"NYPD Blue" kicks off its new season.
by Josh Wolk

Tonight's premiere of "NYPD Blue" (ABC, 10 p.m.) begins a season of change for the six-year-old show. The biggest switch, of course, has ex-child star Rick Schroder replacing Jimmy Smits' popular Bobby Simone character in week 6. TV critics and fans alike are wondering if Schroder can outgrow his cherubic past and become an equal to his gruff new partner, Dennis Franz. "I've worked with Rick a lot since we signed him, and he's a grown man," coexecutive producer Bill Clark assures EW Online. "Actually, a lot of young cops on the job are younger than Rick, so when he was doing 'Silver Spoons,' they identified with him as being a little older."

Clark, an ex-homicide detective, made sure that Schroder knew his beat when the actor first showed up on location in New York in September. "He's not a cop, but neither is Dennis Franz or Jimmy Smits," says Clark, 54. "So I had to teach him how to react, walk, talk, and handle people. When you go up to talk to somebody, you have to look like you're prepared to defend yourself and take aggressive action. It's how you wear the gun, how you comport yourself."

Adding to the stress of cast upheaval is the criticism that last season featured some less-than-inspired cases. Clark doesn't disagree. But he points out that he and creator Steven Bochco are no longer dividing time between two shows (the other being the canceled "Brooklyn South"), so "Blue" will get their full attention. Not that coming up with new ways of killing off Manhattanites is easy. "We've done 110 episodes, and that's 110 different types of murders," Clark says. "If you went into any detective squad in New York City now, it'd be hard to get three or four different murders that are interesting."