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"'21 Jump Street"' (originally titled "Jump Street Chapel") was an hour long police drama Television program|television series, developed by Fox Television Network. It ran from April 12, 1987 to April 27, 1991, with a total of 103 episodes.

It was produced by the studio of Stephen J. Cannell Productions (which also produced ''The A-Team'' and ''The Rockford Files''). The show was an early hit for the fledgling Fox Network, especially in the important teen demographic. Some speculate that it was Johnny Depp's exit that caused the program to be cancelled by Fox after the fourth season though Peter DeLuise in his DVD commentary said that Barry Diller of Fox Network saw that The Simpsons were getting a twenty share rating and said that Fox was now a twenty share rating network so 21 Jump Street was dropped. The final season aired in first-run Television syndication|syndication on local Fox affiliates. It was later completed in rerun syndication on Fox's FX Networks|FX cable network from 1996 to 1998 and was produced in association with and distributed by Twentieth Century Fox Television.

The series provided a spark to Johnny Depp's nascent career in acting, garnering him national recognition as a teen idol. Depp found this status an irritant, but he was under contract from which he was released after the fourth season.

Actors who guest-starred on the program include Bridget Fonda, Sherilyn Fenn, Jason Priestley, Josh Brolin, Maia Brewton, Mindy Cohn, David Paymer, Brad Pitt, Christina Applegate, Eric West, Vince Vaughn, Pauly Shore, Blair Underwood, John Waters (filmmaker)|John Waters, Shannen Doherty, Rosie Perez, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Tim Russ, and Thomas Haden Church.

Plot

The show is about a group of young cops whose youthful appearances enabled them to work undercover in both high schools and sometimes colleges to catch troubled youths. The show covered typical Plot(narrative)|plots of its day, including alcoholism, hate crimes, drug abuse, racism, homophobia, AIDS, drinking, child abuse, and promiscuity|sexual promiscuity. Similarly, each problem was often solved by the end of the hour long show, giving an implicit moral about the impact of a particular activity. When the show originally aired, some episodes were followed immediately by public service announcements featuring cast members.

Cast

21 Jump Street

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