What many people don't know about this show is that for the first 2 1/2 seasons "Homicide" was on the air(January 3, 1993 to May 19, 1995) the show aired twice a week on Sundays and Fridays and only aired every other week. That changed in July of 1995, when NBC announced that the program would air on Fridays at 10 Eastern and Pacific, 9 Central/Mountain, which it would continue to do from September of 1995 until the final episode aired in May of 1999. One of its original cast members, RIchard Belzer, who played John Munch, left the show for "Law & Order: Special Victims' Unit" in the fall of 1998, and has continued to play Det. Munch on that show since then. "Homicide" aired for a total of 6 1/2 seasons.