39 Years Ago, an Iconic ’80s Series Premiered With a Perfect Concept (Plus an Amazing Sequel Decades Later)

The 1980s were full of iconic TV shows, and this series with an incredible concept premiered 39 years ago today. TV shows started to become bigger and better in the 1980s, with studios realizing that they could invest more into television programs than they had in previous decades. This led to the birth of a diverse range of TV shows, including this one that premiered in 1987.

The show didn’t end with its finale, however, as it lived on well past the original series. In fact, it got two sequel movies decades later, proving the staying power of the franchise. Even though the movies may be more well-remembered now, it is the perfect time to look back on the original series and its legacy.

21 Jump Street Premiered 39 Years Ago Today

The first episode of 21 Jump Street premiered on April 12, 1987, which is 39 years ago today. The Fox network series was created by Patrick Hasburgh and Stephen J. Cannell, who had previously worked on programs like The Greatest American Hero and The A-Team. 21 Jump Street was an attempt to mix the popular high school television shows of the day with police and crime genres, and it came up with a perfect concept in order to achieve this goal.

The series is set in Los Angeles, where the LAPD decides to take on rising drug use among youth by sending young-looking police officers undercover as students in LA city schools. The squad uses an abandoned church as its headquarters, with them venturing out into the world of teen drug use in an attempt to stop users and the individuals who distribute drugs to LA’s kids.

21 Jump Street ran for five seasons, with the show consisting of 103 total episodes. The series aired its final episode on April 27, 1991, putting an end to the iconic series. 21 Jump Street was a major hit upon its release, with it helping to make the newly-launched Fox network a major competitor in the TV landscape.

21 Jump Street was notable for a few reasons. Firstly, a young Johnny Depp was one of the main cast members of the series. The show helped launch Depp’s career and turned him into a teen heartthrob, with him eventually using his popularity to successfully make the difficult jump from television to film. Depp had previously appeared in movies like A Nightmare on Elm Street and Platoon, but he managed to ride the wave of 21 Jump Street into 1990’s Edward Scissorhands, and the rest was history.

On top of that, 21 Jump Street was primarily shot in Vancouver, British Columbia. This was unique at the time, with it being one of the first major productions to use the city as its main filming location. It helped establish Vancouver as a hub for film and television, and its effects are still seen to this day.

The 21 & 22 Jump Street Movies Revived The Franchise (& They Were Canon To The Show)

Although the show ended in 1991, 21 Jump Street finally came back in just over two decades later in 2012. Phil Lord and Chris Miller directed the legacy sequel, with it starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum as two new members of the Jump Street squad. The film is a parody of movie sequels to old TV shows, a trend that was booming at the time with poorly-received films like Dark Shadows and CHiPs.

21 Jump Street was a major hit, with it making $201.6 million on a budget of $54.7 million, and it currently holds 85% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film is now considered to be one of the best comedies of the 2010s, and it helped to launch the comedy career of Tatum, with him having mostly pivoted into comedic roles since the release of 21 Jump Street.

One of the most fun things about 21 Jump Street is that the film is actually canon to the original TV show. Near the end of the film, Johnny Depp and Peter DeLuise appear as Tom Hanson and Doug Penhall, their characters from the original series. Now DEA agents, Hanson and Penhall are undercover in the gang that Schmidt and Jenko are investigating. Both characters are shot and seemingly die, putting an end to their 21 Jump Street stories.

The 2012 film got a sequel in 2014 with the release of 22 Jump Street, another fantastic entry in the series. Lord and Miller returned to direct Hill and Tatum, with it following the Jump Street duo as they go undercover at a local college. While there were talks of a 23 Jump Street and a crossover with 21 Jump Street and Men in Black, the franchise hasn’t yet continued since this 2014 sequel.

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