Delaney to Leave ‘NYPD Blue’ for Legal Drama by Bochco

Actress Kim Delaney will leave “NYPD Blue” at the end of this season to star ina new ABC legal drama being developed by the program’s co-creator and producer, Steven Bochco.

Details are still being worked out regarding the new program featuring Delaney, an Emmy winner for the detective series, which she joined in 1995. Bochco--who previously mined the legal field in “L.A. Law”--will create the series with Alison Cross, whose credits include the acclaimed made-for-TV movies “Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story” and “Roe vs. Wade.”

ABC has committed to 13 episodes of the untitled show, tentatively targeted to premiere in the fall of 2001. The series is Bochco’s first under a deal cemented last year with Paramount Television after the producer spent three years in an exclusive arrangement with CBS.

Regarding Delaney, Bochco said, “She’s so good, and in that ensemble of guys she’s been kind of underused, especially in the last year.” He added that Delaney’s departure will leave the door open for her to return to the show if the other project fizzles out.

“NYPD Blue” has survived a steady stream of cast defections, with James McDaniel, who plays Lt. Arthur Fancy, to exit this season after completing 13 episodes. With McDaniel gone, Dennis Franz and Gordon Clapp will be the only remaining members of the first-year cast, similar to the churn that has taken place on other long-running dramas such as “ER” and “Law & Order.” Co-creator David Milch has also moved on to create his own projects under a separate agreement with Paramount.

“NYPD Blue” begins its eighth year in January, having averaged 15.6 million viewers last season--ranking behind only “ER,” “The Practice” and “Law & Order” among prime-time dramas. The series has been renewed by ABC for two more years, through the 2001-2 TV season, and Bochco isn’t assuming that will mark the end of the line.

“With new characters cycling through, I don’t see why it can’t go on for a 10th season and beyond,” he said.