The movie "To Kill a Cop" was not planned as a series, and only became one at the last minute. TV Guide reported that NBC programming chief walked out of a screening of a pilot called "Two Guys From Muck" (developed by Brandon Tartikoff) before the show ended and expressed colorful displeasure with that show and others on the 1979 NBC fall schedule, forcing Tartikoff to spend three days in negotiations with To Kill a Cop producer David Gerber to develop a series around the lead character.