---
name: "Anthony Yerkovich"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/anthony-yerkovich"
roles: ["Creator","Writer"]
born: "1 January 1953"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 84
updated: "2026-09-16T21:21:02.394822+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Anthony Yerkovich

Creator and writer. Born 1 January 1953.

## Details

- **Work:** Creator, Writer
- **Born:** 1 January 1953
- **Active:** 1981–1984
- **Works often with:** Bill Duke, David Anspaugh, David Black, David Rosenbloom, Dick Wolf, Gabrielle Beaumont

## Fi1m on Anthony Yerkovich

> Anthony Yerkovich's police dramas are worth watching for the people as much as the cases. We recommend his work on *Hill Street Blues* and *Miami Vice*, though the latter's storytelling cannot always match the care given to its appearance.

The pastel clothes and prominent music in *Miami Vice* (1984) make its central men attractive before the stories begin to trouble our pleasure in watching them. Yerkovich conceived Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs as guides through a criminal landscape, before the programme's visual style was realised. He wrote the pilot, *Brother's Keeper*, as well as creating the series. We found its sadness unexpectedly moving, because those clothes make the two men look so much happier than they are.

The earlier *Hill Street Blues* (1981) gives us a different reason to value his work. After writing for action series, Yerkovich joined it as a writer and supervising producer, working there from 1981 to 1983. Its crowded storytelling demands attention, but the compassion makes that effort worthwhile, even where the characterisation has dated. We do not pretend that a writer on an ensemble programme is responsible for everything we admire about it.

With *Miami Vice*, the division of labour matters even more: Yerkovich was executive producer for the first six episodes before handing full executive control to Michael Mann. Crockett and Tubbs give us a reason to care about all that polish, which is why the writing cannot be treated as incidental. But that premise does not guarantee a good episode, and the writing is too uneven across five seasons for an unqualified recommendation. The early seasons are the strongest; later stories cannot consistently match the care given to the images.

Yerkovich's later television output was more limited. He created *Private Eye* (1987) and co-created *Big Apple* (2001) with David Milch, then returned as executive producer of the *Miami Vice* feature (2006). Start with the *Miami Vice* pilot, and do not feel obliged to make a five-season commitment.

## Biography

Anthony Yerkovich is an American television writer and producer. He created the series *Miami Vice* (1984), for which he also wrote the pilot episode, and served as co-executive producer with Michael Mann on the first six episodes before handing over responsibilities to Mann.

His other credits include writing for *Starsky & Hutch* (1977–1978), *Hart to Hart* (1981) and *Hill Street Blues* (1981–1983), where he also worked as supervising producer. He created and executive produced *Private Eye* (1987–1988) and *Big Apple* (2001), wrote the television film *Hollywood Confidential* (1997), and served as executive producer on the 2006 feature film *Miami Vice*.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Miami Vice* (1984), Fi1m 81, Creator, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/miami-vice.md)
- *Hill Street Blues* (1981), Fi1m 86, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/hill-street-blues.md)

## Also known for

- *Miami Vice* (2006), Original Series Creator
- *Starsky & Hutch* (1975), Writer
- *Hart to Hart* (1979), Writer

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/anthony-yerkovich