Detectives Anita King (Robin Givens) and Dorothy Paretsky (Pamela Gidley) are attached to the Homicide Division of the Violent Crimes Unit of the Chicago Police Department and stationed in the bad part of town.
The two first met when they were teamed by the department.
Anita is a glamorous college-educated black woman on the fast track (she had previously worked with Internal Affairs). She grew up on the poor South Side of Chicago and now lives in a better neighbourhood at 311 Ashford.
Dorothy (called “Dotty”) is a working-class white single mother who thinks Anita “overdresses for the job” (she wears skirts and heels and gets upset when she ruins her $15 a pair pantyhose chasing suspects). Dotty, is a street-wise cop who began her career with the narcotics department. She smokes Marlboro’s and lives at 9034 Mid-Valley Road with her daughter, Jennifer (Christina Robinson), and her grandfather “Pobby” (Everett Smith and then Jan Rubes).
Ken Brannigan (Ron Dean) is the senior detective in the unit. He has an unseen wife named Marjorie whom he calls Mrs B.
The Roll Call is the local watering hole for the detectives where Dotty and Anita find a temporary haven from the gruelling and gritty aspects of their job.
The series was originally titled Polish Hill.
Detective Dorothy Paretsky
Pamela Gidley Detective Anita Wellman King
Robin Givens Ken Brannigan
Ron Dean Jennifer Paretsky
Christina Robinson Pobby
Everett Smith (1)
Jan Rubes (2)
