History Trivia / NYPDBlue

** Richard Gant appears a few times as the desk sergeant at another precinct, then later as a municipal bus driver who witnesses a perp running away from the scene of a crime.

** The first season made Creator/DavidCaruso one of the hottest stars on TV, but he let the success go to his head and left after only one season to star in the ill-fated movies ''Film/KissOfDeath'' and ''Film/Jade'' (the latter of which was his StarDerailingRole).

** Consultant and former New York detective Bill Clark was seen a few times as a cop.

** ''Franchise/LawAndOrder'' and its spinoffs, as well; the two frequently competed for Emmys although they aired on different nights. It appears to have been mostly a friendly rivalry, though, as the two shows shared a lot of overlapping cast members (for instance, Creator/ChristopherMeloni had a recurring role on ''Blue'' two years before being cast in ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', and Creator/NicholasTurturro of ''Blue'' later appeared in several episodes of ''SVU'') and writers. The writers occasionally took [[TakeThat friendly jabs]] at each other; an early ''Law & Order'' episode mentions a corrupt "15th Precinct," while the racist policeman who harasses Fancy at a traffic stop is from the "27th Precinct," aka L&O's Homicide Squad.
* HostilityOnTheSet: One of television's most notorious examples. Creator/DavidCaruso was a headache to the showrunners and costars from Day One; Creator/StevenBochco [[https://www.looper.com/60766/real-reason-dont-hear-david-caruso-anymore referred]] to his behavior as "cancerous" and alleged that Caruso "was the source of all the discontent [on set], and it empowered him." Creator/DavidMilch even had a heart attack after a particularly intense argument with Caruso. Creator/DennisFranz and Creator/GordonClapp each [[https://variety.com/2018/tv/features/nypd-blue-25-anniversary-dennis-franz-amy-brenneman-gordon-clapp-1202943540/ said]] that while Caruso could be a charming guy off the set, during filming he became extremely competitive with his costars which created a lot of tension (on one occasion, he kicked a garbage can at Franz without warning). After the first season, Caruso famously [[https://tvline.com/2016/08/18/david-caruso-nypd-blue-exit-controversy-steven-bochco-memoir/ demanded]] an exorbitant salary hike along with other preferential treatment, and walked off the show to try a film career after ABC refused. Further, Creator/AmyBrenneman and Creator/SherryStringfield's characters were written out of the show largely because they were so closely tied to Caruso, leaving even ''more'' bitterness in his wake.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The fact that cars and fashions in the first six seasons are typical for TheNineties is not unexpected. There are also the inevitable cultural references (for instance, billboards for ''Theatre/{{Cats}}'' and ''Theatre/MissSaigon'' are visible in the original opening credits) that place the early seasons, in particular, into a particular timeframe. However, the show also documents [[TechnologyMarchesOn the cellphone revolution]]: In the first seasons, the detectives don't have cellphones but have to look for payphones if they are not carrying a walkie-talkie. The squad later gets ''one'' cellphone that has to be checked out if a detective needs it, and towards the end of the series everybody has their own personal cellphone.

* DuelingShows: with ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'', another gritty PoliceProcedural.

** ''Franchise/LawAndOrder'' and it spinoffs were very much this for a time, despite (or because of) a lot of overlapping cast members (for instance, Creator/ChristopherMeloni had a recurring role on ''Blue'' two years before being cast in ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', and Creator/NicholasTurturro of ''Blue'' appeared in several episodes of ''SVU'') and writers. The two shows also took a few [[TakeThat friendly jabs ]]at each other; an early ''Law and Order'' episode mentions a corrupt "15th Precinct," and the racist policeman who harasses Fancy at a traffic stop is from the "27th Precinct," aka L&O's Homicide Squad.