How An ABC Cop Show Changed TV Nudity Forever

Fascinatingly enough, Bob Iger was at the forefront of "NYPD Blue's" charge to change the on-screen nudity game. Before his Disney CEO days, Iger headed ABC, and as Bochco told GQ, the executive was extremely involved with the police procedural's approach to showing skin. "So we sat in [Iger's] office like two little boys, drawing dirty pictures: naked men and women," Bochco said. "'How much of this can you see? How much of that?'" This unconventional but careful preparation allowed "NYPD Blue" to push the envelope as much as possible. 

Iger didn't just stand by Bochco's vision but actually put his career on the line while doing so. Per CNN, CEO Dan Burke of ABC's parent company, Capital Cities, had a word of warning to Iger when the ABC head championed "NYPD Blue" to him. "You'd better be right," Burke said. "Because if you're wrong, my skirts won't be big enough for you to hide behind."

Apart from Bochco and Iger's focus on the nudity aspect, the show's willingness to push the envelope allowed co-creator David Milch to focus on edgier content than other shows of the era. Apart from depicting grittier cases and more morally grey methods than viewers were used to, this also allowed "NYPD Blue" to usher in the era of deeply flawed protagonists á la Walter White (Bryan Cranston) or Don Draper (Jon Hamm), in the shape of the show's overarching central character, Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz).