New York Undercover Full Episodes

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NewYork Undercover is an American police drama that aired on the Fox television network from September 8, 1994, to February 11, 1999. The series starred Malik Yoba as Detective J.C. Williams and Michael DeLorenzo as Detective Eddie Torres, two undercover detectives in New York City's Fourth Precinct who were assigned to investigate various crimes and gang-related cases. The cast also included Patti D'Arbanville-Quinn as their superior, Lt. Virginia Cooper, and Lauren Vlez, who joined the cast in the second season as Nina Moreno, fellow detective and love interest to Torres. New York Undercover was co-created and produced by Dick Wolf, and its storyline takes place in the same fictional universe[broken anchor] as Wolf's NBC series Law & Order, its spin-offs, the Chicago and FBI series, and Homicide: Life on the Street.

New York Undercover (whose working title during development was Uptown Undercover, named after the record label, Uptown Records, whose founder and CEO, Andre Harrell, was also the executive producer of the series)[1] is notable for being the first police drama on American television to feature two people of color in the starring roles.[2] In contrast to the popularity of NBC's "Must See TV" on Thursday nights in the 1990s, many African-American viewers flocked to Fox's Thursday-night line-up of Martin, Living Single, and New York Undercover.

In addition to the main storylines in each episode, subplots explored the private lives of the show's characters. For example, Det. Williams struggled to raise his young son, Gregory (George O. Gore II), while Torres was shown to be fighting family and other related problems, including having to cope with his father (Mike Torres, played by Jose Perez), whose drug addiction and HIV-positive status causes recurring issues, and a childhood-friend turned organized-crime boss.

At the beginning of the third season, a new detective, Tommy McNamara (Jonathan LaPaglia), was introduced as a principal character. In the third-season finale in May 1997, Torres and Moreno are married. However, in that same episode, Torres and McNamara are both killed by a gang of bank robbers.

The series returned with a new cast for its fourth and final season in January 1998. Williams and Moreno were assigned to a new unit, resulting in Cooper being dropped from the cast. Joining the detectives were Lt. Malcolm Barker (played by Tommy Ford), Det. Nell Delaney (Marisa Ryan), and Det. Alec Stone (Josh Hopkins). The new unit eventually captured the last bank robber responsible for the deaths of Torres and McNamara.

Numerous actors made appearances in two or more episodes portraying different characters. Before joining the cast in Season 2 as Nina Moreno, Lauren Vlez appeared in the first-season episode "Olde Tyme Religion" as a believer in Santera. Additionally, J.K. Simmons guest starred as Sgt. Treadway in the Season 2 episode "Unis," returning in Season 4's "Mob Street" as Law & Order police psychiatrist Emil Skoda. Michelle Hurd played a recurring role in Seasons 1 and 2 as A.D.A. Reynolds, but returned as a criminal in Season 3's "No Place Like Hell". Joe Lisi appeared in the second-season episode "Bad Blood" before assuming a recurring role as the Chief of Detectives in Season 4. Both Jesse L. Martin and Ice-T portrayed criminals on this series before ultimately landing their iconic roles as detectives on Law & Order and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, respectively.

On July 23, 1996, the day shooting was supposed to begin on the third season, lead actors Malik Yoba and Michael DeLorenzo didn't show up, having joined together and presenting a list of demands to creator/producer Dick Wolf. Both actors wanted their pay increased, DeLorenzo stated that the duo were making $40,000 each per episode and they wanted $100,000 each per episode. They also wanted more creative input with DeLorenzo in particular wanting to direct a few episodes. They wanted a gym, trailers for the stars and better food to be provided on set.

After receiving their demands, Dick Wolf declined, and said that New York Undercover was not Friends (during this time the stars of Friends wanted their salary to be increased to $1 million per episode and had presented a united front to get their demands). Wolf was irate, calling the demands of actors joining together to hold a show in limbo "a virus" to the entertainment industry and he threatened to write both Yoba and DeLorenzo out of the show altogether.

A day after the holdout, Universal Television, which was the production company of the show, filed a $1.2 million lawsuit against DeLorenzo and Yoba, claiming that the two had breached their contract and claimed that they were costing the show $60,000 each day they didn't show up to work.[3]

After three days, the holdout ended and the two actors returned back to set, with their demands unmet, and continued under the terms of their original contract. However, tensions lingered between DeLorenzo and executive producer Wolf, and towards the end of season three, DeLorenzo's character, Detective Eddie Torres, was killed in a car explosion. Yoba was retained on the show for its fourth and final season.

A soundtrack containing hip hop and R&B music was released on September 19, 1995 by Uptown Records and MCA Records. It features songs from the series, such as a cover of "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" performed by Mary J. Blige, "I Miss You (Come Back Home)" by Monifah, "Jeeps, Lex Coups, Bimaz & Benz" by Lost Boyz, and the theme to New York Undercover, composed by James Mtume. The soundtrack album is executive produced by Andre Harrell, the executive producer of the series, and it was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Album.

A second soundtrack album for the series containing contemporary R&B music, New York Undercover: A Night At Natalie's, was released on January 13, 1998 by MCA Records. The album features R&B songs performed by some of the various musical acts at Natalie's, the nightclub which appears in virtually every episode of the series' first three seasons, such as 112, Mary J. Blige, Xscape, Chaka Khan, Teena Marie, K-Ci & JoJo, Brownstone, Gerald Levert, B.B. King, Tito Nieves, and The Barrio Boyzz. The album also contains a song performed by Michael DeLorenzo, who plays Detective Eddie Torres, titled "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight".

On January 31, 2019, ABC officially ordered the reboot to pilot, also revealing that it would officially be a revival of the original series, featuring both old characters and a new cast.[6] In February 2019, both Malik Yoba and Lauren Velz were confirmed to reprise their respective roles as J.C. Williams and Nina Moreno, with Williams now being the overseeing officer of the new young detectives, and Moreno being retired, but retaining ties to her old unit. On March 12, 2019, ABC cast Toby Sandeman and Otmara Marrero as the revival's two lead detectives Nat Gilmore and Melissa Ortiz, as well as Anna Enger and Octavio Pisano as supporting detectives Lisa Kim and Moses Hernandez, and MC Lyte as Lieutenant April Freeman, the unit's new boss.[7]

On May 10, 2019, it was announced that the revival would not move forward on ABC, but would be shopped to other networks and streaming services.[8] As of January 2020, it is still being shopped around. In July 2020, Deadline reported that the revival might come to fruition on NBCUniversal's new streaming service, Peacock.[9]

Dick Wolf is a name synonymous with groundbreaking crime procedural dramas, but one of his greatest projects, New York Undercover, has almost disappeared into obscurity. Wolf's formula of blending gritty realism with complex character development has led to a string of successful shows, most notably the long-running Law & Order franchise. However, in the 1990s, Wolf ventured into new territory with New York Undercover, a series that diverged from his usual formula. New York Undercover focused on a diverse set of characters and offered a more nuanced view of crime and policing in New York City. It aired between 1994 to 1998 and developed a devoted following before its cancelation.

New York Undercover ran for four seasons, totaling 89 episodes. The show was known for its deglamorized portrayal of life in New York City, its focus on urban crime, and its dynamic lead characters, Detectives J.C. Williams (Malik Yoba) and Eddie Torres (Michael DeLorenzo). The show was also notably one of the first police dramas on American television to feature two people of color in lead roles. While New York Undercover ended over two decades ago, it's still being discovered today, and a potential reboot is on the way.

New York Undercover is a police procedural that follows the lives of two undercover detectives, J.C. Williams and Eddie Torres. Set in New York City, the show explores the complexities of crime and justice in an urban setting. Its narrative is a blend of crime-solving and personal drama, with storylines often highlighting the challenges faced by the detectives in their professional and personal lives. New York Undercover was notable for its realistic portrayal of New York City's diverse communities, something that was not commonly seen in police dramas of that time.

The series was groundbreaking in its approach to storytelling, often tackling sensitive and controversial topics such as racism, drug addiction, and corruption within the police force. This approach gave New York Undercover an authentic feel, setting it apart from the more formulaic crime dramas of the era. The show's focus on the personal struggles of its main characters added depth and reliability, making it more than just a procedural drama.

New York Undercover resonated with Black audiences because of its authentic representation of African American culture and experiences. The show's protagonists, J.C. and Eddie, were among the first Black and Latino lead characters in a network police drama, breaking new ground in television representation. Their characters were portrayed as complex individuals with rich backstories, defying the stereotypical criminal roles often assigned to Black and Latino actors in the crime genre.

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