Winner 1993

Homicide: Life on the Street

NBC, Baltimore Pictures, Reeves Entertainment

In this innovative, quirky, and frequently brilliant combination of style and substance, executive producers Barry Levinson and Tom Fontana effectively raise the detective genre to a new level of achievement. Homicide avoids the cliches of the genre: the shootouts, car chases, and crimes neatly closed at the end of each hour, focusing instead on the number of people in the murder investigation unit of a major metropolitan police force. There are no super heroes here, no sanitized violence, no quick and easy gun-play without consequence. Instead we see the introspective and requisite gallows humor which help homicide detectives make it through their daily shift. The show’s unique and creative production style uses hand-held camera work and jump-cut edits to visually mirror the gritty nature of life on the street. For producing riveting series television, a Peabody to NBC and Baltimore Pictures in association with Reeves Entertainment for Homicide: Life on the Street.