Kevin Arkadie, the two-time Emmy-nominated writer and producer who teamed with Dick Wolf to create New York undercover and worked on other series like NYPD Blue, Chicago Hope And The Shielddied. He was 68 years old.
Arkadie lived in Los Angeles and died on Wednesday, her relatives announced on social networks. In July, he posted a video on Instagram stating that he was suffering from kidney failure.
“This man here was one of the greatest storytellers in America,” his cousin and producer L True Green wrote on Facebook. “He forever changed the landscape of creativity…he’s the reason I’ve stayed in the arts as a writer today.” »
New York infiltrated, which ran for four seasons on Fox from 1994 to 1999, was the first crime drama with black and Latino protagonists (played by Malik Yoba and Michael DeLorenzo, respectively).
Arkadie was nominated for an Emmy in 1996 and 1998 for the coveted Outstanding Drama Series award for producing Chicago Hope And NYPD Blueand he won a WGA America Award for his work on the Noggin series The miracle boys in 2006.
Born in Washington on December 10, 1957, Arkadie moved to Maryland and then Dallas, where he earned a BFA in theater from Southern Methodist University. He moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in entertainment and landed a writing job on the NBC drama series from 1991 to 1993. I will fly away.
His other credits included Knight Guard, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Law & Order, High incident, Rescue 77, The temptations, Ambitions, The Quad And Sacrifice.
Two-time Tony-winning producer Lamar Richardson, who recently worked with Arkadie on Freeman Ranch – a television series in development about a family that runs the first black-owned ranch in Texas – paid tribute to Arkadie in a statement shared with The Hollywood Reporter.
“Kevin was the first showrunner to sign on to one of our TV projects at Ivy Lion, and we spent a lot of time with him developing and pitching together this year,” he said. “He was a consummate professional, a true collaborator and an astute researcher. Everything was always in service of the best storytelling.
“It’s not lost on us that he was ready to say yes to a young production company and a new writer in an industry where first chances are rarely given freely. It was important to him to invest in the next generation of diverse voices, and we are extremely grateful to have partnered with him.”
