''Third Watch'' is an American
crime drama
Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...
television series created by
John Wells and
Edward Allen Bernero that aired on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
from September 23, 1999, to May 6, 2005, with a total of
132 episodes spanning over six seasons. It was produced by John Wells Productions, in association with
Warner Bros. Television.
The show takes place in New York City, and was filmed on location there. It stars an
ensemble cast
In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17
Structure
In contrast to the po ...
of characters, the storylines centered on the lives of police officers in the
New York City Police Department
The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...
(NYPD) and the firefighters and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Personnel in the
New York City Fire Department
The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City, serving all Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for providing Fi ...
(FDNY), all working the same fictional
precinct during the 3:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. shift, also known as the "third
watch
A watch is a timepiece carried or worn by a person. It is designed to maintain a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is worn around the wrist, attached by a watch strap or another type of ...
".
After the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
hit New York in 2001, season three opened with the episode "In Their Own Words", which aired on October 15, 2001, and featured interviews with real-life NYPD and FDNY members who responded to the attacks. The following episode was titled "September Tenth".
Premise
The series followed the exploits of a group of
police officer
A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...
s,
firefighters
A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...
, and
paramedic
A paramedic is a healthcare professional trained in the medical model, whose main role has historically been to respond to emergency calls for medical help outside of a hospital. Paramedics work as part of the emergency medical services (EMS), ...
s in the fictional NYPD 55th Precinct and the fictional FDNY Squad 55/Ladder 100/Battalion 24 firehouse, whose shifts fell between 3 pm and 11 pm, the "third watch". The precinct and fire station were located on the fictional corner of King Boulevard and Arthur Street; hence the nickname "
Camelot
Camelot is a legendary castle and Royal court, court associated with King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described ...
". Exterior/interior shots of the 55th Precinct and the firehouse were filmed in
Long Island City
Long Island City (LIC) is a neighborhood within the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; Sunnyside to the east; and Newtown Creek, which separates Queens from Greenpoint, Brook ...
,
Queens
Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
, although both in the show appear to be located somewhere between
the Bronx
The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
, and
Midtown and
Inwood in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
.
''Third Watch'' succeeded in presenting all three branches of New York City's emergency services in the same show, reviving a failed attempt to do so nine years prior with the similarly themed ''
H.E.L.P.'' The show balanced numerous single-episode events with other, ongoing storylines, some of which spanned multiple seasons. Though it gained much acclaim and eventually won an award for its emotional and honest portrayal of
9/11
The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
and its aftermath, ''Third Watch'' was also criticized in some circles for extremely detailed
violence
Violence is characterized as the use of physical force by humans to cause harm to other living beings, or property, such as pain, injury, disablement, death, damage and destruction. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines violence a ...
, and extensive (by network standards)
profane language. The show was created, produced, and written by
John Wells and
Edward Allen Bernero. The theme song for the show was "
Keep Hope Alive
"Keep Hope Alive" is a single featured on the studio album '' Vegas'' by the electronica group The Crystal Method.Owen, Rob, TV Q&A with Rob Owen', Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 6, 2005 The single was released on October 1, 1996, on the City of Ang ...
" by
The Crystal Method
The Crystal Method is an American electronic music act formed in Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas, Nevada, by Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland in 1993. They were pioneers of the big beat genre and their music has appeared in numerous TV shows, films, v ...
, except for the pilot episode, when "
Right Here, Right Now" by
Fatboy Slim
Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known as Fatboy Slim, is an English musician and DJ who helped popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. His music makes extensive use of Sampling (music), samples from eclectic ...
was played during the opening sequence.
In the spring of 2005,
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
decided not to renew ''Third Watch'', making the sixth season its last. The series' finale, "Goodbye to Camelot", aired in the United States on Friday, May 6, 2005. Several major newspapers, including the ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' and the ''
Bergen Record'', have since listed it as a TV show that was cancelled too early.
Conception
John Wells had wanted to do a show about paramedics for some time due to his work on ''
ER'', but did not think he had enough material to make such a show. Ed Bernero, a former Chicago cop, had wanted to do a police drama partly based on his own experiences. The two worked together on the short-lived show ''
Trinity
The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...
'' and, after that show was cancelled, Wells asked Bernero if he wanted to co-create a show with him.
Originally, the show was only going to be about the police and paramedics, but firefighter
Jimmy Doherty was added to the show after
Eddie Cibrian
Edward Carl Cibrian ( ; born June 16, 1973) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Cole Deschanel on the television series ''Sunset Beach (TV series), Sunset Beach'' and List of Third Watch characters#James 'Jimmy' Doherty, Jimmy ...
auditioned for the role of Bosco. Cibrian lost out to
Jason Wiles, but because of the attention he received from women due to his good looks, the producers decided to put him in the show as a new character. Bernero reportedly commented that they did not have any firefighters, and the fire aspect of the show was added.
Episodes
The series consists of six seasons with a total of 132 episodes, produced and broadcast from September 23, 1999, to May 6, 2005.
Crossovers
*"Unleashed" — Yokas and Bosco help Dr. Susan Lewis find her drug-addicted sister and her niece, who went missing. The story begins on ''
ER'' in the episode "Brothers & Sisters".
*"In the Family Way" — An AWOL soldier arrested for a jewelry store robbery that left a friend of Sully's dead contracts a virus that begins to spread. The story concludes on ''
Medical Investigation
''Medical Investigation'' is an American medical drama television series that began September 9, 2004, on NBC. It ran for 20 one-hour episodes before its cancellation on March 25, 2005. The series was co-produced by Paramount Network Televisio ...
'' in the episode "Half-Life".
Main cast
''Third Watch's'' original ensemble cast in the series' first season consisted of
Michael Beach,
Coby Bell,
Bobby Cannavale
Bobby Cannavale (; born May 3, 1970) is an American actor. His breakthrough came with the leading role as FDNY Paramedic Roberto "Bobby" Caffey in the NBC series ''Third Watch'', which he played from 1999 to 2001.
Cannavale received the Pri ...
,
Eddie Cibrian
Edward Carl Cibrian ( ; born June 16, 1973) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Cole Deschanel on the television series ''Sunset Beach (TV series), Sunset Beach'' and List of Third Watch characters#James 'Jimmy' Doherty, Jimmy ...
,
Molly Price,
Kim Raver
Kimberly Jayne Raver (born March 15, 1969) is an American actress. She is known for television roles such as Dr. Teddy Altman on American Broadcasting Company, ABC's medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'', Kim Zambrano on ''Third Watch'', and Audrey R ...
,
Anthony Ruivivar,
Skipp Sudduth, and
Jason Wiles.
Eddie Cibrian also portrayed the contract-role of Cole on ''
Sunset Beach'' while appearing on ''Third Watch'' at the same time until ''Sunset Beachs cancellation on September 17, 1999.
In 2000,
Amy Carlson was added to the cast as paramedic/firefighter Alex Taylor. In 2001, series regular Bobby Cannavale willingly left the series after he asked to be written out due to lack of character use and development.
At the start of season three,
Chris Bauer
Chris Bauer is an American actor. He is best known for his television work in ''The Wire'', '' Third Watch'', '' True Blood'', '' Survivor's Remorse,'' '' The Deuce'', and the Apple TV+ original science fiction space drama series ''For All M ...
was added to the main credits as Fred Yokas after being a recurring guest star previously.
Tia Texada
Tia Texada is an American actress and model. She is best known for her role as Sgt. Maritza Cruz on the NBC series ''Third Watch'', and her recurring role as undercover agent Ribera on '' The Unit'' for CBS. Other roles include '' In Plain Sight ...
became a recurring guest star, and later, a full cast member, in 2002. Carlson left the show in 2003. Later that year,
Nia Long
Nia Talita Long ( ; born October 30, 1970) is an American actress. Best known for her work in Black cinema, Long rose to prominence after starring in the film '' Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), and for her portrayal of Beullah "Lisa" Wilkes on the N ...
was introduced as Officer Sasha Monroe (her rank was changed in season six in one of the show's most shocking plot twists). Yvonne Jung became a recurring guest star also in 2003, although she had been a guest in season-three episode "Act Brave" as a lawyer defending Kim in her custody battle with Jimmy. Also in 2003,
Bonnie Dennison was added as Emily Yokas, previously being recurring.
In 2004, just after celebrating the show's 100th episode, Eddie Cibrian and Michael Beach left the show. Cibrian's departure marked the first time a main character was written out of the show without dying. Series regular
Molly Price's character, Faith Yokas, made very few appearances in season five of the series because Price was pregnant throughout much of the season. The writers for ''Third Watch'' explained her absence by her character being seriously injured in a shootout, and then trying to recuperate at home. In the few scenes Price was in, her growing belly was frequently hidden by blankets piled on top of her while she lay in bed.
Cara Buono joined the cast as Paramedic Grace Foster late in the show's fifth season in 2004.
Kim Raver decided to leave the show after the show's sixth-season opener and became a series regular on ''
24''.
Josh Stewart was introduced as a main cast member of season six as Probationary Officer
Brendan Finney. After a several-month absence, Dennison reclaimed the role of Emily Yokas for the rest of the final season, while Chris Bauer left the show to pursue his new show ''Tilt'', which coincidentally co-starred his former ''Third Watch'' castmate, Eddie Cibrian, but made sporadic guest-star appearances in season six. Beach, Cibrian, and Raver rejoined their former co-stars in the series finale, "Goodbye To Camelot".
Main cast
1 The Yokas' oldest child Emily was portrayed by P.J. Morrison in seasons one-three in a recurring role. Dennison took over the role in season four and received star billing in the final two seasons in the episodes in which she appeared.
Recurring cast
These cast members are listed by the season in which they were introduced:
Main crew
Directors
*
Guy Norman Beebr>
*
Peter Ellis (director), Peter Ellis (5 episodes, 2002–2003)
*
Jesús Salvador Treviño (4 episodes, 2001–2002)
*
Vincent Misiano
Vincent Misiano is an American television director.
He has directed episodes of 45 different series, including Chicago PD, '' Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'', ''The Blacklist'', ''The West Wing'', ''Prison Break'', ''Medium'' and ''Third Watch''. He wa ...
br>
*
Christopher Chulack
Christopher Chulack is an American television producer and director, best known for his work on the NBC drama series ''ER (TV series), ER'' (1995–2008), along with Michael Crichton, also ''Third Watch'' (1999–2005), which he co-produced along ...
(3 episodes, 1999–2004)
*
Charles Haid
Charles Maurice Haid III (born June 2, 1943) is an American actor and television director, with notable work in both movies and television. He is best known for his portrayal of Officer Andy Renko in ''Hill Street Blues''.
Formative years
Haid ...
(3 episodes, 2000–2005)
*
Félix Enríquez Alcalá
Félix Enríquez Alcalá (sometimes credited as Felix Alcala) (born March 7, 1951, in Bakersfield, California) is a Mexican American film and television director.
Career
Alcalá's first major breakthrough came in 1991 when he was hired by Lynn ...
(3 episodes, 2003–2005)
*
Gloria Muzio
Gloria Muzio is an American theatre and television director. She has worked on a number of TV shows including ''Criminal Minds'', '' Brothers & Sisters'', ''The Black Donnellys'', ''The Closer'', '' ER'', ''Third Watch'', ''Law & Order'', '' Law ...
(3 episodes, 2003–2005)
*
Skipp Sudduth (3 episodes, 2003–2005)
*
Edward Allen Bernero (3 episodes, 2004–2005)
*
Nelson McCormick (3 episodes, 2004–2005)
*
Chris Misiano (2 episodes, 1999–2000)
*
Bryan Spicer (2 episodes, 1999–2000)
*
R.W. Goodwin (2 episodes, 1999)
*
Jace Alexander (2 episodes, 2000–2001)
*
Nick Gomez (2 episodes, 2000–2001)
*
Michael Fields (2 episodes, 2000)
*
Julie Hébertbr>
*Stephen Cragg (2 episodes, 2004–2005)
*
John E. Gallagher (2 episodes, 2004–2005)
*
Paul Michael Glaser
Paul Michael Glaser (born Paul Manfred Glaser; March 25, 1943) is an American actor, director, and writer whose career has spanned five decades. He made his acting debut in the television series ''Love Is a Many Splendored Thing'' and went on ...
(2 episodes, 2004–2005)
*
Rosemary Rodriguezbr>
*
Matt Earl Beesley (2 episodes, 2004)
*
Brooke Kennedybr>
Writers
*
Edward Allen Bernero (132 episodes, 1999–2005)
*
John Wells (132 episodes, 1999–2005)
*Janine Sherman (13 episodes, 2000–2005)
*
Scott A. Williams, Scott Williams (11 episodes, 2001–2004)
*
John Ridley
John Ridley IV (born October 1, 1964) is an American screenwriter, television director, novelist, and showrunner, known for '' 12 Years a Slave'', for which he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He is also the creator and showrunn ...
(6 episodes, 1999–2001)
*Charles Murray (5 episodes, 2003–2005)
*
Lance Gentile (4 episodes, 1999–2000)
*
Bonnie Mark
Bonnie Mark is an American former television writer and producer. She worked on the ABC crime drama ''NYPD Blue'' and the NBC crime dramas ''Third Watch'' and '' Homicide: Life on the Street''. She was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Aw ...
(4 episodes, 2000–2001)
*Angela Amato (4 episodes, 2003–2005)
*Terri Kopp (3 episodes, 1999–2000)
*
John Romano (3 episodes, 1999–2000)
*
Julie Hébert (2 episodes, 2000–2001)
*Kyra Keene (2 episodes, 2000–2001)
*Victor De Jesus (2 episodes, 2004)
*
Siobhan Byrne (unknown episodes)
*Paul Golding (unknown episodes)
*
Brooke Kennedy (unknown episodes)
*
Jorge Zamacona
Broadcast and ratings information
All six seasons of ''Third Watch'' were originally broadcast on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
in the United States and simulcast in Canada on
CTV .
''Third Watch'' was also broadcast worldwide including Africa, Europe, Latin America, Asia, Oceania and the Middle East.
Home media and syndication
Warner Home Video
Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...
released Season 1 of ''Third Watch'' on DVD in Regions 1, 2 and 4. Season 2 was released in Region 1 on July 7, 2009.
Music licensing
Music licensing is the licensed use of copyrighted music. Music licensing is intended to ensure that the owners of copyrights on musical works are compensated for certain uses of their work. A purchaser has limited rights to use the work without a ...
issues delayed the release of the first two seasons and, as of 2023, it is unknown when or if the remaining four seasons will ever be released. However, some post-broadcast releases include episodes slightly modified, with music different from the original broadcasts.
The first three seasons of ''Third Watch'' were available for streaming on
Crave TV from March 2015 until 2021.
In December 2021,
The Roku Channel
The Roku Channel is an over-the-top video streaming service available in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the UK. The service was launched in 2017, and is owned and operated by Roku, Inc. It is the most popular free ad-supported streaming televisio ...
added all 6 seasons of ''Third Watch'' to watch for free (with the exception of Season 4, Episode 12). In December 2022, Roku stopped offering the show for streaming, only to re-add it again in late March 2023.
In February 2023,
Tubi
Tubi (stylized as tubi) is an American over-the-top ad-supported streaming television service owned by Fox Corporation since 2020. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California. In 2023, Tubi, Credible L ...
added all 6 seasons of ''Third Watch'' to watch for free. However, some users will not be able to access it depending on which country their IPN identifies as their location (it isn't available in all countries). It is noticeable in this release that several of the songs used in the show have been changed to overcome the initial musical licensing issues.
''Third Watch'' also aired in Syndication on
A&E at various times between the fall of 2002 and 2011. As of April 2023, it can be seen on
HLN weeknights in a four-hour block from 8:00 PM to 11:00 PM (Eastern Standard Time).
Reception
The series won the
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...
for Season 3 episode "In Their Own Words", in which series regulars
Michael Beach,
Coby Bell,
Amy Carlson,
Eddie Cibrian
Edward Carl Cibrian ( ; born June 16, 1973) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Cole Deschanel on the television series ''Sunset Beach (TV series), Sunset Beach'' and List of Third Watch characters#James 'Jimmy' Doherty, Jimmy ...
,
Kim Raver
Kimberly Jayne Raver (born March 15, 1969) is an American actress. She is known for television roles such as Dr. Teddy Altman on American Broadcasting Company, ABC's medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'', Kim Zambrano on ''Third Watch'', and Audrey R ...
,
Anthony Ruivivar,
Skipp Sudduth, and
Jason Wiles introduced clips of interviews with real-life NYPD and FDNY members who responded to the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
on the
World Trade Center. Series regular
Molly Price was interviewed in a segment because she is married to real-life FDNY firefighter and ''Third Watch'' recurring guest star
Derek Kelly.
61st Annual Peabody Awards
May 2002.
Many ''Third Watch'' former cast members were nominated for awards for their work on the show. Among them, both Bobby Cannavale
Bobby Cannavale (; born May 3, 1970) is an American actor. His breakthrough came with the leading role as FDNY Paramedic Roberto "Bobby" Caffey in the NBC series ''Third Watch'', which he played from 1999 to 2001.
Cannavale received the Pri ...
and Anthony Ruivivar were nominated for ALMA Awards for their positive portrayals of Latino characters. Nia Long
Nia Talita Long ( ; born October 30, 1970) is an American actress. Best known for her work in Black cinema, Long rose to prominence after starring in the film '' Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), and for her portrayal of Beullah "Lisa" Wilkes on the N ...
also won several NAACP Image Awards for her portrayal of the African-American character Sasha Monroe. Other cast members, including Michael Beach, Molly Price, and Tia Texada
Tia Texada is an American actress and model. She is best known for her role as Sgt. Maritza Cruz on the NBC series ''Third Watch'', and her recurring role as undercover agent Ribera on '' The Unit'' for CBS. Other roles include '' In Plain Sight ...
also were nominated for various awards. The show itself was nominated for several Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...
s including Outstanding Stunt Coordination and Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series, which it won in 2000.
See also
* '' Rescue Me'', 2004–2011 American television series about NYC firefighters
* '' Firehouse'', 1974 American television series about LA firefighters
Footnotes
References
External links
* {{IMDb title, 0197182
1990s American crime drama television series
1990s American medical drama television series
1990s American police procedural television series
1999 American television series debuts
2000s American crime drama television series
2000s American medical drama television series
2000s American police procedural television series
2005 American television series endings
American action television series
American English-language television shows
Fictional portrayals of the New York City Police Department
Peabody Award–winning television programs
Television series about firefighting
Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios
Television shows set in New York City
Television shows filmed in New York City
Television series created by Ed Bernero
NBC crime dramas