Homicide: Life on the Street
Betrayal
TV Flash files “Betrayal” as hour 67 of 122 in the TV Flash guide — Homicide: Life on the Street (1993–1999) on NBC, season 5, episode 12, aired 1997-01-10, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S05E12: listed hour 67 of 122 in the Homicide: Life on the Street guide, hour 12 of 22 in season 5. It aired 1997-01-10 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “The Documentary” (S05E11). Next is “Have a Conscience” (S05E13).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
A girl is found with a broken rib which punctured her lung and 26 belt buckle marks on her body. Pembleton and Bayliss question the mother and her live-in boyfriend after a social worker confirms abuse suspicions. Kellerman is exonerated by the Grand Jury but still feels tainted by suspicion. Bayliss reveals his own childhood abuse to Pembleton.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Betrayal sit in the Homicide: Life on the Street guide?
S05E12 is listed hour 67 of 122 — hour 12 of 22 in season 5, season 5 episode 12.
When did Homicide: Life on the Street S05E12 air?
Betrayal aired 1997-01-10 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 5 hub
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