21 Jump Street (created and initially promoted before its premiere as Jump Street Chapel) is an hour-long police drama television series that aired on the Fox Network from April 12, 1987 to April 27, 1991, with a total of 103 episodes. The crime drama focused on a squad of youthful-looking undercover police officers investigating crimes in high schools and other teenage venues.
Created by Patrick Hasburgh and Stephen J. Cannell, the series was produced by the studio Stephen J. Cannell Productions. The show was an early hit for the fledgling Fox Network, especially in the important teen demographic.[citation needed] The final season aired in first-run syndication on local Fox affiliates. It was later completed in rerun syndication on Fox's FX cable network from 1996 to 1998 and produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television.
The series provided a spark to Johnny Depp's nascent acting career, garnering him national recognition as a teen idol. Depp found this status an irritant,[citation needed] but he continued on the series under his contract, from which he was released after the fourth season.
A spin-off, Booker, was produced for the character of Dennis Booker (Richard Grieco); it ran one season, from September 1989 to June 1990.
