Video: 'Hill Street Blues S01E01 Hill Street Station Pilot'

(Thursday, January 15, 1981, 10:00-11:00 p.m. EST) — Hill Street Blues, described as “one of the most innovative and critically acclaimed television shows in recent television history” and a program that “set an entirely new standard for television drama,” debuted tonight on NBC.

The American police procedural series chronicled the lives of the staff of a single police station located on Hill Street in an unnamed large city. It received critical acclaim and its production innovations influenced many subsequent dramatic television series produced in the United States and Canada.

Created by Steven Bochco and Michael Kozoll, the series starred Daniel J. Travanti, Michael Conrad, Taurean Blacque, René Enríquez, Kiel Martin and Veronica Hamel.