The 90′s gave birth to one of the riskiest ideas in television today, to combine a police drama with a musical. Steven Bochco, creator of TV hits like Hill Street Blues and L.A. Law, decided to bring the musical back to television but this time as a gritty, street-wise cop show called Cop Rock, based off a Broadway musical.

Half the critics thought it was the worst idea of the century; half thought it was pure genius.

The television drama had been humdrum for some time and Bochco created something entirely new, powerful, interesting, fresh, and somewhat disturbing. Nothing like it had ever been attempted before, and most importantly, it was done well and done seriously.

Costing a whopping $1.8 million an episode, a record at the time, and its ratings were consistently dismal. Apparently seeing someone getting sentenced to death in song was not looked upon well. ABC tried to get Bochco to drop the musical numbers but he refused, so they canceled the show after four months.