Homicide: Life on the Street
Closet Cases
TV Flash files “Closet Cases” as hour 86 of 122 in the TV Flash guide — Homicide: Life on the Street (1993–1999) on NBC, season 6, episode 9, aired 1998-01-02, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S06E09: listed hour 86 of 122 in the Homicide: Life on the Street guide, hour 9 of 23 in season 6. It aired 1998-01-02 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “All is Bright” (S06E08). Next is “Sins of the Father” (S06E10).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Bayliss and Pembleton are forced to deal with their own prejudices as they search for a hustler suspected of killing rich gay men.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Closet Cases sit in the Homicide: Life on the Street guide?
S06E09 is listed hour 86 of 122 — hour 9 of 23 in season 6, season 6 episode 9.
When did Homicide: Life on the Street S06E09 air?
Closet Cases aired 1998-01-02 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 6 hub
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