Teen Crime Drama 21 Jump Street Premieres on Fox Network (1987)

Stephen J. Cannell’s teen crime drama 21 Jump Street centered on the cases of an undercover police unit composed of young-looking officers specializing in investigating crimes in high schools, colleges, and other facilities where young people congregated. The show was originally titled Jump Street Chapel, relating to the deconsecrated church where the unit was headquartered. The series name was changed to 21 Jump Street at the Fox Network’s request so that viewers wouldn’t be mislead into thinking the televison series was a religious program.

The show’s plots cover issues such as alcoholism, hate crimes, drug abuse, homophobia, AIDS, child abuse, and sexual promiscuity. Similarly, each problem is often solved by the end of the hour-long episode, giving an implicit moral about a particular activity’s impact. When the show originally aired, some episodes were immediately followed by public service announcements featuring cast members.

The Fox Network series starred Johnny Depp, Holly Robinson Peete, Peter DeLuise, Dustin Nguyen, Richard Grieco and Steven Williams. The diverse casting helped create mass appeal for audiences globally, creating dedicated followings both in and outside of the United States.

Set in a fictional city and state called Metropolis, Evergreen State in the United States, 21 Jump Street was primarily shot in Vancouver, British Columbia. The show was one of the first major television series to use Vancouver as a filming location and helped to establish the city as a center for film production. The series was also the first hit show for the then-fledgling Fox network. In August 1987, 21 Jump Street became the first Fox series to win its timeslot against a Big three network series.