There’s no doubt that Homicide: Life on the Street should be considered part of the Dick Wolf universe.
This gritty ’90s cop drama was revolutionary in many ways, some of which made it feel refreshingly modern when watched on Peacock decades after it ended.
It also has direct ties to Law & Order: SVU, and traces of it are all over some of Dick Wolf’s other shows.
John Munch is a bridge between exhibitions
This character originated from Homicide before being transferred to SVU
“Homicide” should be considered part of the Dick Wolfverse, the most obvious reason being that Richard Belzer’s John Monk appears in both “Homicide” and “Law & Order: SVU.”
After “Homicide,” Monk became a traveler, and in addition to a role in the first 15 seasons of “SVU,” he also made guest appearances on “The X-Files” and “The Wire.”
He was one of the characters most associated with the murders, and SVU missed Richard Belzer long before his death.
Homicide provided Munch with his most cynical side, but also his most sensitive.
When the man is introduced to the audience, he is snapping at the suspect that he is “not Montel Williams” and will not easily believe obvious lies. He also once tricked someone into confessing to a murder by manipulating a copy machine, it seems. Being able to tell others when to tell the truth.
But he was also the man who couldn’t let go of a cold case long after it was over, and who struggled with his feelings about his faith while solving some of the murders in the Jewish community.
These traits also carried over to SVU, where Monk once revealed that he blamed himself for his father’s suicide and often worked on cold cases at the end of the run.
Monk previously worked with the NYPD during the crossover
Homicide crossover with original ‘Law & Order’ proves it’s part of Dick Wolf universe
In 1996, Law & Order and Homicide had a two-part crossover, with one segment airing per episode.
This was unprecedented at the time, as crossovers between police procedurals weren’t common, especially when they weren’t produced by the same people.
Not only was the crossover episode critically acclaimed, but it definitely proved that Homicide should be considered a part of the Dick Wolf Universe.
Van Buren was impressed by Pembleton’s interrogation skills, but Jack McCoy was not satisfied with the way Pembleton treated the suspect’s civil rights roughly. (Ironically, Pembleton had the same argument with Bayliss in the series premiere, when Bayliss accused him of this behavior.)
Meanwhile, Monk hit it off with Lenny Briscoe, Jerry Orbach’s iconic character on “Law & Order,” as both were overly cynical detectives with three failed marriages.
It’s no wonder Munch decided to come to New York after the final episode of “Homicide.” He’s never been the type to fit in anywhere, but the homicide unit Briscoe works for might be the closest he’s ever come to that.
The subject of homicide opens the door to outstanding drama
Dick Wolf’s show was also known for questioning the legal system
Homicide isn’t afraid to tackle tough problems.
Filmed on location in Baltimore, the show for the first few episodes closely adheres to its source material: a nonfiction book about a Baltimore homicide detective written by David Simon.
For example, Monk’s hit-and-run case in the first episode is an almost perfect replica of the story in the book.
This was the precursor to “Between the Headlines” on the Law & Order show, and it’s very similar, so it’s easy to see why Homicide should be considered part of the Dick Wolf universe.
As expected, several Homicide actors have appeared on Dick Wolf’s show, notably Andre Braugher as a defense attorney on “Law & Order: SVU” and Jon Seda on “Chicago P.D.” Antonio Dawson
What’s more, “Homicide” provided the detectives in the unit with the gritty, serious themes and emotional consequences for which the “Law & Order” series would become famous.
Bayliss’s failure throughout the series to bring the murderer of an 11-year-old girl to justice was so powerful that I still remember it nearly thirty years later, even though I need to revisit it to remember Live her name.
Likewise, the conversation between Pembleton and Lewis is forever etched in my mind because it drives home the horrors that these detectives must face on a regular basis:
Meldrick Lewis: He killed someone over a pen. Tell me what this means.
Frank Pembleton: You show me any of these murders that make sense.
Without “Homicide” paving the way for the story of detectives going through and putting aside trauma in order to bring justice to strangers, there wouldn’t be the powerful plots we have on “Law & Order: SVU” and several other shows .
“Homicide” also addresses many social issues in an extremely clear way, especially considering it was aired in the 1990s.
Some viewers think Dick Wolf’s show is too “woke” today, but I’m surprised that the pilot episode of “Homicide” not only had Pembleton accusing another detective of racism, but also using a racial slur .
I don’t know if it was canceled while it was airing, but regardless, the series didn’t try to sugarcoat what it was dealing with.
Likewise, Bayliss is one of the few bisexual men on television. There’s still not enough LGBTQ+ representation on TV these days, but I can’t imagine a show like “Law & Order” or “One Chicago” being able to address these issues at all if “Homicide” didn’t address them first.
Of course, “Homicide” shouldn’t be considered part of the Dick Wolf universe just because it’s a trailblazer. Many series today address these issues.
Still, Wolfe used a similar style and many of the same themes, so it’s fair to say that his show owes a lot to Homicide.
Over to you, Homicide fans.
Why do you think Homicide should be considered part of the Dick Wolfverse?
After rewatching a few episodes of Peacock, let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Homicide: Life on the Street originally aired on NBC in the 1990s. It currently airs on Peacock.
