The Pilot Tested Horribly With Audiences
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When NBC tested the pilot with audiences in 1981, it was received horribly. Some of the problems early viewers had were the shows flawed characters. They said it wasn’t believable that they could maintain order in a police station. Hill Street also didn’t feel like a real police station.
The biggest criticism ended up being the show’s key to success. Audiences found the ending disappointing. There were too many loose ends. Hill Street Blues ended up leading the charge for more serialized storytelling. Character “arcs” would sometimes take six episodes or more to be finished.
