Homicide: Life on the Street

***Homicide: Life on the Street*** is an American crime drama television series focusing on a fictional Homicide Unit of the Baltimore Police Department. It ran for 7 seasons on NBC, airing a total of 122 episodes. A made-for-television film entitled *Homicide: The Movie* was released in 2000 and served as a finale to the series.

*Homicide* is notable for being the origin of John Munch who was a main character throughout the run of the show, appearing in 119 episodes.

## Cast

### Main Cast

* Daniel Baldwin as Detective Beau Felton (Seasons 1 - 3)
* Richard Belzer as Detective John Munch (Seasons 1 - 7)
* Andre Braugher as Detective Frank Pembleton (Seasons 1 - 6)
* Clark Johnson as Detective Meldrick Lewis (Seasons 1 - 7)
* Yaphet Kotto as Lieutenant Al Giardello (Seasons 1 - 7)
* Melissa Leo as Detective/Sergeant Kay Howard (Seasons 1 - 5)
* Jon Polito as Detective Steve Crosetti (Seasons 1 - 2)
* Kyle Secor as Detective Tim Bayliss (Seasons 1 - 7)
* Ned Beatty as Detective Stanley Bolander (Seasons 1 - 3)
* Isabella Hoffman as Lieutenant/Captain/Detective Megan Russert (Seasons 3 - 4; Guest Season 5)
* Reed Diamond as Detective Mike Kellerman (Seasons 4 - 6; Guest Season 7)
* Michelle Forbes as ME Julianna Cox (Seasons 5 - 6)
* Max Perlich as Crime Scene Videographer J.H. Brodie (Season 5; Recurring Season 4)
* Peter Gerety as Officer/Detective Stuart Gharty (Seasons 6 - 7; Recurring Seasons 4 - 5)
* Jon Seda as Detective Paul Falsone (Seasons 6 - 7; Guest Season 5)
* Callie Thorne as Detective Laura Ballard (Seasons 6 - 7)
* Toni Lewis as Detective Terri Stivers (Season 7; Recurring Seasons 5 - 6)
* Michael Michele as Detective Rene Sheppard (Season 7)
* Giancarlo Esposito as FBI Agent Michael Giardello (Season 7)

### Notable Recurring Cast

* Željko Ivanek as ADA Ed Danvers (Seasons 1 - 7)
* Ami Brabson as Mary Pembleton (Seasons 1 - 6)

## Connections

### On *Homicide*

* *Law & Order* (1995 - 1999)
	+ The friendship between *Homicide* executive producer Tom Fontana and *Law & Order* creator Dick Wolf led to the a cameo in the season 3 episode "Law & Disorder" from Detective Mike Logan (Chris Noth). He is depicted travelling to Baltimore from New York to deliver a prisoner to Detective Frank Pembleton (Andre Braugher). The great reception of this crossover amongst fans of the shows led to three other crossover episodes ("For God and Country", "Baby It's You (Part 2)" and "Sideshow (Part 2)"). These episodes all featured *Law & Order* characters and continued a storyline begun on a *Law & Order* episode aired earlier in the week.

* *Chicago Hope* (1995)
	+ Season 4's "A Doll's Eyes" has the organs of a Baltimore murder victim being sent across the country to various hospitals. The heart of the victim is put into cooler labelled "Chicago Hope Hospital" and is received by Dr. Jeffrey Geiger (Mandy Patinkin). Tom Fontana and *Chicago Hope* executive producer John Tinker were friends and had previously worked together.
* *St. Elsewhere* (1998)
	+ Alfre Woodard reprised her role as Dr. Roxanne Turner in season 6's "Mercy". Tom Fontana was a writer and producer on *St. Elsewhere* previously.

### In Other Media

Not counting Munch-specific appearances, *Homicide* has had the following connections in other media.

* *Law & Order* (1996 - 1999)
	+ Three episodes of *Law & Order* ("Charm City", "Baby It's You (Part 1)", and "Sideshow (Part 1)") all featured appearances from *Homicide* characters and began a storyline that concluded on a *Homicide* episode aired later in the week.
* *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit* (2009 - 2013)
	+ Munch's ex-wife Gwen (Carol Kane) appears in the season 10 finale "Zebras". Gwen returns in Season 15's "Wonderland Story" along with another of Munch's ex-wives, Billie Lou Hatfield (Ellen McElduff) and former co-worker Detective Meldrick Lewis (Clark Johnson). All three characters originated on *Homicide.*