25 Years Ago Today: "Hill Street Blues" Swept the Emmy Awards

On September 13, 1981, Hill Street Blues set the record for the most Emmy Awards ever won by a primetime show in one season: eight. The record would stand until The West Wing won nine Emmys in 2000. At the time, Hill Street Blues was one of the poorest-rated shows of the season (ranking 87 among 96 primetime shows) when it made Emmy history (Its 21 nominations was also a record). As headlined by Variety: "'Hill Street' Cops Most Emmys: NBC-TV Series Busts Awards Open."

Co-Creator/Producer Steven Bochco talks about Hill Street Blues in his Archive of American Television interview. This is Part 5 of the interview. Click here to access all 12 interview segments. (Remember, if you'd like to watch the interview in the order in which it was conducted, select the parts in order (1,2,3...).)

Hill Street Blues' wins in its first season were:

Outstanding Drama Series
Outstand Lead Actor in a Drama Series (Daniel J. Travanti)
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Barbara Babcock)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Michael Conrad)
Outstanbding Directing in a Drama Series (Robert Butler)
Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series (Steven Bochco and Michael Kozoll)
Outstanding Cinematography: Series (William H. Cronjager)
Outstanding Film Sound Editing (Samuel Horta, Robert Cornet, Denise Horta, Eileen Horta)

The Archive of American Television has also conducted interviews with Daniel J. Travanti and Robert Butler. These interviews are not currently available online but can be viewed at the Academy's offices in North Hollywood.

Did you watch Hill Street Blues? What are your favorite moments from the show?