“Homicide: Life on the Street” writer and producer David Simon revealed in an X/Twitter post that the show could be heading to streaming services.
“I have been informed by a reliable source that NBC/Universal, along with Fremantle on overseas rights, are finally trying to clear the music rights to #Homicide for possible streaming. A lot of work to do to get there though, I am also told,” Simon wrote. “Andre alone should evaluate such.”
The news comes days after the death of Andre Braugher, who portrayed Detective Frank Pembleton in the police drama series. Braugher died of lung cancer on 11 December at the age of 61.
“Homicide, which ran for seven seasons from 1993 to 1999, followed a fictionalised version of the Baltimore Police Department. In addition to Braugher, the series stars Kyle Secor, Richard Belzer, Clark Johnson, Yaphet Kotto and Melissa Leo. Braugher won a lead actor Emmy for his role in the series in 1998, his final year on the show.
Simon, who wrote the book ‘Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, on which the NBC series is based, reflected on Braugher’s death in later X posts, praising the actor’s talent and expressing gratitude for having worked with him: “I’ve had a few days to reflect on Andre Braugher and his passing, and with time and a little more effort, I’ve been able to summon up a variety of memories and some real pride in having had the chance to write lines – some of them good – for a great actor for a time…”.
He went on to describe the time Braugher challenged one of Simon’s lines, where Detective Frank Pembleton was to refer to a woman as “Mama”. Simon offered to rewrite it, but Braugher instead said the line with a “continental, upper-crust embrace of the word and keeping the moment completely in character”.
“At least he was charitable enough to look over at the monitors at the end of the take and give me a tight, quick smile,” Simon continued.
