Hearts and Souls

"Hearts and Souls" is the fifth episode of the sixth season and 115th overall of the American crime drama NYPD Blue. "Hearts and Souls" originally aired in the United States on ABC on Tuesday, November 24, 1998, at 9:30 pm Eastern time as a 90-minute special. The episode was directed by Paris Barclay and written by Steven Bochco, David Milch, Bill Clark and Nicholas Wootton. It was the culmination of months of public speculation on the method of closure that would be employed to write Jimmy Smits's critically acclaimed Bobby Simone character out of the regular cast and clear the way for Smits' replacement, Rick Schroder. "Hearts and Souls" was a critical and commercial success, achieving both high ratings and positive critical feedback and is now regarded as one of the greatest episodes in television history. It marked the second high-profile replacement of the partner for lead character Detective Andy Sipowicz, played by Dennis Franz.

At the 51st Primetime Emmy Awards, this episode won awards for Direction for Paris Barclay and Guest Actress for Debra Monk as well as a nominations in Writing for Steven Bochco, David Milch, Bill Clark and Nicholas Wootton. Barclay also won a Directors Guild of America Award. The episode also won an Eddie Award and a Banff Rockie Award as well as a Cinema Audio Society Award nomination. While the episode was given a 90-minute timeslot on ABC when first aired, it has been shown in syndication as a regular episode covering around half of that time (the rest of the hour block is where commercials were in the pre-streaming era), with the subplot involving Greg Medavoy's angry interactions with an annoying complainant being entirely removed and the material with Andy and Katie being reduced somewhat.

This was Smits' last regular appearance as Simone, although he returned for one scene in an episode during the twelfth season. The episode highlights his rapid and mysterious physical demise, which has culminated in his need for a heart transplant. Many emotional portrayals are included to represent the feelings of loved ones, friends and colleagues when someone that they care about is suddenly in dire medical need. In another storyline, the episode simultaneously highlights the stress that can be caused when alcoholism afflicts a family through a critically acclaimed guest appearance by Debra Monk as the ex-wife of Sipowicz.

The episode begins with a special five-minute extended "Previously on NYPD Blue" segment that retraces Simone's (Jimmy Smits) whole character history. The final portion of the prologue presents Lt. Arthur Fancy's (James McDaniel) prior episode persuasion of a police widow to directly donate her husband's heart to give Simone a chance to live. The regular portion of the episode begins after the completed heart transplant. The episode focuses on whether Simone's heart transplant was successful. It starts ten days after the heart transplant with his anticipated hospital release. Simone's recovery is hampered by an internal chest infection, which leaves him weakened. The doctors attempt diagnosis of the infection and weakness, which appear to be minor, with tests. Tensions run high in the department from almost the beginning of the episode. Greg Medavoy (Gordon Clapp) has a scene where his verbal aggression with a citizen complainant provides a respite and represents the frustration and helplessness of Simone's friends and colleagues. James Martinez' (Nicholas Turturro) generally good manners are also tested. Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) displays deep emotions to his wife ADA Sylvia Costas (Sharon Lawrence). The doctors differ in their opinions of which treatment to use. One advises Simone and wife Diane Russell (Kim Delaney) to pursue surgery, while another advises natural progression. Sipowicz's ex-wife Katie (Debra Monk) catches him offguard by appearing at the station drunk and asking for his help. She is preparing a pro se defense against DWI charges, but when Sipowicz is about to respond with assistance, she slips away. The personal turmoil drags him away from his compassionate watch. When he is distracted, Simone's health deteriorates to the point where his demise seems imminent. Dr. Carreras suggests ending the suffering, while Dr. Swan disagrees, but Carreras believes his sentiment is masking office politics that govern how statistics are attributed to various departments. Russell is conflicted on which doctor to take advice from. Sipowicz manages his ex-wife's crisis by negotiating agreed Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. After Simone receives his last rites, his colleagues say their goodbyes, while Simone dreams aloud of his mentor Patsy Ferrara. In Simone's waking dream, Patsy acts as a medium, helping Simone transition out of life. In the end, with his wife Russell, having removed his wedding ring, by his side, Simone, shedding a final tear, fades away, and the screen fades to white (as opposed to black).

After one season on NYPD Blue, David Caruso decided to leave his role as Detective John Kelly and pursue a movie career when he was unable to secure a salary increase from $80,000 (US$173,776 in 2025 dollars) per episode to $100,000 (US$217,220). At the time, Caruso had a pending Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series nomination for the 46th Primetime Emmy Awards in 1994. Meanwhile, ABC was enduring the odd combination of high ratings, high critical praise and largescale network affiliate boycotts of its breakthrough use of nudity and profanity on public television that forced it to offer discounted advertising rates in spite of its success. Smits, who had left his Emmy Award-winning role as Victor Sifuentes on L.A. Law in 1991, was signed as a replacement on August 18, 1994. Caruso would continue in his role for the first four episodes of the second season, and Smits replaced him in a new role in episode 5 in November. Smits originally hoped to sign with the show for three years, while ABC sought a more standard five-year contract.

In April 1998, toward the end of the fifth season, Smits told Liz Smith that he would only perform in a handful of episodes in the sixth season in order to smoothly transition his character's departure. Smits declined interviews and made a written statement, but show creator Steven Bochco noted that Smits had come to the decision several weeks before he announced it. Smits earned five consecutive Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series nominations as well as three nominations for Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama for the Simone role. Smits, who earned the Golden Globe Award at the 53rd Golden Globe Awards in 1996 for the role, stated that "I accomplished what I sought to do - to prove I can act - and now it's time to seek another course."

In mid-June 1998, rumors surfaced that Rick Schroder would replace Smits. The following week, Schroder was officially announced as the replacement. By late September, the buildup to Smits' departure was set to commence with the first episode of season 6, on October 20. On October 7, ABC announced that Smits would be stabbed in the opening episode of the season. The week before the season premiere, Mark Tinker revealed that Smits would be written out in the fifth episode of the season and Schroder would enter in the subsequent episode. Bochco revealed that National Enquirer and other gossip tabloids had offered to pay for details about the storyline. The five-week story arc was scheduled so that the final three weeks were in the November sweeps with Schroder's debut marking the final week of the sweeps. When the network decided to pre-empt the show on Election Night (November 3), the final episode was moved back to the second last night of sweeps.

The first week stabbing was regarded as similar to the murder of Jonathan Levin. ABC sent the media the first two episodes prior to the season 6 premiere. In the first episode, Smits is both stabbed and inadvertently cut by his dentist. Based on the first two episodes, Dave Matheny and Neal Justin of the Star Tribune determined that Simone would endure a worsening mysterious illness. In the third episode of the arc, Smits was hospitalized and in need of a heart transplant. The fourth episode was a buildup to impending heart surgery as he struggles with cardiomyopathy.