Delvecchio (TV series)

Delvecchio is an American drama television series that aired Sundays at 10:00 pm (EST) on CBS from September 9, 1976, to March 13, 1977. It starred Judd Hirsch as the title character, Dominick Delvecchio, an Italian-American detective who worked for the LAPD and also studied to become a lawyer.

Premise
The title character, a "tough, independent big-city police detective", had graduated from law school but failed the bar examination. His father, a barber, could not understand why Delvecchio chose a career that had him investigating crimes that included auto thefts, murders, and narcotics.

Cast

 * Judd Hirsch as Sgt. Dominick "Del" Delvecchio
 * Charles Haid as Sgt. Paul "The Fat Polish Sausage" Shonski
 * Michael Conrad as Lt. Macavan
 * Mario Gallo as Tomaso Delvecchio

Recurring

 * Pervis Atkins as Robbie
 * Jay Varela as Sgt. Rivera
 * Lew Palter as Det. Clark
 * George Wyner as Asst. D.A. Dorfman
 * James B. Sikking as Ned Wangler
 * James Jeter as Smitty

Schedule
Delvecchio debuted on September 9, 1976, at 9 p.m. Its competition was The Streets of San Francisco on ABC and films on NBC. When it moved to 10 p.m. on September 26, 1976, films formed the competition on both networks. The change in time and date was planned by Bud Grant, vice president for programming at CBS to "whet people's appetites" by launching the show when the competing programming was weaker.

Production
Steven Bochco was a writer/producer on the show, and Michael Kozoll was also a series writer. Four years after Delvecchio was cancelled, Boccho and Kozoll created the police drama Hill Street Blues, which featured (amongst many others) Delvecchio regulars Charles Haid, Michael Conrad, and James B. Sikking.

Other writers on the show included Peter S. Fischer, Gy Waldron, and John D.F. Black. William Sackheim was the executive producer, and Steven Bochco and Michael Rhodes were the producers. Directors were Lou Antonio, Walter Doniger, and Ivan Nagy. The series was filmed on location in Los Angeles.

Home media
One episode of the Delvecchio series (the Feb. 13, 1977 installment, "Licensed to Kill") was made available on the 2006 DVD release Brilliant But Cancelled TV Dramas, along with an episode each of Gideon Oliver, Johnny Staccato, and Touching Evil.