Homicide: Life on the Street
Wu's on First?
TV Flash files “Wu's on First?” as hour 70 of 122 in the TV Flash guide — Homicide: Life on the Street (1993–1999) on NBC, season 5, episode 15, aired 1997-02-07, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S05E15: listed hour 70 of 122 in the Homicide: Life on the Street guide, hour 15 of 22 in season 5. It aired 1997-02-07 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Diener” (S05E14). Next is “Valentine's Day” (S05E16).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
When a police officer is found shot to death, Elizabeth Wu writes an article praising his dedication to the job. An informer calls her with a contradiction: the cop was shot when he demanded his money back in a dope deal. Her source later reveals that he was the shooter but claims self-defense. Meanwhile Kellerman's rogue brothers show up and he winds up in a jail cell with them. Lewis and Julianna to the rescue.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Wu's on First? sit in the Homicide: Life on the Street guide?
S05E15 is listed hour 70 of 122 — hour 15 of 22 in season 5, season 5 episode 15.
When did Homicide: Life on the Street S05E15 air?
Wu's on First? aired 1997-02-07 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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