# EZ Streets

EZ Streets is an American crime drama television series created by Paul Haggis. It premiered on CBS on October 27, 1996, with a two-hour pilot television film and ended on April 2, 1997. The series stars Ken Olin, Joe Pantoliano, and Jason Gedrick.

## Synopsis

The series is set in a decaying American city located near the Canada–US border, and deals with the interconnected lives of the city's criminals, politicians, and police officers. The primary characters were three different men from various backgrounds trying to survive in the nameless bombed-out inner city.
Cameron Quinn was a police detective who had just joined the intelligence division to clear his name after being categorized as a "dirty cop" after his partner was killed in a drug sting gone wrong. Quinn then worked undercover for Captain Geary by infiltrating the local criminal underworld. Quinn's prime target (and the thug who murdered his partner) was Jimmy Murtha, an extremely violent hoodlum who was determined to rise in the ranks of the local Mob. Murtha was often helped by his sexy, but unscrupulous attorney, Theresa Connors. She was adept at using every legal loophole and ploy to keep Murtha out of jail. Murtha's primary competition was the mobster who ran the businesses in the other half of the city, Michael "Fivers" Dugan.
It appeared that everyone in the city counsel, even the proud mayor Christian Davidson, were under the thumb of Fivers Dugan. Mayor Davidson was doing business with Dugan to try to re-build the decaying and crime-ridden community for political contributions. Murtha, despite his ruthless nature and frequent evil dealings, had one positive goal: to save his neighborhood from being overrun with drugs, crime and local teen gangs.
Danny Rooney was a mutual childhood friend of Murtha who had just gotten released from prison after serving three years for taking the rap in an armed robbery that one of Murtha's thugs committed. Despite his desire to go straight, Rooney was forced to go to work for Murtha in performing various illegal jobs. Rooney hoped that the dirty money he earned would help him get back together with his estranged, drug-addicted wife Elli, and their young daughter Janie.

## Characters

* Ken Olin as Detective Cameron Quinn
* Joe Pantoliano as Jimmy Murtha
* Jason Gedrick as Danny Rooney
* R. D. Call as Michael "Fivers" Dugan
* John Finn as Captain Geary
* Debrah Farentino as Theresa Conners
* Richard Portnow as Detective Frank Collero
* Carl Lumbly as Mayor Christian Davidson
* Sarah Trigger as Elli Rooney - Danny's estranged wife
* Andrew Divoff as Andre "Frenchie" Desormeaux
* Mike Starr as Mickey Kinnear
* Robert Spillane as Bobby
* Rosemary Murphy as Christina Quinn - Cameron's mother
* Saverio Guerra as Sammy Feathers
* Courtney Jacquin as Janie Rooney - Danny and Elli's daughter
* Andrew Rothenberg as Shirt
* John St. Ryan as Bo
* Gregg Henry as Councilman Eeling (1997)
* Jack McGee as Leo (1997)
* Louis Lombardi as The Fat Man (1997)

## Reception and cancellation

After its first episode in its regular timeslot on Wednesday, October 30, 1996, it was put on hiatus with CBS president Leslie Moonves promising that the show would be "relaunched" at a later date. The series was relaunched that spring from March 1, 1997, to April 2, 1997, but failed to garner a substantial audience. CBS canceled EZ Streets in April 1997 due to low ratings. The last episode, "Neither Have I Wings to Fly", never aired on CBS, although it was broadcast once in Canada. Critics criticized Moonves for not reairing the pilot and first series episode before the relaunch.

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Viewers (millions) |
| 1 | "Pilot" | Paul Haggis | Paul Haggis | October 27, 1996 (1996-10-27) | 10.7 |
| 2 | "Every Picture Tells a Story" | Ken Olin | Story by : Paul Haggis & David Black Teleplay by : Paul Haggis | October 30, 1996 (1996-10-30) | 6.6 |
| 3 | "A Terrible Beauty" | George Bloomfield | Paul Haggis & Robert Moresco | March 3, 1997 (1997-03-03) | 10.66 |
| 4 | "St. Jude Took a Bullet" | James Quinn | Story by : Paul Haggis & David Black Teleplay by : Paul Haggis | March 5, 1997 (1997-03-05) | 9.29 |
| 5 | "Every Dog Has Its Day" | Donna Deitch | Story by : Paul Haggis & David Black Teleplay by : Paul Haggis | March 12, 1997 (1997-03-12) | 7.33 |
| 6 | "One Acquainted with the Night" | Antina W. Addison | Paul Haggis & Robert Moresco | March 19, 1997 (1997-03-19) | 6.78 |
| 7 | "On the Left Side of the Angel" | Peter Markle | Paul Haggis & Patrick Harbinson | March 26, 1997 (1997-03-26) | 7.90 |
| 8 | "A Ceremony of Innocence" | Michael Fields | Paul Haggis & Mark Saraceni | April 2, 1997 (1997-04-02) | 5.88 |
| 9 | "Neither Have I Wings to Fly" | Randall Zisk | Story by : Paul Haggis & Kimberly Hill Teleplay by : Kimberly Hill & Jeff King | Unaired | N/A |

## Production

Each episode of the series reportedly costed $1.6 million to produce.

## Syndication

In 2006, repeats of the series began airing on the new U.S. cable channel, Sleuth. All episodes, including the one not shown on CBS, were aired.

## Home media

On May 23, 2006, Universal Studios released the 2-hour pilot episode and the episodes "Every Dog Has Its Day" and "One Acquainted with the Night" on a single DVD as part of its Brilliant But Cancelled series.

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
| 1997 | Casting Society of America's Artios Award | Best Casting for TV, Dramatic Pilot | Nan Dutton and Jane Alderman | Won |
| 1997 | Online Film & Television Association Award | Best New Drama Series | | Won |
| 1997 | Online Film & Television Association Award | Best New Theme Song in a Series | Mark Isham | Nominated |
| 1997 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Main Title Theme Music | Mark Isham | Won |
| 1997 | Television Critics Association Award | Program of the Year | | Won |
| 1997 | Television Critics Association Award | Outstanding Achievement in Drama | | Nominated |
| 1997 | Television Critics Association Award | Individual Achievement in Drama | Joe Pantoliano | Nominated |
| 1997 | Viewers for Quality Television Award | Best Supporting Actor in a Quality Drama Series | Joe Pantoliano | Nominated |
| 1997 | Viewers for Quality Television Award | Best Supporting Actor in a Quality Drama Series | Jason Gedrick | Nominated |
| 1997 | Viewers for Quality Television Award | Founder's Award | Paul Haggis | Won |
| 1998 | Young Artist Award | Best Performance in a TV Drama Series - Guest Starring Young Actress | Courtney Jacquin | Nominated |