NBC and covet what Steven was capable of doing.” Steven Spielberg called him “a friend and a colleague” who he will “miss terribly,” while former ABC Entertainment president Ted Harbert added, “Even though the network is supposed to be the authority, I always looked at Steven as my teacher, my mentor, the genius that led me to the best decision.”
Absolutely one of the biggest influences on Buffy (and me) was HILL STREET BLUES. Complex,unpredictable and unfailingly humane. Steven Bochco changed television, more than once. He’s a legend. All love to his family, R.I.P., and thank you.#LetsBeSafeOutThere
— Joss Whedon (@joss) April 2, 2018
RIP Steve Bochco, creator of Hill Street Blues, a great & transformative show that blew my mind — & Cop Rock, a wild big swing that failed, which is the kind of thing that makes TV interesting in the first place.
— Emily Nussbaum (@emilynussbaum) April 2, 2018
Steven Bochco was Peak TV before it existed. In drama, all roads lead back to him. Writer, producer, innovator, elevator of the form. RIP.
— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) April 2, 2018
As a kid, “Hill Street Blues” and “L.A. Law” were rituals in my house. All of us who grew up watching great TV and have benefited from the ground he broke owe pioneer Steven Bochco a debt of gratitude. RIP
— Beau Willimon (@BeauWillimon) April 2, 2018
https://twitter.com/GhostPanther/status/980656013643624448
https://twitter.com/poniewozik/status/980789692311396352
https://twitter.com/NellSco/status/980598796265644032
Steven Bochco sat with Jake Kasdan and myself before we started Freaks and Geeks and let us grill him for advice. We used all of it. He was a great man and will forever be an inspiration. https://t.co/IWT2Zfr3Nf
— Judd Apatow 🇺🇦 (@JuddApatow) April 2, 2018
RIP Steven Bochco. Any TV drama you like owes a little to him.
— J. Elvis Weinstein (@JElvisWeinstein) April 2, 2018
Damn. He truly innovated AMERICAN television. https://t.co/mtkmH0cljO
— Wendell Pierce (@WendellPierce) April 2, 2018
In 2003, I saw Steven Bochco at a restaurant in NY. I had just been fired from The Bernie Mac Show and was really down. To my surprise, he came over, gave me a hug, said how much he loved me and to remember that what i did was special. Wow!
— Larry Wilmore (@larrywilmore) April 2, 2018
