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The Best Episodes of NYPD Blue Season 3

Every episode of NYPD Blue Season 3 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of NYPD Blue Season 3!

Binge this in 16h 48m•Peaking at 9.4/10

Police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwined several plots involving an ensemble cast.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    NYPD Blue Season 3 Episode 20 - A Death in the Family
    9.4/10(341 votes)

    S3:E20

    After a shooting at a bar, Simone and Sipowicz are sent to the hospital and find that they know one of the victims. The whole squad is involved in the hunt for the killers.

    Director:Mark Tinker
    Writer:Michael Daly

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  2. NYPD Blue Season 3 Episode 21 - Closing Time
    8.8/10(231 votes)

    S3:E21

    The hunt for AJ's killers continues.

    Director:David Rosenbloom
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. NYPD Blue Season 3 Episode 15 - Head Case
    8.3/10(198 votes)

    S3:E15

    A University Professor is found decapitated. His mother gives Simone and Sipowicz a hard time. Lezniak gets jealous when Martinez meets a porn star. Andy's son turns up, out of the blue.

    Director:Randall Zisk
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. NYPD Blue Season 3 Episode 17 - Hollie and the Blowfish
    8.3/10(217 votes)

    S3:E17

    Medavoy and Martinez investigate the murder of a voodoo priest. Russell gets assigned to help a drug enforcement team, working in the Precinct. Simone spots an old acquaintance, Hollie, who used to give him good information.

    Director:Davis Guggenheim
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. NYPD Blue Season 3 Episode 19 - Auntie Maimed
    8.2/10(197 votes)

    S3:E19

    A woman is found, murdered, in her apartment. Neighbours fingers point at the junkie nephew. Simone and Sipowicz investigate. Medavoy and Martinez search for a biker, seen in a bar, where the bouncer is beaten to death. Sylvia nears the end of her pregnancy.

    Director:Michael W. Watkins
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. NYPD Blue Season 3 Episode 1 - E.R.
    8.1/10(235 votes)

    S3:E1

    Martinez is shot when he and Medavoy walk in on a bar robbery. One of the robbers gets protection from the DA for information, which upsets James' colleagues. Sylvia breaks some news to Sipowicz, while Simone and Russell try for a reconcilliation.

    Director:Mark Tinker
    Writer:Unknown

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  7. NYPD Blue Season 3 Episode 10 - The Backboard Jungle
    8.1/10(203 votes)

    S3:E10

    A basketball game, held in the memory of a young boy, erupts into violence. 2 dead, 7 wounded. Andy has a race relation's problem with the organizer of the event that was witnessed by a reporter. Fancy and Sipowicz's relationship is on shaky ground as details of this event come to light and Andy is removed from the case.

    Director:Mark Tinker
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. NYPD Blue Season 3 Episode 8 - Cold Heaters
    7.9/10(207 votes)

    S3:E8

    Simone's old pal Ray turns informant, from jail, in order to get a reduced sentence, but things don't go to plan. A father takes deadly revenge to protect his bullied son. Medavoy has to placate 2 actors who come to blows on stage.

    Director:Adam Nimoy
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. NYPD Blue Season 3 Episode 18 - We Was Robbed
    7.9/10(200 votes)

    S3:E18

    A dead man is found, dumped in an alley. His name has possible mob connections. Donna gives Russell information about a possible hi-jack. A surveillance op goes wrong, when Simone and Sipowicz assist the FBI.

    Director:Mark Tinker
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. NYPD Blue Season 3 Episode 22 - He's Not Guilty, He's My Brother
    7.9/10(212 votes)

    S3:E22

    Simone and Sipowicz go to a shooting at a paint shop. A suspect is located in hospital, with a bullet wound. The other detectives go to a shooting in an alley, where the victim has bullet holes, but no sign og blood.

    Director:Michael M. Robin
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. NYPD Blue Season 3 Episode 7 - Aging Bull
    7.8/10(199 votes)

    S3:E7

    An ex-boxer, an old friend of Simone's, refuses to admit he's getting forgetful. The FBI take over a kidnap case, but Simone and Sipowicz find an informant and work the case on their own.

    Director:Davis Guggenheim
    Writer:David Mills

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  12. NYPD Blue Season 3 Episode 12 - These Old Bones
    7.8/10(191 votes)

    S3:E12

    A bruised and battered wife tells Sipowicz that her husband claimed to have killed somebody 8 years previously. Sipowicz follows a trail, leading back to 2 previous relationships. Russell is told that her father has been shot and killed. Her brother claims to have done it, but Simone thinks he's not telling the whole truth.

    Director:Donna Deitch
    Writer:Theresa Rebeck

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  13. NYPD Blue Season 3 Episode 3 - One Big Happy Family
    7.7/10(194 votes)

    S3:E3

    Simone and Sipowicz get a break in a rape case when a man fitting the assailants description is seen in the station. Russell has to resolve her families domestic problems. Meanwhile, Martinez, on his first day back, gets some disappointing news from Lesniak.

    Director:Michael M. Robin
    Writer:Gardner Stern

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  14. NYPD Blue Season 3 Episode 4 - Heavin' Can Wait
    7.7/10(206 votes)

    S3:E4

    A baby and a small child are shot and killed in a robbery. Sipowicz's bad mood hinders the investigation and causes a rift with Simone.

    Director:Elodie Keene
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. NYPD Blue Season 3 Episode 5 - Dirty Laundry
    7.7/10(214 votes)

    S3:E5

    Ronnie Drucker, a detective under investigation, is reassigned to the 15th squad and compromises Simone. A young girl, confused by drugs, is the only witness to a shooting in a laundromat.

    Director:Mark Tinker
    Writers:David Milch, Nicholas Wootton

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  16. NYPD Blue Season 3 Episode 16 - Girl Talk
    7.7/10(202 votes)

    S3:E16

    After a young girl is strangled and thrown from a roof, Simone and Sipowicz find a similar case in another district. The investigating officer comes to the 15th, to share information and immediately gets in Andy's bad books. Russell and Martinez disagree over the claims of rape made by a woman, against a married schoolteacher. Sipowicz and Andy Junior go 'on the street'.

    Director:Perry Lang
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. NYPD Blue Season 3 Episode 2 - Torah! Torah! Torah!
    7.6/10(219 votes)

    S3:E2

    An ill man is accused of killing his sister, but Simone suspects otherwise. Meanwhile, Medavoy and Sipowicz go under cover to recover a stolen Jewish icon. Sipowicz struggles to keep a secret.

    Director:Donna Deitch
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. NYPD Blue Season 3 Episode 6 - Curt Russell
    7.6/10(202 votes)

    S3:E6

    Simone and Sipowicz investigate the murder of an Indian woman, found strangled in her locked car. Medavoy and Martinez arrest a man acting strangely and find he's involved in a credit card scam. Lesniak and Russell team up to trap a gun dealer. Simone gets over-protective and makes Russell angry.

    Director:Jim Charleston
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. NYPD Blue Season 3 Episode 9 - Sorry, Wong Suspect
    7.6/10(193 votes)

    S3:E9

    A young girl is found stabbed, in Chinatown. Suspicion falls on the ex-boyfriend. Simone & Sipowicz Investigate. Martinez & Lezniak have to investigate a robbery, together, despite the bad feeling between them. Medavoy moves into the bunk-room.

    Director:Michael M. Robin
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. NYPD Blue Season 3 Episode 14 - The Nutty Confessor
    7.6/10(189 votes)

    S3:E14

    Martinez and Lezniak's relationship takes a step forward. Simone and Sipowicz are called to a bloody murder scene with satanistic overtones. A doctor is mugged and shot on a visit to his secretary's apartment. Russell and Medavoy feel the wrath of his wife's anger.

    Director:Mark Tinker
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. NYPD Blue Season 3 Episode 13 - A Tushful of Dollars
    7.5/10(184 votes)

    S3:E13

    Russell gets a lawyer for her mother. Simone and Sipowicz investigate the shooting of a known mobster's son. Suspicion falls on his younger brother, but the father interferes with the search. Medavoy and Russell get a call to where a woman has been shot, while in bed. Her son tells Russell that he got a message, from his step-father, confessing to the shooting. His rich step-father's lawyer makes difficulties.

    Director:Elodie Keene
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. NYPD Blue Season 3 Episode 11 - Burnin' Love
    7.4/10(194 votes)

    S3:E11

    A girl's body is found, burned, in an abandoned basement. Information from the husband of the girl's best friend points to a Russian, who had tried to date her, but had been refused. Simone puts together a scenario, involving the husband and 2 of his associates. Medavoy gets some overtime, on bodyguard duty and gets lucky in the card school.

    Director:Perry Lang
    Writer:Unknown

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Season 3 Ratings Summary

"A Death in the Family" is the best rated episode of "NYPD Blue" season 3. It scored 9.4/10 based on 341 votes. Directed by Mark Tinker and written by Michael Daly, it aired on 5/7/1996. This episode is rated 0.6 points higher than the second-best, "Closing Time".