The District

The District is an American crime drama and police procedural television series that aired on CBS from October 7, 2000, to May 1, 2004. The show followed the work and personal life of the chief of Washington, D.C.'s police department.

Premise

Former Newark, New Jersey Police Commissioner and New York Transit police officer Jack Mannion is hired as the chief of the bureaucracy-laden Washington, D.C. police force. Together with his detectives and allies, he must fight crime as well as internal corruption and the powers of Congress in order to reorganize and renovate the force.

Production

The District was inspired by the real-life experience of former New York City Deputy Police Commissioner Jack Maple. Along with Police Commissioner William Bratton, he had reorganized the NYPD, and one of the achievements was the CompStat program, which has its own major role in the TV series. After the success in New York, the CompStat program has been adapted by other cities. However Jack Maple himself chose to publish his experiences—along with Chris Mitchell he wrote a book, and along with Terry George he prepared a TV series concept. His impact on the storyline after season 1 was limited; he died of colon cancer on August 4, 2001.
Primary filming was in Los Angeles, with some location shooting in Washington, D.C.

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

Jean Smart as Det. Sherry Regan
Wayne Duvall as Sgt. Phil Brander
Richard Burgi as Capt. Vincent Hunter
Richard Fancy as U.S. Attorney Bruce Logan
Segun Ajaga and William Turner as Ricky Alvarez
Michelle Forbes as Helen York
John Amos as Mayor Ethan Baker
Kristen Wilson as MPD Press Secretary Kendall Truman
Christopher B. Duncan as Sgt. Ray Cutter
Gregory Alan Williams as Clive Rodgers
Rita S. Jett as Ferris Gluck
Ving Rhames as Attorney General Troy Hatch
Kelly Rutherford as Melinda Lockhart
Helen Bates as Carol Bodine
Joseph C. Phillips as Mayor Morgan Douglas
Jaclyn Smith as Vanessa Cavanaugh
Alexandra Barreto as Maria Rodriguez
Vanessa Bell Calloway as Gwen Hendrix

;Notes

In 2001, Jean Smart was nominated for an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series" for her performance as "Sherry Regan".
On March 12, 2003, Thigpen died of a cerebral hemorrhage in her Marina del Rey, California, home. The show's third-season finale had a tribute to her character.
Ratings

Note: Throughout The District's entire run it was aired in a Saturday night timeslot and also it was the last American scripted series to air on its Saturday night schedule until Ransom debuted in 2017.

International broadcasts

In Australia, The District aired on the Nine Network in late night slots throughout its run.
In Bulgaria, the first two seasons aired on Nova Television. The whole series was aired on AXN with subtitles and later on AXN Crime. Later Fox Crime repeated the first two seasons and the dub was rerecorded with the same actors. The third season started in October 2010.
In Sweden, The District aired on TV4.
In Poland, The District aired on the Universal Channel.
In Germany, The District airs on VOX.
In the United Kingdom, it aired on CBS Justice and was also previously broadcast in late night slots on ITV1.
In Serbia, it aired on RTS.
In Slovenia, it aired on the now defunct Prva TV, later it aired on Fox Life.
In Jamaica, The District aired on CVM TV.
In Romania it aired on TVR1 and TVR2.
In Italy it aired on Rai 2 from November 29, 2004 to 2008.
In France, The District aired on France 2
Syndication

It ran for a time on USA Network as well as on The Biography Channel after cancellation. On February 7, 2020 it joined the day shift in the Friday slot on Heroes & Icons. Without explanation as of Feb. 20, 2020 the program was pulled and Fridays reverted to NUMB3RS.
As of mid-2020 it was back on the Heroes and Icons TV schedule weekdays from 1AM to 3AM Eastern Standard Time. As of October 2023, it has been pulled from the Heroes and Icons TV schedule once again.