Johnny Depp’s Iconic Crime Series ’21 Jump Street’ Is Worth Revisiting on Streaming

At the start of his acting career, Johnny Depp cut his teeth in movies like A Nightmare on Elm Street, Private Resort, and the Vietnam War epic, Platoon. While producers took notice of the rising young star, it wasn’t until his role in the iconic 1987 crime series 21 Jump Street that fans hopped aboard the fame train, and propelled him to teen idol status. However, while the show is most remembered for the appearance of Depp, it shouldn’t be overlooked that at the time it was a groundbreaking experience that helped define a generation.

Starring Depp as Tom Hanson Jr., 21 Jump Street focuses on a squad of youthful-looking undercover police officers investigating crimes in schools, gangs, and other teenage venues. The title is taken from the address of an old decommissioned church the unit bases their operations out of, which only adds to the uniqueness of the series, as most cop shows at the time featured a dingy police station as the main setting, or a gorgeous locale that seemed too exotic even for the 80s.

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It’s as weird as the source material its based on, but we’d expect nothing less from Depp and Scott.

Premiering on Fox on April 12, 1987, 21 Jump Street was one of the first scripted drama series to appear on the newly minted network, which helped it gain national recognition and be placed in the same conversation as the big three: ABC, CBS, and NBC. Lasting for five seasons, Depp left the series after Season 4 because he felt creatively stifled, and wanted the opportunity to pursue a film career. It was obviously a move that worked out well for him, as after his exit he would go on to appear shortly thereafter in such classics as What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Benny and Joon, and Edward Scissorhands.

What Made ’21 Jump Street’ So Groundbreaking?

Johnny Depp and Michael DeLuise as two undercover cops in 21 Jump Street — Fox

While police procedurals such as Hill Street Blues, Miami Vice, and Cagney & Lacey helped usher in a new wave of cop shows, 21 Jump Street was really the first to examine in-depth issues that affected teens. It was a series young people could relate to, not only because of its youthful and diverse cast members, but because it dealt with things that they experienced in their everyday lives.

Tackling subjects such as prostitution, AIDS, racism, suicide, and sexual assault, 21 Jump Street wasn’t afraid to bring these things front and center when most other shows shied away from taboo topics. It was a formula that worked, and oftentimes the cases Depp and company dealt with didn’t have a happy ending, but rather a resolution that reflected real life, where justice isn’t always served and people are left traumatized by the horrors they endure. It helped separate the series from the rest of the pact, and although critics weren’t always kind to it, viewers at the time loved it for its gritty realism.

These days, 21 Jump Street often gets overlooked for being nothing more than a corny cop show with cheesy dialogue that featured a lot of pretty people, but upon closer examination, folks will realize that it was so much more than that. It was groundbreaking for the time, and helped inspire future hits such as Veronica Mars. It’s definitely worth a reexamination, and if you want to be one of the ones to watch it again, or perhaps for the first time, all five seasons are streaming now on Peacock.