Jade was supposed to launch David Caruso’s movie career, but while it was a box-office disaster, it still predicted his success on CSI: Miami. NYPD Blue was a groundbreaking 1990s series that offered a more grounded, gritty take on the classic police procedural. The show also catapulted David Caruso to stardom, after he had previously made an impression in movies like First Blood and King of New York. Caruso was perfect casting for the intense detective John Kelly, but the star was also famously unhappy on the series.

Caruso had little interest in network television and immediately set his eye on movies when his role on NYPD Blue garnered buzz. Despite having signed on for multiple seasons, co-creator Steven Bochco let Caruso out on the condition that he film several episodes for season 2, including an onscreen exit; Kelly was later replaced on NYPD Blue by Jimmy Smits’ Simone. Given the acclaim the series would go on to receive, Caruso’s early exit is seen as one of the biggest career faux pas of recent memory, especially when his film plans quickly came undone.

Jade Killed David Caruso’s Film Career After He Left NYPD Blue

Leaving NYPD Blue was a real Kiss of Death

After his time on NYPD Blue was done, Caruso signed on for two high-profile projects: a remake of classic film noir Kiss of Death and the William Freidkin movie Jade. Kiss of Death was released in early 1995, and paired Caruso with co-stars like Nicolas Cage and Samuel L. Jackson. Despite good reviews and a strong cast, Kiss of Death was a box-office dud. While Kiss of Death may have arrived first, Jade was the movie that was pegged as the true test of Caruso’s star power.

The movie was penned by Basic Instinct’s Joe Eszterhas and was billed as the next big erotic thriller. Jade was a glossy, big-budget affair that again surrounded Caruso with a talented cast, including Linda Fiorentino as the тιтular character and Michael Biehn. Like The French Connection and To Live and Die in L.A. before it, Jade features an awesome car chase from Friedkin, but while it’s got style, the story is a muddy, convoluted mess. For a film sold as a Sєxy thriller, it is never particularly Sєxy or thrilling for most of the runtime.

It’s possible to watch it thinking Caruso’s Corelli is playing a hard-boiled detective, but he’s actually supposed to be the ᴀssistant district attorney; just one who takes a very hands-on approach to his cases. Jade ended up being a critical and commercial disaster, grossing less than $10 million on an estimated $50 million budget (via The Numbers). Reviews were no kinder, with the thriller sitting at 16% on Rotten Tomatoes. In truth, it feels like the critics already had their knives sharpened for the film due to Caruso’s messy NYPD Blue exit; it just didn’t help his cause that Jade was a dud.

Jade Feels Like A Stealth Prequel To CSI: Miami

Caruso’s time on Jade wasn’t a total waste

Jade and CSI: Miami may not look that similar, but they share a lot in common when examined under a microscope. Corelli isn’t a cartoon character like CSI’s Horatio Caine, but they both spend much of their screentime surveying gory crime scenes or in labs looking at evidence being analyzed. It won’t take much to rewrite Jade into a typical episode of CSI: Miami either, since it opens with Corelli and his team uncovering a bleak crime scene (where the victim has been flayed alive) and then uncovering a conspiracy as they follow the clues.

The technology featured in Jade isn’t nearly as sleek as the CSI franchise, but much of the grunt work and gallows humor between the team is the same. What’s missing from Friedkin’s thriller is the sense of fun that CSI: Miami brings, from Horatio’s groanworthy one-liners to the sunny locales. In contrast, Jade is deathly serious and while there are occasional gags, the film is too po-faced for its own good.

CSI: Miami’s Horatio Caine Became David Caruso’s Defining Work

Caruso retired when the series ended

The failure of Jade hurt Caruso’s career in a big way, and while he had some solid roles in films like Proof of Life, it appeared he would never recapture his NYPD Blue fame. That all changed when he signed on for CSI: Miami, a spinoff that became almost as popular as its parent show. Much of that was down to the uniqueness of Caruso’s performance as Horatio, where he would utter terrible puns or catchphrases with the straightest of faces.

CSI: Miami weaponized Caruso’s strengths as a performer, and while the character (and the show surrounding him) became more outlandish as time went by, he still made the series compulsive viewing. CSI: Miami became Caruso’s defining project, with Caine being his most recognizable role. Perhaps sensing it would be his acting legacy, Caruso retired from acting after CSI: Miami ended in 2012.

Jade itself didn’t leave much of a legacy, though it did get a hilarious reference in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, where Seth Rogen’s character advises Steve Carell’s Andy to “Act like David Caruso in Jade” as a way of being confident talking to women. This leads Carell to do his best Caruso impersonation, which actually works in his favor.

Source: The Numbers, Rotten Tomatoes, YouTube