Miami Vice (TV series)
"Miami Vice" is a groundbreaking American television series that aired on NBC from 1984 to 1989, known for its stylish portrayal of undercover police work in the vibrant and often dangerous landscape of Miami. Created by Anthony Yerkovich and directed by Michael Mann, the show featured two main characters, undercover detectives James "Sonny" Crockett and Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs, played by Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas. The series is notable for its innovative cinematography, employing dynamic camera angles and fast-paced editing, which was ahead of its time compared to contemporary films.
The soundtrack, heavily infused with synthesized music by Jan Hammer and popular hits, complemented the show’s aesthetic and helped it gain a reputation akin to "MTV Cops." Miami Vice also showcased high-end fashion, luxury cars, and the vibrant cultural influences of Miami, promoting the city's distinctive architecture and Latino culture. The show attracted numerous guest stars who later became prominent figures in film, further enhancing its cultural significance.
Despite its cancellation after five seasons due to declining ratings, "Miami Vice" left a lasting impact on American fashion and culture, shaping trends of the 1980s and solidifying its status as an iconic artifact of that era.
On this Page
Miami Vice (TV series)
Identification Television series
Producers Michael Mann and Anthony Yerkovich
Date Aired from September 28, 1984, to June 28, 1989
Miami Vice featured a bold and distinctive look, both in its cinematography and in its costume design. The show had a significant influence on fashion trends of the 1980’s, as well as on popular music, and it was one of several shows of the decade to demonstrate the possibilities of giving prime-time series their own specific look and feel.
Key Figures
Michael Mann (1943- ), television producerAnthony Yerkovich (1950- ), television producer
For many people, the 1980’s conjure images of pink flamingos, turquoise water, and white sports jackets, graced by an auditory background of drums and synthesizers. Many of these representations are rooted in a highly influential drama that premiered on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) in the fall of 1984. The show was produced by Anthony Yerkovich and up-and-coming director Michael Mann, both of whom had worked as writers on the 1970’s buddy-cop show Starsky and Hutch, which similarly featured hip undercover cops in a fast car.Miami Vice broke new ground in television cinematography by using innovative camera angles, evocative lighting, and aggressively fast-paced editing. The show was more carefully directed than much of the fare being offered in cinema theaters at the time. The sound track was equally innovative and carefully designed. It featured heavily synthesized music by Jan Hammer intermixed with pop hits of the day. The influence of music videos upon the show’s style was apparent, lending credence to the rumor that the series had reportedly been nicknamed “MTV Cops” while in development. Many episodes included dance-club scenes that helped facilitate the inclusion of popular music on the sound track.
Beyond the music, Miami Vice showcased the latest in designer clothing, as well as expensive cars, watches, firearms, boats, and even aircraft. The protagonists often posed as wealthy potential clients of upscale drug dealers, necessitating that they wear and drive equipment they could never afford to own on police salaries. Several of the show’s trademark fashions, particularly wearing solid T-shirts under light or pastel suits and intentionally cultivating beard stubble, became popular 1980’s styles. Much of the series was shot on location in Miami, helping popularize the city’s Art Deco and neomodernist architecture, as well as its general Caribbean and Latino cultures. In retrospect, the series’ casting was also impressive, as guest stars included many future cinema heavyweights, such as Annette Bening, Helena Bonham-Carter, Steve Buscemi, Benicio Del Toro, Nathan Lane, John Leguizamo, Bill Paxton, Julia Roberts, Ben Stiller, John Turturro, and Bruce Willis.
The basic series revolved around two undercover cops, James “Sonny” Crockett and Ricardo “Rico” Tubbs, played by Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas, respectively. The strongest character of the supporting cast was the stony Lieutenant Martin Castillo, brilliantly underplayed by Edward James Olmos. Episodes’ plots typically involved Crockett and Tubbs going undercover to bring down a colorful drug kingpin, usually in a hail of gunfire. The deeper subplot of the series, however, was the continual struggle of the main characters to keep their identities as cops and not to be lured by the lifestyles they adopted to turn into the criminals they hunted.
Impact
Miami Vice lasted only five seasons before falling ratings and rising production costs put an end to the series, yet it was somehow fitting that the series did not survive the decade. In this way, the show has remained an iconic artifact of the 1980’s. From aqua T-shirts and sockless shoes to wearing day-old beard growth in the office, the show greatly influenced American fashions and American culture.
Bibliography
Feeney, F. X., and Duncan Paul, eds. Michael Mann. Cologne, Germany: Taschen, 2006.
Janeshutz, Trish. The Making of “Miami Vice.” New York: Ballantine Books, 1986.
Trutnau, John-Paul. A One-Man Show? The Construction and Deconstruction of a Patriarchal Image in the Reagan Era: Reading the Audio-Visual Poetics of “Miami Vice.” Victoria, B.C.: Trafford, 2005.