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The Best Episodes of NYPD Blue

Every episode of NYPD Blue ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of NYPD Blue!

Binge this in 4d 7h•Peaking at 9.5/10

Police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwined several plots involving an ensemble cast.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    NYPD Blue Season 6 Episode 5 - Hearts and Souls
    9.5/10(427 votes)

    #1 - Hearts and Souls

    S6:E5

    Simone's recovery is hampered by a chest infection. The doctors differ in their opinions of which treatment to use. Sipowicz's ex-wife turns up at the station, drunk and asking for his help.

    Director:Paris Barclay
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. NYPD Blue Season 12 Episode 20 - Moving Day
    9.5/10(275 votes)

    #2 - Moving Day

    S12:E20

    As he begins his new job as squad commander, Sipowicz disobeys orders and keeps a murder investigation open... even though a Japanese man with diplomatic immunity has confessed to the crime.

    Director:Mark Tinker
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. NYPD Blue Season 3 Episode 20 - A Death in the Family
    9.4/10(340 votes)

    #3 - A Death in the Family

    S3:E20

    After a shooting at a bar, Simone and Sipowicz are sent to the hospital and find that they know one of the victims. The whole squad is involved in the hunt for the killers.

    Director:Mark Tinker
    Writer:Michael Daly

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  4. NYPD Blue Season 5 Episode 9 - Lost Israel (2)
    9.2/10(285 votes)

    #4 - Lost Israel (2)

    S5:E9

    A murdered boy's father insists that a homeless man is guilty. The mother takes Russell into her confidence. Simone and Sipowicz hunt the killer.

    Director:Paris Barclay
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. NYPD Blue Season 5 Episode 8 - Lost Israel (1)
    9.1/10(283 votes)

    #5 - Lost Israel (1)

    S5:E8

    The child of a rich family goes missing. The father suspects Israel, a local vagrant, of kidnapping him. Sipowicz has other ideas. In another case, a jewish girl is found raped and murdered on a bridge. Later, a young woman is caught using the murdered girl's credit card. Medavoy, Martinez and Russell piece together the information.

    Director:Steven DePaul
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. NYPD Blue Season 6 Episode 22 - Safe Home
    9.0/10(193 votes)

    #6 - Safe Home

    S6:E22

    Sipowicz stays away from the squad and tries to come to terms with his loss. Evidence comes to light implicating Cullinan in more misdeeds and Sorenson turns to Sipowicz for advice. John Irvine is released from hospital, but is reluctant to return to the Precinct.

    Director:Mark Tinker
    Writer:Unknown

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of NYPD Blue

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  7. NYPD Blue Season 9 Episode 20 - Oedipus Wrecked
    9.0/10(141 votes)

    #7 - Oedipus Wrecked

    S9:E20

    Sipowicz is taken hostage in an interrogation room by a suspect in the murder of a pot dealer and two of her friends; a suburban mom found with drugs in her purse appears to be covering for her son.

    Director:Nelson McCormick
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. NYPD Blue Season 12 Episode 6 - The Vision Thing
    9.0/10(200 votes)

    #8 - The Vision Thing

    S12:E6

    While investigating a random stabbing, Sipowicz becomes obsessed with his own mortality after he's nearly gunned down by a murder suspect; Medavoy takes a job as a bouncer.

    Director:Tawnia McKiernan
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. NYPD Blue Season 9 Episode 1 - Lie Like a Rug (1)
    8.9/10(154 votes)

    #9 - Lie Like a Rug (1)

    S9:E1

    While investigating the murders of four teenage girls, the 15th squad discovers the shocking truth about the disappearance of detective Danny Sorenson.

    Director:Mark Tinker
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. NYPD Blue Season 10 Episode 21 - Yo, Adrian
    8.9/10(146 votes)

    #10 - Yo, Adrian

    S10:E21

    A meek and mousy young woman is found beaten to death on the floor of her apartment. Her brother- in-law is very upset but not about her death--he was paying her money to use her apartment for an extramarital affair.

    Director:Carol Banker
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. NYPD Blue Season 10 Episode 22 - 22 Skidoo
    8.9/10(139 votes)

    #11 - 22 Skidoo

    S10:E22

    The detectives hunt for a man suspected of killing minorities to avenge injuries his brother suffered during the first Gulf War; Sipowicz and McDowell plan to marry.

    Director:Mark Tinker
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. NYPD Blue Season 11 Episode 8 - And the Wenner Is...
    8.9/10(145 votes)

    #12 - And the Wenner Is...

    S11:E8

    When another woman is murdered by the serial killer, the detectives arrest a suspect... and discover the killer's identity; and expecting a baby, Sipowicz and McDowell decide to get married.

    Director:Paul Eads
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. NYPD Blue Season 12 Episode 19 - Bale to the Chief
    8.9/10(149 votes)

    #13 - Bale to the Chief

    S12:E19

    Bale offers to recommend Sipowicz for the squad commander position; Ortiz and Murphy investigate the death of an Arab woman; and detectives search for the man who shot Bale.

    Director:Jesse Bochco
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. NYPD Blue Season 3 Episode 21 - Closing Time
    8.8/10(231 votes)

    #14 - Closing Time

    S3:E21

    The hunt for AJ's killers continues.

    Director:David Rosenbloom
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. NYPD Blue Season 6 Episode 4 - Brother's Keeper
    8.8/10(194 votes)

    #15 - Brother's Keeper

    S6:E4

    As Simone's condition worsens, Lt. Fancy makes a request to the Uniformed Officers to be aware of the need for a usable heart. Simone's colleagues have to occupy their minds with the case of an old lady found hacked to pieces in her apartment. Of her two sons, one doesn't seem to care about it and the other is too full of drugs to understand what has happened. Sipowicz's mood gets him into a fight.

    Director:Donna Deitch
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. NYPD Blue Season 12 Episode 18 - Lenny Scissorhands
    8.8/10(132 votes)

    #16 - Lenny Scissorhands

    S12:E18

    A squad member is shot while storming an apartment; Clark and Jones investigate the bludgeoning death of a woman whose wealthy husband was going to finance a friend's salon business.

    Director:Rick Wallace
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. NYPD Blue Season 8 Episode 20 - In the Wind
    8.7/10(148 votes)

    #17 - In the Wind

    S8:E20

    Sorenson is missing, and a stripper is found murdered in his apartment. Medavoy and Jones investigate a killing, but the suspect identified by an eyewitness has a seemingly unshakable alibi.

    Director:Mark Tinker
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. NYPD Blue Season 9 Episode 16 - A Little Dad'll Do Ya
    8.7/10(128 votes)

    #18 - A Little Dad'll Do Ya

    S9:E16

    The squad investigates the murder of a young Chinese girl along with an alleged rape case. Irvin learns his father is dying. Clark tries to find a foster home for James Kilik.

    Director:Steven DePaul
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. NYPD Blue Season 11 Episode 10 - You Da Bomb
    8.7/10(143 votes)

    #19 - You Da Bomb

    S11:E10

    A man armed with a bomb walks into the station house and handcuffs himself to McDowell; unless the detectives release a Russian mobster from jail in one hour, the bomb will detonate.

    Director:John Hyams
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. NYPD Blue Season 11 Episode 17 - In Goddess We Trussed
    8.7/10(126 votes)

    #20 - In Goddess We Trussed

    S11:E17

    Andy's off-duty and slightly underhanded work to prove that Hatcher killed his own wife lands him a transfer out of the 15th precinct and into the Bellevue Morgue engineered by Detective Hatcher. Meanwhile, the squad is up to their whips and chains after a dominatrix is found murdered.

    Director:Kevin Hooks
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. NYPD Blue Season 12 Episode 13 - Stoli with a Twist
    8.7/10(123 votes)

    #21 - Stoli with a Twist

    S12:E13

    The detectives continue their search for a serial killer who targets alcoholics trying to get sober; and Clark and Jones investigate a homicide linked to a woman with whom Clark had a one-night stand.

    Director:Jesse Bochco
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. NYPD Blue Season 12 Episode 16 - Old Man Quiver
    8.7/10(132 votes)

    #22 - Old Man Quiver

    S12:E16

    The detectives investigate the smothering death of an elderly man married to a voluptuous woman in her 20s; and a state judge pressures Medavoy and Jones to find out who poisoned her mother.

    Director:Ed Begley Jr.
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. NYPD Blue Season 12 Episode 17 - Sergeant Sipowicz' Lonely Hearts Club Band
    8.7/10(125 votes)

    #23 - Sergeant Sipowicz' Lonely Hearts Club Band

    S12:E17

    As Sipowicz settles into his role as sergeant, the 15th finds his absence unsettling, especially after Clark is teamed with a hair-triggered military officer on the murder of an Army man. Meanwhile, Jones and Medavoy's search for a missing homeless man leads one of them to a bold move.

    Director:John Hyams
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. NYPD Blue Season 1 Episode 22 - Rockin' Robin
    8.6/10(295 votes)

    #24 - Rockin' Robin

    S1:E22

    Sipowicz and Kelly investigate the stabbing death of a priest whose body was found in a park frequented by male prostitutes.

    Director:Gregory Hoblit
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. NYPD Blue Season 9 Episode 2 - Johnny Got His Gold (2)
    8.6/10(136 votes)

    #25 - Johnny Got His Gold (2)

    S9:E2

    Sipowicz is hailed a hero after killing the man responsible for Sorenson's murder. While Lieutenant Rodriguez teams up with another precinct to investigate the robbery of his mother, the squad investigates the murder of two men affiliated with NYU.

    Director:Mark Piznarski
    Writer:Unknown

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Best Episodes Summary

"Hearts and Souls" is the best rated episode of "NYPD Blue". It scored 9.5/10 based on 427 votes. Directed by Paris Barclay and written by Unknown, it aired on 11/24/1998. This episode scored 0.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "Moving Day".