Oh my God, they killed Andy Sipowicz. You bastards!

"NYPD Blue" was ABC's longest running primetime drama until "Grey's Anatomy" topped it in 2016. Through all 12 years (1993-2005), Dennis Franz was the heart of the show as Andy Sipowicz.

Now ABC is bringing back "NYPD Blue" -- or at least giving it a sequel/spinoff -- following Andy's son Theo.

Theo was born near the end of Season 3, the child of Andy and his love interest Sylvia (Sharon Lawrence). Sylvia was killed at the end of Season 6, and her final words to Andy were "Take care of the baby."

Apparently this new series is killing off Andy, to focus on young Theo. Also because they probably couldn't get Dennis Franz back.

Here's the scoop from Deadline:

"Unfortunately for all Andy Sipowitz fans, in the sequel his character is dead. The return of NYPD Blue follows his son, Theo, as he tries to earn his detective shield and work in the 15th squad while investigating his father’s murder. Theo seems to have taken after his father as he too is a hard-drinking, hard-headed and quick-witted cop."

Wow. ABC handed out a pilot-production commitment to the sequel, with Matt Olmstead and Nick Wootton writing the script. They both worked on the original show, and will executive produce along with Steven Bochco's son and wife.

Original "NYPD Blue" co-creator Steven Bochco died back in April. Hopefully this sequel -- or spinoff, why are they calling it a "sequel"? -- is in keeping with what Bochco wanted to happen.

[Via: TVLine, THR]

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