‘NYPD Blue’ Will Have 10th Season

After a tumultuous preseason ride, ABC has officially picked up “NYPD Blue” for another season, which will mark the 10th year for the Emmy-winning detective series.

The show has performed well this year despite moving to an earlier hour from the Tuesday time slot it previously had occupied for the duration of its run. “NYPD Blue” is averaging more than 13 million viewers a week in a highly competitive hour that includes NBC’s “Frasier” as well as the heavily promoted new dramas “24,” “The Guardian” and “Smallville.”

ABC angered series co-creator and executive producer Steven Bochco by initially announcing plans to move “Blue” to Wednesdays versus NBC’s long-running crime drama “Law & Order,” then irked him further by opting not to commit to an additional year at that point.

“Everything was in place. All you had to do was press the button, and it was done,” Bochco noted Wednesday, adding that the show earned its renewal by virtue of its performance. The series will become the first from the producer--whose credits include past Emmy-winners “Hill Street Blues” and “L.A. Law”--to reach the 200-episode milestone, which will occur early next season.

Faced with the near-total collapse of its prime-time schedule in the fall, ABC juggled its lineup and brought “Blue” back in November on Tuesdays at 9 p.m., using it to lead viewers into Bochco’s new law series, “Philly,” starring “Blue” alumna Kim Delaney.

“NYPD Blue’s” success has continued despite numerous changes, with star Dennis Franz--whom Bochco called “the heart and soul of this show”--the lone remaining original cast member. There have also been past scheduling skirmishes, including ABC’s decision to delay the program in order to launch “Once and Again”--a drama produced by the network’s corporate parent, the Walt Disney Co.--in its time slot.