Former Newark, New Jersey Police Commissioner and New York Transit police officer Jack Mannion is hired as the chief of the bureaucracy-laden Washington, D.C. police force. Together with his detectives and allies, he must fight crime as well as internal corruption and the powers of Congress in order to reorganize and renovate the force.
Production
The District was inspired by the real-life experience of former New York City Deputy Police Commissioner Jack Maple.[1][2] Along with Police Commissioner William Bratton, he had reorganized the NYPD, and one of the achievements was the CompStat program (comparative statistics), which has its own major role in the TV series. After the success in New York, the CompStat program has been adapted by other cities. However Jack Maple himself chose to publish his experiences—along with Chris Mitchell he wrote a book (The Crime Fighter, 2000), and along with Terry George he prepared a TV series concept. His impact on the storyline after season 1 was limited; he died of colon cancer on August 4, 2001.
Primary filming was in Los Angeles, with some location shooting in Washington, D.C.
Note: Throughout The District's entire run it was aired in a Saturday night timeslot and also it was the last U.S. scripted series to air on its Saturday night schedule until Ransom debuted in 2017.
International broadcasts
In Australia, The District aired on the Nine Network in late night slots throughout its run.
In Bulgaria, the first two seasons aired on Nova Television. The whole series was aired on AXN with subtitles and later on AXN Crime. Later Fox Crime repeated the first two seasons and the dub was rerecorded with the same actors. The third season started in October 2010.
In Italy it aired on Rai 2 on November 29, 2004 and replayed on La7 on May 25, 2009.
In France, The District airs on France 2 (Washington Police)
Syndication
It ran for a time on USA Network as well as on The Biography Channel after cancellation. On February 7, 2020 it joined the day shift in the Friday slot on Heroes & Icons.[3] Without explanation as of Feb. 20, 2020 the program was pulled and Fridays reverted to NUMB3RS.[4]
As of mid-2020 it was back on the Heroes and Icons TV schedule weekdays from 1AM to 3AM Eastern Standard Time. As of October 2023, it has been pulled from the Heroes and Icons TV schedule once again.
