Officer Dan Shay

In November 1977 David Cassidy began working seriously again. He started filming a two-hour special episode of a very popular tv series called The Police Story. And it seemed that everybody had been waiting for him. In 1977 he was often written about as Kay's husband or the current teen idol Shaun Cassidy's  half brother. But in November it was a great return of David Cassidy, an actor.

The titles of those articles published at the end of 1977 speak for themselves :'David Cassidy Grows Up', 'David Cassidy Returns to His Old Love - Acting', 'David Cassidy Wants To Be Taken Seriously' . 'Cassidy Returns, Hopes For A Bright New Future'. One reporter wrote about him :'His baby faced good looks have given way to attractive masculinity. His voice has deepened and he's developed a sense of humour about himself.'

So this is a promo

https://www.davidcassidy.com/fansite/TvFilmPages/1978_PoliceStoryAdvert.html

Yes, at the beginning of it we can see two familiar faces, and Ty Henderson  appeared on even two TPF episodes , when I add that one of the producers was Mel Swope, a former TPF's producer, it was like working with the old friends. 

In the 70s David told many times  that he would have loved to make a movie, that a lot of scripts had been sent to him, but at the end he decided for a tv series again. Of course 'Police Story' was a decent show, aired from 1973. The main character was always a police officer, and the setting was always LA. David said that the reason he had taken that role was that it seemed honest and right.

David played Dan Shay recruited to operate undercover for the narcotics unit at a high school. Directed by Corey Allen, the screenplay was written by experienced Larry Brody and Richard Fiedler. The cast  really very good : Vince Edwards, Don Stark , Stefan Arngrim, Anne Lockhart and Dee Wallace who later starred in 'E.T', She made a great pair with David, playing Dan's pregnant wife. So it was aired on Tuesday, May 28th , 1978 on NBC :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3cHDS27Q_s&t=1804s

And this is the scene between Dan and Jill  (with a kiss), which was cut from the video..much worse quality , but..wow..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AROh-4tLWw

It was a great success and in September 1978 David received an Emmy nomination for his role in the category 'Outstanding Lead Actor For A Single Appearance In A Drama Or Comedy Series' . He was happy. This is not a good quality , but we are grateful that we can see it..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28uqrQy0hpg&t=358s

And my opinion about "Police Story. A Chance to Live' ? I enjoy watching it very much. I love the 70s, music, fashion, cars, of course some of those high school kids looked very mature, and the actress who played Jill wasn't ..the best, but I think that David was very good and that role could have been a beginning of a serious acting career..And he looked gorgeous.

The 30th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on September 17th 1978. The ceremony was broadcast on CBS, and David lost out to Bernard Hughes..

https://images.app.goo.gl/CUkjnKZEN4qVbomn9