Miami Vice is an American police procedural television series that aired on NBC for five seasons from 1984 and 1989, with an unaired episode airing on USA Network in 1990. Starring Philip Michael Thomas, Don Johnson, Edward James Olmos, Olivia Brown, Saundra Santiago, John Diehl and Michael Talbott, it focuses on the lives of two undercover Metro-Dade police officers, Ricardo Tubbs (Thomas) and James "Sonny" Crockett (Johnson). The series was created by Anthony Yerkovich, with Michael Mann and Dick Wolf serving as executive producers.
Since its debut, Miami Vice has received several award nominations, including twenty at the Emmy Awards, seven at the Golden Globe Awards, two People's Choice Awards and two Grammy Awards. Although lead actor Philip Michael Thomas coined the phrase "EGOT" for his ambitions to win Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Awards, only Johnson and Olmos won acting awards for their work on the series, while composer Jan Hammer earned two Grammy awards for his composition for the show's opening credits, "Miami Vice Theme". Of a total of thirty-three nominations earned by the series, it went on to win ten awards.
The series also spawned several successful soundtrack albums, with both Miami Vice and Miami Vice II charting in several countries worldwide; however Miami Vice III saw little success. Singles from these albums, including Jan Hammer's "Miami Vice Theme" and "Crockett's Theme", and Glenn Frey's "You Belong to the City", also performed well, although later singles by acts including Sheena Easton, Yello and The Hooters did not match the popularity of earlier releases.
Directors Guild of America Awards Director Paul Michael Glaser received a Directors Guild of America Award nomination for his work on the first-season episode "Smuggler's Blues". Glaser lost the award to Will Mackenzie, for his direction of the Moonlighting episode "My Fair David".
Year Category Nominee Result Ref 1985 Outstanding Directing – Drama Series Paul Michael Glaser, "Smuggler's Blues"
Edgar Awards Series creator Anthony Yerkovich received an Edgar Award nomination for Best Episode in a TV Series, for his script to the pilot episode "Brother's Keeper". Yerkovich lost the award to Peter S. Fischer, for his Murder, She Wrote episode "Deadly Lady".
Year Category Nominee Result Ref 1985 Best Episode in a TV Series Anthony Yerkovich, "Brother's Keeper"
Emmy Awards Miami Vice was the recipient of twenty Emmy Award nominations, winning four of these. Fifteen of these nominations, and all four wins, were received during the 37th Primetime Emmy Awards in 1985. Edward James Olmos earned a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, alongside an Outstanding Cinematography for a Series award for Bob Collins, while the series also won ensemble awards for Outstanding Art Direction for a Series and Outstanding Film Sound Editing for a Series in that same year.
Jan Hammer's music for the series was honored with nominations in both 1985 and 1986, losing to Murder, She Wrote John Addison and Scarecrow and Mrs. King Arthur B. Rubinstein respectively. Lead actor Don Johnson received a 1985 nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his role as James "Sonny" Crockett, losing to St. Elsewhere William Daniels, for his portrayal of Mark Craig. Directors Lee H. Katzin and Paul Michael Glaser both vied for 1985's Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series award, which was ultimately won by Karen Arthur for her work on Cagney & Lacey.
Year Category Nominee(s) Result Ref 1985 Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore) Jan Hammer Outstanding Art Direction for a Series Jeffrey Howard, Robert Lacey Jr. Outstanding Cinematography for a Series Bob Collins A.J. "Duke" Callaghan Outstanding Costume Design for a Series Jodie Tillen Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series Lee H. Katzin Paul Michael Glaser Outstanding Drama Series Richard Brams, George E. Crosby, Michael Mann, John Nicolella, Liam O'Brien. Mel Swope, Anthony Yerkovich Outstanding Film Editing for a Series Michael B. Hoggan Robert A. Daniels Outstanding Film Sound Editing for a Series Bruce Bell, Jerry Sanford Cohen, Victor B. Lackey, Ian MacGregor-Scott, Carl Mahakian, Chuck Moran, John Oettinger, Bernie Pincus, Warren Smith, Bruce Stambler, Mike Wilhoit, Paul Wittenberg, Kyle Wright Jerry Sanford Cohen, Scott Hecker, John A. Larsen, Harry B. Miller III, Robert Rutledge, Norto Sepulveda, Gary Vaughan, Jay Wilkinson Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series Don Johnson Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Edward James Olmos Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series Anthony Yerkovich 1986 Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore) Jan Hammer Outstanding Editing for a Series (Single Camera Production) Robert A. Daniels Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Series Rick Alexander, Anthony Costantini, Daniel Leahy, Mike Tromer Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Edward James Olmos 1988 Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Series Joe Citarella, Joe Foglia, Grover Helsley, Ray West
Golden Globe Awards Miami Vice received seven Golden Globe Award nominations during its tenure, winning two of these. Olmos and Johnson won Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor awards respectively in 1985, with Johnson defeating co-star Philip Michael Thomas for the award. Thomas' nomination was to be the only one for his Miami Vice work, although the actor had earlier coined the phrase "EGOT" to describe his ambitions to win Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Awards in his career. Only Olmos and Hammer won any of these awards, earning an Emmy and a Grammy respectively.
Johnson and Olmos each received a further nomination in their respective categories, with Johnson losing a 1986 nomination to Edward Woodward as The Equalizer Robert McCall; and Olmos missing out on the 1988 award to both John Gielgud and Barry Bostwick for their work on the miniseries War and Remembrance. The series as a whole was nominated for the Best Television Series – Drama award twice, losing to Murder, She Wrote in 1985 and L.A. Law in 1986.
Year Category Nominee Result Ref 1985 Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film Edward James Olmos Best Actor – Drama Don Johnson Philip Michael Thomas Best Television Series – Drama — 1986 Best Actor – Drama Don Johnson Best Television Series – Drama — 1988 Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film Edward James Olmos
Grammy Awards Series composer Hammer won two Grammy Awards at the 28th Grammy Awards ceremony. His composition "Miami Vice Theme", used during the series' opening credits sequence, earned him both the Best Pop Instrumental Performance and Best Instrumental Composition awards.
Year Category Nominee Result Ref 1985 Best Instrumental Composition Jan Hammer, "Miami Vice Theme" Best Pop Instrumental Performance Jan Hammer, "Miami Vice Theme"
Music charts
A number of soundtrack albums were released during the series' run. Of these, both Miami Vice and Miami Vice II have placed in a number of sales charts. Miami Vice, released on October 26, 1985, reached the top of the Billboard 200 chart in the United States, while several of its singles also found a degree of success. The follow-up compilation Miami Vice II, released on December 29, 1986, reached a peak position of 82 on the Billboard 200, also spawning several charting singles. The albums were also popular globally, reaching top ten positions in New Zealand, Austria, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
Hammer's "Miami Vice Theme" reached number one on the United States' Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, while "Crockett's Theme" was successful in both the UK Singles Chart, reaching number two, and the Dutch Top 40, reaching number one. Glenn Frey also released several singles featured in the series, with "Smuggler's Blues" reaching a peak of 22 in the UK Singles Charts, and "You Belong to the City" peaking at number two on the American Adult Contemporary chart.
Albums Release Chart Country Peakposition Miami Vice Billboard 200 United States1 Top R&B Albums9 Official New Zealand Music Chart New Zealand5 Ö3 Austria Top 40 Austria1 Mega Album Top 100 The Netherlands18 Sverigetopplistan Sweden32 Miami Vice II Billboard 200 United States82 Ö3 Austria Top 40 Austria6 Mega Album Top 100 The Netherlands2 Swiss Music Charts Switzerland4 Miami Vice III Ö3 Austria Top 40 Austria25
Singles Release Album Artist Chart Country Peakposition "Miami Vice Theme" Miami Vice Jan Hammer Billboard Hot 100United States1 Adult Contemporary16 Hot Dance Club Songs23 Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles7 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs10 Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks29 Swiss Music Charts Switzerland8 Ö3 Austria Top 40 Austria4 Dutch Top 40 The Netherlands22 Official New Zealand Music Chart New Zealand8 UK Singles Chart United Kingdom5 "Own the Night" Chaka Khan Billboard Hot 100 United States66 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs57 "Vice" Melle Mel Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs United States90 "You Belong to the City" Glenn Frey Adult Contemporary United States2 Dutch Top 40 The Netherlands37 Official New Zealand Music Chart New Zealand46 "Smuggler's Blues" UK Singles Chart United Kingdom22 "The Last Unbroken Heart" Miami Vice II Patti LaBelle & Bill Champlin Adult Contemporary United States15 "Send It to Me" Gladys Knight & The Pips Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs14 "When The Rain Comes Down" Andy Taylor Billboard Hot 10073 "Crockett's Theme" Jan Hammer UK Singles Chart United Kingdom2 Dutch Top 40 The Netherlands1 Ö3 Austria Top 40 Austria29 Swiss Music Charts Switzerland9 "Follow My Rainbow" Miami Vice III Sheena Easton Dutch Top 40 The Netherlands14 "Call It Love" Yello Official New Zealand Music Chart New Zealand32 Ö3 Austria Top 40 Austria19 Swiss Music Charts Switzerland6 "Dirty Laundry" Don Henley Official New Zealand Music Chart New Zealand7 Ö3 Austria Top 40 Austria8 "Satellite" The Hooters Dutch Top 40 The Netherlands20
People's Choice Awards Miami Vice won two People's Choice Awards, earning the award for Favorite New TV Dramatic Program at the 1985 ceremony, and following this up with a win for Favorite TV Dramatic Program the following year.
Year Category Result Ref 1985 Favorite New TV Dramatic Program 1986 Favorite TV Dramatic Program
Footnotes