This terse, realistic hour-long crime series was based on Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, by reporter David Simon. Like many of executive producer
Barry Levinson's movie projects, the series was set (and largely filmed) in Baltimore. The action centered around the homicide division of an inner-city Baltimore police station, with a large and fluid cast passing through the precinct's door during the series' seven seasons on the air. Originally, there were four main detective teams: avuncular veteran detective Stanley "The Big Man" Bolander (
Ned Beatty) and his snide, conspiracy theory-spouting partner, John Munch (
Richard Belzer); know-it-all Beau Felton (
Daniel Baldwin) and up-and-coming female detective (and later sergeant) Kay Howard (
Melissa Leo); eternally grousing Meldrick Lewis (
Clark Johnson) and lackadaisical Steve Crossetti (
Jon Polito); and bombastic "lone ranger" Frank Pembelton (
Andre Braugher) and his rookie partner, Tim Bayliss (
Kyle Secor), who joined the department in the first episode and quit it on the series finale. In charge of this dedicated but somewhat raffish bunch was hard-driving, hard-driven Lt. Al Giardello (
Yaphet Kotto). Of the above-mentioned characters, only Munch, Lewis, Bayliss, and Giardello survived the entire series' run. The first to defect was Crossetti, who went off the deep end after his former partner Thormann (Lee Tergesen) was blinded in a shoot-out, mysteriously dropped out of sight, and later turned up dead. Later, Felton, Bolander, and Howard were seriously injured in a shoot-out, after which the two of the three were suspended without pay because of their negative behavior at a police convention. Bolander never returned; Felton vanished and later died, reportedly by his own hand; and Howard stuck it out only for a year or so after Felton's disappearance. Finally, a disenchanted, burned-out Pembleton retired one year short of the final season.
Beginning with the series' third season,
Isabella Hofmann joined the cast as Lt. Megan Russert, the abrasive skipper of homicide's night shift; Russert would be promoted to captain, then demoted; she ultimately left Baltimore, and the United States, to find romance and happiness in Paris. In season four, flippant former arson detective Mike Kellerman (
Reed Diamond) joined the squad; he would depart after his questionable involvement in the death of vicious drug kingpin Luther Mahoney, whose killing led to a bloodbath at headquarters. That same season found videographer J.H. Brodie (
Max Perlich) becoming a homicider full-time. Introduced during the sixth season was Chief Medical Examiner Julianna Cox (
Michelle Forbes), who made no secret of her contempt for homicide's procedural methods; and at the end of season six, Detective Paul Falsone (
Jon Seda) joined the team, following his investigation of Felton's mysterious demise. Other lat