Miami Vice: TV’s star child

Owning the city In a time when Miami, Florida needed a redefining and, frankly, a redeeming quality, creators Anthony Yerkovich and Michael Mann had an answer: a TV show centering on two undercover detectives—James “Sonny” Crockett and Ricardo “Rico” Tubbs. The Miami the two cops prowled on TV reflected the violent crime and drug wars that [marked the real city]( in the 1970s and 80s, when it had the [highest murder rate]( in the world. But instead of giving up on South Florida, Vice treated its setting as a neon, [flashy co-star](, reinvigorating South Beach’s Art Deco hotels in a way no preservationist could. In a [relatively brief run]( that began in 1984 and ended in 1989, the show bestowed on Miami an adjective it hadn’t seen in years—cool. Perhaps what’s most striking about Vice is how the show made a place believe that it could change. It’s a spirit that’s still core to Miami today, especially in the city’s [burgeoning tech scene]( (though it can’t [quite shake the vice](). Beyond Miami, the show’s influence was global. One viewer in Brazil [remembered the connection]( they felt to Tubbs, played by Philip Michael Thomas, a Black actor, because Tubbs wasn’t reduced to a comedy or soap-opera role common for Black actors in Brazil at the time. But what made it so electric that it changed not just a city, but TV as we know it? Get in the Ferrari—we’re on the case. 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( [Quartz Weekly Obsession] Miami Vice: TV’s star child July 06, 2022 Owning the city --------------------------------------------------------------- In a time when Miami, Florida needed a redefining and, frankly, a redeeming quality, creators Anthony Yerkovich and Michael Mann had an answer: a TV show centering on two undercover detectives—James “Sonny” Crockett and Ricardo “Rico” Tubbs. The Miami the two cops prowled on TV reflected the violent crime and drug wars that [marked the real city]( in the 1970s and 80s, when it had the [highest murder rate]( in the world. But instead of giving up on South Florida, Vice treated its setting as a neon, [flashy co-star](, reinvigorating South Beach’s Art Deco hotels in a way no preservationist could. In a [relatively brief run]( that began in 1984 and ended in 1989, the show bestowed on Miami an adjective it hadn’t seen in years—cool. Perhaps what’s most striking about Vice is how the show made a place believe that it could change. It’s a spirit that’s still core to Miami today, especially in the city’s [burgeoning tech scene]( (though it can’t [quite shake the vice](). Beyond Miami, the show’s influence was global. One viewer in Brazil [remembered the connection]( they felt to Tubbs, played by Philip Michael Thomas, a Black actor, because Tubbs wasn’t reduced to a comedy or soap-opera role common for Black actors in Brazil at the time. But what made it so electric that it changed not just a city, but TV as we know it? Get in the Ferrari—we’re on the case. 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( By the digits [2:]( Hours the pilot episode “Brother’s Keeper” ran on TV [5:]( Seasons of the show [77:]( Countries in which it was broadcast [$1.3 million:]( Budget per episode, each of which executive producer Michael Mann treated more like a weekly film [$10,000:]( What the show spent per episode on rights to original music recordings [94:]( Beats per minute of “In the Air Tonight” by Phil Collins, a song [many viewers thought]( was made for the show [~$125:]( Cost of a Vice-themed Miami Heat jersey [1:]( Willie Nelson smack it took to knock out Crockett in the episode “El Viejo” Giphy I can feel it coming The music of Vice --------------------------------------------------------------- One of the predominant legacies of Miami Vice is its music. The show bypassed an original score and went all in on [buying the rights to songs](. If the soundtrack of Vice were a Spotify playlist, it’d be called “Only Bangers.” Nina Simone, Emilio Estefan, Glenn Frey, and Tina Turner were just a handful of the artists that gave ambiance to Vice’s high-speed car chases and contemplative montages. It helped that in the early to mid-1980s, synth pop was [having a moment](. While the genre’s origins are in punk rock, mainstream music fans of the time clearly preferred [the Minimoog synthesizer](. Synth pop is again having a moment (spurred on by a certain TV show—[cue Kate Bush](), and the [sounds and aesthetic]( of Miami Vice music have influenced genres like vaporwave for decades. By using the same type of music that people could hear on MTV or dance to in Chicago house and Detroit techno clubs, Vice intertwined itself with culture and became synonymous with popular tracks. USA Today used to tell readers which songs [would be played]( on the show a given week, and for recording musicians, getting featured on the show was, as Salon described, “[the big promo enchilada](.” In probably the most telling story of how important music was to Vice, Glenn Frey of the American rock band The Eagles recorded a song that led Michael Mann to [base a Vice script on it](. In the episode “Smuggler’s Blues,” which was also the name of the song, Frey even made his acting debut as a helpful pilot to Crockett and Tubbs. Quotable “Style is a dirty word.” — Miami Vice executive producer Michael Mann during a 1987 interview with the Los Angeles Times, in which he added, probably only half-jokingly, that he’d do “[double-ugly stuff](” so people would stop associating him with style. Pop quiz Which actor *wasn’t* a guest star on Miami Vice? Ben StillerJulia RobertsVin DieselLiam Neeson Correct. He was supposed to be in the reboot, though, which doesn’t seem to be happening anymore. Incorrect. Wrong! They were on the show. If your inbox doesn’t support this quiz, find the solution at bottom of email. Brief history [1896:]( The City of Miami is incorporated with 444 citizens. [1947:]( Ferrari wins its first Rome Grand Prix. [1975:]( The cop show Starsky and Hutch airs for the first time, featuring writing credits by both Anthony Yerkovich and Michael Mann. [1979:]( The Florida legislature enacts a statute that makes punishments for drug offenses some of the strictest in the US. [1981:]( MTV debuts with a broadcast of “Video Killed the Radio Star.” It’s rumored the idea for Vice was based on two words: “[MTV Cops](.” [1984:]( The Miami Vice pilot episode airs on NBC. [1986:]( Dornaus & Dixon Enterprises, the maker of the Bren Ten pistol popularized by Crockett, goes out of business. [1995:]( Anthony Yerkovich tries his hand at acting on a made-for-TV movie called Hollywood Confidential. [2006:]( Miami Vice the movie premiers, directed by Mann and starring Colin Farrell as Sonny Crockett and Jamie Foxx as Ricardo Tubbs. It flopped, with most of the $163.7 million it made [coming from showings]( outside the US. [2021:]( The original show starts streaming on NBC’s Peacock. Finally. Fun fact! The Ferrari Daytonas used in the show’s first two seasons were replicas built on Corvette frames. [Ferrari sued]( for trademark infringement, and when the cars were retired ([and blown up](), Ferrari donated two of its popular Testarossa models as replacements. But they still weren’t Vice enough: Mann had them painted white to [glimmer in night scenes](. Watch this! Deco decadence --------------------------------------------------------------- Miami has one of the largest concentrations of Art Deco buildings in the world, with many of the structures seen in Vice having been built between 1920 and 1950. While the Art Deco movement has its roots in Paris, its influence spans to Indonesia, Cuba, India, and elsewhere. take me down this 🐰 hole! Who’s in charge? --------------------------------------------------------------- The first instance of crime fighters on TV in the US can be traced back to the 1940s. Today, [more than a fifth]( of all network TV shows in the US are about cops and detectives, which is actually relatively low. Is America’s penchant for cop shows unique? In Finland, the live police show [Poliisit]( has been running since 2009, and Britain’s Line of Duty, which started broadcasting in 2012, was BBC Two’s [best-performing drama series]( in at least a decade. And India has a whole media franchise dedicated to police called [Cop Universe]( that includes films, animated series, and video games. But before the likes of Vice, cops weren’t really portrayed as star protagonists in the US. In fact, American pop culture in the late 1800s and early 1900s [ridiculed the police](. It wasn’t until 1951’s Dragnet that cops were really seen as hero figures—a characterization that was heavily influenced by [Hollywood’s relationship with cops](, and is now deeply ingrained in popular culture. The killing of George Floyd in 2020 led some cop series to [cancel their shows]( (at least for a bit) or send their scripts back for a rewrite. As Constance Grady writes for Vox, “A summer of watching police respond violently to protests against police brutality necessarily changed the way thousands of Americans think about the police—and that, in turn, means the cop shows will have to change, too.” But maybe not. The finale of HBO’s Mare of Easttown had a [record-breaking four million viewers](. Giphy Poll Which Vice apparel would you wear? [Click here to vote]( A crisp white suitA neon undershirtAn alligator costume 💬 let's talk! In last week’s poll on [signatures](, about 42% of you said that your signature depends on your mood and the situation, another 42% said you have perfected a pristine autograph, and 16% of you just scribble a squiggle and call it a day. ✉️ One reader wrote to say, “I have one informal signature and two formal signatures, each used for different kinds of documents. I guess the old-timey view that signatures are a valid way to prove your ID still sticks with me!” You and 42% of the rest of our readers! 🤔 [What did you think of today’s email?](mailto:obsession%2Bfeedback@qz.com?cc=&subject=Thoughts%20about%20Miami%20Vice%20&body=) 💡 [What should we obsess over next?](mailto:obsession%2Bideas@qz.com?cc=&subject=Obsess%20over%20this%20next.&body=) 🎲 [Show me a random Obsession]( Today’s email was written by [Morgan Haefner]( (catch me in a pink jacket), edited by [Susan Howson]( (remembers a speedboat but that’s it), and produced by [Julia Malleck]( (jamming to the Jan Hammer theme). [facebook]([twitter]([external-link]( The correct answer to the quiz is Vin Diesel. Enjoying the Quartz Weekly Obsession? [Send this link]( to a friend! Want to advertise in the Quartz Weekly Obsession? Send us an email at ads@qz.com. Not enjoying it? No worries. [Click here]( to unsubscribe. Quartz | 1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104