With Andre Braugher seeking to part ways with "Homicide: Life on the Street" in order to pursue a film career, the end of the show's sixth season had to write the character off. So, how does the show go about finishing up Frank Pembleton's story? Many procedurals are notorious for killing characters off when their actors are ready to depart. The conclusion for Pembleton fortunately isn't so morbid, but it's still quite the depressing plot thread.
The Season 6 finale of "Homicide: Life on the Street" sees Pembleton and his partner Tim Bayliss (Kyle Secor) in a tense shoot-out with members of a drug ring. During a critical moment, Pembleton hesitates when aiming his gun at a suspect, leaving Bayliss to push him out of the way and sustain a bullet wound. Wracked with guilt over Bayliss' injury and disenfranchised with his department's handling of other sensitive matters, he ultimately makes the decision to quit.
While Pembleton's exit in the original "Homicide: Life on the Street" is pretty sad, it's actually not the complete end of the character's arc. The series is one of the many TV shows that got a movie to wrap up the ending, and Braugher returned as his iconic detective for "Homicide: The Movie." The finale film sees Pembleton reunite with Bayliss and other members of the force in order to solve the shooting of longtime shift commander Al Giardello (Yaphet Kotto), and gives a brighter send-off for Braugher's character.
