Dick Wolf has paid tribute to Kevin Arkadie, with whom he co-created landmark cop drama New York Undercover.
Arkadie died this week at the age of 68.
Wolf, the man behind Law & Order and the Chicago and FBI franchises, worked with Arkadie on the show that ran on Fox for four seasons between 1994 and 1999.
“Kevin brought the voice of the next generation to cop shows and was instrumental in bringing diversity to the forefront of network television. We will all miss him,” Wolf said.
New York Undercover was the first cop drama series to feature two people of color as leads. Malik Yoba starred as Detective J.C. Williams and Michael DeLorenzo played Detective Eddie Torres. The pair were undercover detectives in New York City’s Fourth Precinct who were assigned to investigate various crimes and gang-related cases.
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The series, which also starred Patti D’Arbanville-Quinn, Lauren Velez, Jonathan LaPaglia, Marisa Ryan and Josh Hopkins and Tommy Ford, across four seasons, was produced by Universal Television and Wolf Films.
Arkadie also worked on series including CBS’ Chicago Hope, ABC’s NYPD Blue and FX’s The Shield as well as, more recently, BET series including Sacrifice and The Quad.
Others who worked with Arkadie also paid their respects.
Marcus Guillory, a producer on series including Empire and Law & Order: Organized Crime, worked with Arkadie on Sacrifice. “One of the best to do it. I had the honor to do two seasons of Sacrifice with Kevin. I pushed to get that job because I really wanted to work with him. I left early the first season to work on Dick Wolf’s Law & Order: Organized Crime. He was my biggest advocate to work on L&O. Intelligent. Patient. Kind. Kevin will surely be missed. I’m sure he’s already set-up a writers’ room in heaven.”
CJ Cohen, who was Arkadie’s assistant on I’ll Fly Away, said, “So heartbroken. He was not only a great TV writer and playwright, but a wonderful human being. We kept in touch after the show, and he always supported me once I became a writer, years later. RIP, dear Kevin. I will always cherish our friendship.”