TMC
04-02-2025, 09:29 PM
Good question that is difficult to answer. (https://www.quora.com/Why-was-Hill-Street-Blues-so-popular/answer/Jon-Mixon-1)
Let’s see;
It was popular with critics - I can’t remember too many critics not praising the series. Even the mediocre and terrible episodes were fawned over by television critics. It was almost as if if you didn’t like the series ( I personally thought that it was “okay”) there was something wrong with YOU.
It was popular with critics #2 - It constantly was either nominated or winning awards. It never went a season without a nomination. And many of its performers won awards for their individual efforts. They also parlayed that aspect into publicity for the series.
It was arguably NBC’s best drama of the 1980s. - The network had comedies (Family Ties, Cheers, Seinfeld, etc.) but other than Hill Street and to a lesser extent LA Law, the network was bereft of strong dramas. Hill Street occupied a niche within their program that was needed desperately.
Apparently a number of real life law enforcement officers liked the program - When I have spoke with cops over he years and asked if they had a “favorite” police-related television series, most of the older ones stated that Hill Street was their “go to” program.
It was an early Mandela effect effort - Many people remember watching the series, but the ratings reflected that it was never very popular, overall. It’s BEST Nielsen rating was #23 in its third season and this was when many Americans were still watching network television nightly or regularly. It was a “popular” series; however it was never so popular that it broke the Top 10 or even the Top 20 despite that popularity.
Hill Street Blues came along at a time when the public wasn’t expecting it and NBC desperately needed it. The combination of the two seems to be why the series remains so well known today.
Let’s see;
It was popular with critics - I can’t remember too many critics not praising the series. Even the mediocre and terrible episodes were fawned over by television critics. It was almost as if if you didn’t like the series ( I personally thought that it was “okay”) there was something wrong with YOU.
It was popular with critics #2 - It constantly was either nominated or winning awards. It never went a season without a nomination. And many of its performers won awards for their individual efforts. They also parlayed that aspect into publicity for the series.
It was arguably NBC’s best drama of the 1980s. - The network had comedies (Family Ties, Cheers, Seinfeld, etc.) but other than Hill Street and to a lesser extent LA Law, the network was bereft of strong dramas. Hill Street occupied a niche within their program that was needed desperately.
Apparently a number of real life law enforcement officers liked the program - When I have spoke with cops over he years and asked if they had a “favorite” police-related television series, most of the older ones stated that Hill Street was their “go to” program.
It was an early Mandela effect effort - Many people remember watching the series, but the ratings reflected that it was never very popular, overall. It’s BEST Nielsen rating was #23 in its third season and this was when many Americans were still watching network television nightly or regularly. It was a “popular” series; however it was never so popular that it broke the Top 10 or even the Top 20 despite that popularity.
Hill Street Blues came along at a time when the public wasn’t expecting it and NBC desperately needed it. The combination of the two seems to be why the series remains so well known today.