1 9 8 9 – 1 9 9 0 (USA)
18 x 90 minute episodes
Veteran cop Charlie “CB” Battles (John Ashton) isn’t as young as he used to be, but don’t tell him that.
He still does sit-ups, he hits a mean line drive and he can still bring down a young punk with a headlong dive. But Charlie’s pushing 45 and the word has come down: he gets behind a desk or he gets enforced retirement.
But before they ship him off to the glue factory, Charlie has one more assignment.
The older cop will be teamed with a younger one – Joe “Kaz” Kaczierowski (Richard Tyson), who has long hair, rides a Harley and wears a Mexican Day of the Dead earring in his left ear.
Two years earlier, the movie Lethal Weapon had been released to huge success. So that this show was a pretty shameless attempt to do the same thing isn’t really all that surprising. But despite the tremendous chemistry between Ashton and Tyson, Hardball was axed after just one season of 18 episodes.
Not to be confused with the shortlived 1994 baseball-themed sitcom from FOX.
Charlie “CB” Battles
John Ashton
Joe “Kaz” Kaczierowski
Richard Tyson
Pappas
John Pappas