In early 1960s New York City, Officer Terry Muldoon (Edward Burns, Saving Private Ryan) runs the Public Morals Division, a plainclothes unit of the NYPD whose job it is to police vice crimes such as gambling and prostitution. Muldoon juggles various situations, including warning his gangster uncle Mr. O (Timothy Hutton, The Haunting of Hill House) not to challenge the head of the westside Irish Mob and schooling the new recruit Jimmy Shea (Brian Wiles) how the division actually works. Muldoon also struggles to raise his family in the increasingly violent Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, disciplining his 13 year-old son when he acts up at school. Muldoon’s partner Charlie Bullman (Michael Rapaport, Small Time Crooks) develops a soft spot for a beautiful high-end call girl after Bullman and Muldoon arrest her for solicitation.

In addition to acting in the lead role of Muldoon, Burns wrote, directed and executive produced all 10 episodes of this limited series. Public Morals also featured such notable supporting cast as Neal McDonough (Minority Report), Frederic Lehne (Men in Black), Kevin Corrigan and Brian Dennehy. The series was produced for Amblin Television and TNT by Paul F. Bernard, with executive producers Aaron Lubin, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, and Steven Spielberg.