Cops bust a move with release of ‘Cop Rock’ series on DVD

The officers of “Cop Rock” are back walking and dancing to the beat.

“Cop Rock,” the short-lived 1990 series that mixed gritty police action with production numbers featuring police breaking out in song and dance, will finally make its DVD debut.

Shout! Factory is releasing the 11-episode series on May 17.

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Despite the show’s failure, veteran producer Steven Bochco (“Hill Street Blues,” “NYPD Blue” ), called “Cop Rock” one of the highlights of his career.

“I’m really sorry it tanked the way it did,” Bochco said in a 2010 interview. “It made me the butt of jokes. But I loved doing that show. It’s one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had.”

Unlike musical numbers in series such as “Glee,” the performers in “Cop Rock” sang live. The series also had a songwriting staff that turned out original numbers each week while working alongside the writers. Randy Newman wrote and performed the “Cop Rock” theme, “Under the Gun,” and wrote five original songs for the pilot.

Said Bochco: “It was unbelievably demanding and remarkably difficult, which is one of the things we were most proud of. There was no dubbing. We had five songs per hour. The music had to further the storytelling, and it was virtually impossible to find preexisting music that could accomplish that feat.”

But viewers at that time were not impressed by the show’s ambition. “We were soundly rejected by the audience,” Bochco said. “We premiered to a terribly low number, and it went downhill from there. Fundamentally, the audience wanted nothing to do with it.”

He added in that interview that he never thought the series would be released on DVD.