Home » Screen

Should New York Undercover Make A Comeback?

Submitted by on April 8, 2010 – 11:08 am11 Comments
Share

No other TV show captured urban life in mid-1990′s New York City better than New York Undercover. Featuring a multicultural cast and a strong hip-hop presence, it made history as the first police drama on American television to feature two people of color (Malik Yoba as Detective J.C Williams and Michael DeLorenzo as Detective Edward Torres) in the starring roles.

Originally known as Uptown Undercover (the show was based in Harlem), executive producers Andre Harrell (former CEO of Uptown Records) and Dick Wolf (of Law & Order fame) joined forces to create a series combining standard cop-show fare (bank robberies, murders, car chases, etc.) with a colorful hip-hop backdrop.

The show ran for four seasons, from 1994–1998. With famed musician-producer James Mtume as the show’s musical director, every episode featured a musical performance. Classic 90′s acts including Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, Xscape, 112, Aaliyah and Boyz II Men all performed on the show.

Malik Yoba, who played suave Det. Williams (currently starring in Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too) was the only actor to appear in every season. He’s now helming a campaign to bring the show back to TV screens for a new generation of fans. Via his Twitter and Facebook fan page, Yoba’s requesting everyone send an email to [email protected] to show support for the return of the show.

New York Undercover documented a time when crime was very real on the streets of the city, as was new money brought in by hip-hop’s leap into the lucrative mainstream. With Yoba’s plans to bring it back today, how would New York City be portrayed? Would the show’s edge and authenticity—qualities that made it popular with urban audiences—be possible to recreate in 2010?

Only time will tell.

Related Posts with Thumbnails

11 Comments »

  • Tezz says:

    YES!YES!YES!

  • Social comments and analytics for this post…

    This post was mentioned on Twitter by DrJays_com: Should New York Undercover Make A Comeback? http://bit.ly/bSiwAm

  • Hotchoc87 says:

    If Torres still fine sure if not dont ruin a good memory ;) first love right there.

  • DEE_718 says:

    i dont think it will be as good….. especially with hip hop not even running the game no more…are they gonna put a lady gaga song in the cut scenes

  • I think it could work if someone serious (no not lecture/message serious) got their hands on it and not someone trying to make a quick buck. Also to not make it exactly like it.

    You can make malik yoba a person running for precinct head. Put T.I. as an undercover detective. Put adam rodriguez in there too. I think TI can pull it, he’s got decent acting skills. They can tweak it here and there, it doesn’t haft to be exactly the same. It’s new york, so the possibilities are endless! As long as they don’t try to make it like some bootleg ish, I’m good.

    As for performances, it doesn’t haft to be new artists all the time. If they had a hit and still can perform it, then put their arse on there. There are some artists now that can perform.

  • Mr.silverback says:

    i used to work on that show, and i must say, it was fun as hell to be on..and no it wasnt originally called uptown undercover, and 1 piece of fact on there was Gladys Knight was on the show in the beginning as well..and she and malik were some real nice folk on there.. and for the record, real talk..Torres..Mike Delorenzo..was definitelly a P.O.S to work with..

  • jflamez says:

    i loved that show..

    but i liked “the wire” 100 times better

  • Keem says:

    ye! yes! yes! there isnt a show on tv like it…its in a lane by itsself…csi..and all those other shows are good but…nyu had crime..music..love..its a full rounded great show and the acting was on point!!!

  • BELGAR says:

    OMG! YES, PLEASE BRING IT BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Sam M says:

    No because it’s a classic you wouldn’t want to ruin it plus new York is nothing like that now a days, but they should put it back on tv. Air the original I’m only 17 watching it now!

Leave a comment!

Add your comment below, or trackback from your own site. You can also subscribe to these comments via RSS. Be nice. Keep it clean. Stay on topic. No spam.

We want to keep in touch with you. If you give us your email address, you may receive marketing emails from the DJ Networks family. We hope that's cool.

You can use these tags:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

This is a Gravatar-enabled weblog. To get your own globally-recognized-avatar, please register at Gravatar.