Beverly Hills Buntz

Beverly Hills Buntzis an Americancomedy-dramatelevision series and aspin-offof the acclaimed police dramaHill Street Blues.Beverly Hills Buntz aired onNBCfrom November 5, 1987, to May 20, 1988.

Beverly Hills Buntz
Genre	Comedy drama
Created by	David Milch Jeffrey Lewis
Directed by	Barnet Kellman
Starring	Dennis Franz Peter Jurasik Dana Wheeler-Nicholson
Composer	Mike Post
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No.of seasons	1
No.of episodes	13 (4 unaired)
Production
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	30 minutes
Production company	MTM Enterprises
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	November 5, 1987(1987-11-05)– May 20, 1988(1988-05-20)
Related
Hill Street Blues

Overview

The show was a half-hour dramedy, a hybrid between lightprivate eyefare and asitcom.The main character, Norman Buntz, was previously seen as a morally and ethically questionable cop onHill 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 toBeverly Hills,and becoming a private investigator. In a programming experiment,NBCpresidentBrandon Tartikoffannounced that this show would be a "designated hitter" and was originally given prize time slots once a month followingCheersandNight Court.The other two "designated hitters" that season were theBruce WeitzandNancy Walkersitcom,Mama's Boy,and the second season of theEdward AsnerdramaThe Bronx Zoo(incidentally, each show would be canceled the following year). Eventually, Buntz was scheduled Fridays at 9:30pm betweenNight CourtandMiami Vicein March 1988.Night CourtandBuntzwere unsuccessful, butMiami Vicegained a fifth season with an improved performance having moved from 9pm back to 10pm.

Three pilots ofBuntzwere filmed including one by directorHal 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 starredDennis Franzas Norman Buntz, andPeter Jurasikas Sid "The Snitch" Thurston.Dana Wheeler-Nicholsonjoined the cast.

Cast

• Dennis Franzas Norman Buntz
• Peter Jurasikas Sid Thurston
• Dana Wheeler-Nicholsonas Rebecca Griswold

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air 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(Unaired)
11	"A Falcone in the Hand"	Gabrielle Beaumont	Christian Williams	Unaired(Unaired)
12	"Cannon-Aid"	John Patterson	Stanley Young	Unaired(Unaired)
13	"Terry and the Pirates"	John Patterson	John Romano	Unaired(Unaired)

External links

• Beverly Hills BuntzatIMDb