All episodes Season 4 S04E15 1996-03-15 60 min 1990s NBC

Homicide: Life on the Street

Stakeout

TV Flash files “Stakeout” as hour 48 of 122 in the TV Flash guide — Homicide: Life on the Street (1993–1999) on NBC, season 4, episode 15, aired 1996-03-15, 60 min.

From the desk

How this hour is filed

This leaf is S04E15: listed hour 48 of 122 in the Homicide: Life on the Street guide, hour 15 of 22 in season 4. It aired 1996-03-15 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Justice, Part 2” (S04E14). Next is “Requiem for Adena” (S04E16).

Homicide: Life on the Street — Stakeout (S04E15)

Catalog log

Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.

A male prostitute offers to reveal the identity of a multiple murderer as part of a plea bargain. He admits to luring in the victims and stealing their rings, but not to being the killer. The Homicide Squad takes turns on a stakeout next door to the suspect. Interactions between squad members and between the couple whose house they "occupy" run the gamut of emotions.

Viewer FAQ

Where does Stakeout sit in the Homicide: Life on the Street guide?

S04E15 is listed hour 48 of 122 — hour 15 of 22 in season 4, season 4 episode 15.

When did Homicide: Life on the Street S04E15 air?

Stakeout aired 1996-03-15 and is listed at 60 minutes.

What is it based on?

David Simon's nonfiction book about a year with Baltimore homicide detectives — reporting texture, not cop-show candy.

In the series

Why this series still plays

Baltimore detectives, handheld grit, and cases that refuse to tidy up for sweeps. Paul Attanasio developed David Simon's reporting into literary cop TV: Andre Braugher's Pembleton turning interrogation into theater, a red/black board, and moral ambiguity as house style. The missing link between Hill Street and The Wire — network crime that reads like a novel.

The useful first thing *Homicide: Life on the Street* does is refuse catharsis. Baltimore detectives work murders with handheld grit, a red/black name board, and moral ambiguity that will not tidy up for sweeps. Paul Attanasio developed David Simon's nonfiction *Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets* into NBC drama (1993–1999). Andre Braugher's Frank Pembleton turns interrogation rooms into theaters of intellect and rage. Yaphet Kotto, Kyle Secor, Richard Belzer, Clark Johnson, Melissa Leo: the unit as a city…

Open the Homicide: Life on the Street package · Season 4 hub

Filed against

Also in season 4

← Full episode guide · Show package · All shows