After three Thursday showings with terrible ratings, Cagney & Lacey was given a one-time shot in a Sunday time slot occupied by Trapper John, M.D. and pulled about the same audiences Trapper John had averaged. However, the competition was extremely weak (a cut-down broadcast of a failed pilot called "The Neighborhood," which had been rejected when an NBC executive watched the two hours in the wrong order, followed by a 30-minute news special), and CBS executives insisted on a major makeover for Cagney & Lacey if it was even to get a partial renewal. Chief among the changes was the recasting of the Christine Cagney character; also, the opening sequence was completely re-filmed and re-scored. Finally, CBS decided to give up on "Lou Grant" and give over its time slot to "Cagney & Lacey," in an intensely criticized scheduling move.
Lt. Samuels doesn't believe the son of a cop should be taking ballet lessons, and yes, he knows about the president's son. This was a reference to then-President Ronald Reagan's son Ron Reagan, who dropped out of Yale in 1976 and joined the Joffrey Ballet. Unlike Samuels, however, the former president was a supporter of his son's pursuing his dreams and even likened his son's s dancing to that of Hollywood legend Fred Astaire.
Guest star George Petrie (Pulaski) was at this same time playing a recurring role on Dallas (1978) as Ewing family attorney Harv Smithfield.