# Beverly Hills Buntz

Beverly Hills Buntz is an American comedy-drama television series and a spin-off of the acclaimed police drama Hill Street Blues. Beverly Hills Buntz aired on NBC from November 5, 1987, to May 20, 1988.

## Overview

The show was a half-hour dramedy, a hybrid between light private eye fare and a sitcom. The main character, Norman Buntz, was previously seen as a morally and ethically questionable cop on Hill Street Blues, which was a dramatic series (this series is one of a handful of examples of a series in one genre, drama, spinning off a series in another: comedy). The series has the character quitting the police force, moving to Beverly Hills, and becoming a private investigator. In a programming experiment, NBC president Brandon Tartikoff announced that this show would be a "designated hitter" and was originally given prize time slots once a month following Cheers and Night Court. The other two "designated hitters" that season were the Bruce Weitz and Nancy Walker sitcom, Mama's Boy, and the second season of the Edward Asner drama The Bronx Zoo (incidentally, each show would be canceled the following year). Eventually, Buntz was scheduled Fridays at 9:30pm between Night Court and Miami Vice in March 1988. Night Court and Buntz were unsuccessful, but Miami Vice gained a fifth season with an improved performance having moved from 9pm back to 10pm.
Three pilots of Buntz were filmed including one by director Hal Ashby.
Thirteen episodes were filmed, of which only nine were broadcast. The first episode was broadcast November 5, 1987 and the last on May 20, 1988. The series starred Dennis Franz as Norman Buntz, and Peter Jurasik as Sid "The Snitch" Thurston. Dana Wheeler-Nicholson joined the cast.

## Cast

* Dennis Franz as Norman Buntz
* Peter Jurasik as Sid Thurston
* Dana Wheeler-Nicholson as Rebecca Griswold

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 1 | "Pilot" | Hal Ashby | Jeffrey Lewis & David Milch | November 5, 1987 (1987-11-05) |
| 2 | "Fit to Be Tied" | John Patterson | Peter Silverman | November 29, 1987 (1987-11-29) |
| 3 | "Sid and Randy" | John Patterson | Jeffrey Lewis | December 24, 1987 (1987-12-24) |
| 4 | "Duck! L'Orange!" | Eric Laneuville | Jim Kaplan | January 27, 1988 (1988-01-27) |
| 5 | "Umbrella in the Water" | Ray Danton | Story by : Richard Ben-Veniste Teleplay by : Peter Silverman | March 25, 1988 (1988-03-25) |
| 6 | "Brief Encounter" | Michael Vittes | Story by : Jody Taylor Teleplay by : Christian Williams | April 1, 1988 (1988-04-01) |
| 7 | "El Norte by Norte West" | Eric Laneuville | Story by : Christian Williams and John Eisendrath Teleplay by : Christian Williams | April 8, 1988 (1988-04-08) |
| 8 | "Buntz of the Desert" | Paul Lynch | Mark St. Germain | April 15, 1988 (1988-04-15) |
| 9 | "A Christmas Carol" | Gabrielle Beaumont | Jeffrey Lewis | April 22, 1988 (1988-04-22) |
| 10 | "Ad Astra Per Peoria" | Barnet Kellman | Jim Macak | Unaired |
| 11 | "A Falcone in the Hand" | Gabrielle Beaumont | Christian Williams | Unaired |
| 12 | "Cannon-Aid" | John Patterson | Stanley Young | Unaired |
| 13 | "Terry and the Pirates" | John Patterson | John Romano | Unaired |