A few fictional television characters will be remembered forever, and John Munch counts among them. Played by Richard Belzer and based on Jay Landsman (a central figure in David Simon's 1991 true crime novel Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets), the character first appeared in the procedural Homicide: Life on the Street, where his kindness and belief in conspiracy theories made him stand out from his gruff, tough-as-nails colleagues. When the show was canceled, Munch was quickly saved from the sinking ship and thrown into the robust lifeboat that was Law & Order: SVU. After all, he was too valuable to drown with the rest.
Figuratively, Munch never just stuck to his jurisdiction. The lawman appeared in various shows across different networks, suggesting that these productions all existed in the same universe. These include The X-Files, Arrested Development, The Wire, The Beat, American Dad, and 30 Rock. Munch is also mentioned by Detective Chief Inspector John Luther (Idris Elba) as an NYPD contact on the fifth episode of the British crime drama Luther. It’s hard to imagine any other character that symbolizes a shared universe better than him, but how deep do the roots go?
Tracing John Munch’s Television Journey
In every show he has been in, John Munch has been a charismatic presence, carrying the world’s weight in his slump-shouldered indolence and optimistic attitude. His status as television’s Lord of Crossovers began during his time on Homicide: Life on the Streets. Because the show’s creator, Paul Attanasio, was friends with Law & Order creator Dick Wolf, the two shows intersected a couple of times, introducing Munch to a new audience.
In the '90s, Munch appeared in The X-Files Season 5 episode, “Unusual Suspects” (written by Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan). This was a logical cameo because he was a conspiracy theorist like Special Agent Fox Mulder. The flashback episode provided a background story for the iconic trio, The Lone Gunmen, and showed Munch interrogating one of them after they showed up in Baltimore.
When Homicide ended, it was announced that Munch had moved from Baltimore to New York, enabling him to join Law & Order: SVU. It is in the new show that the lawman truly left a mark. He appeared in 242 episodes, and while enjoying life in New York, he made a habit of snooping around in as many places as he could. His next out-of-habitat appearance would come in the short-lived crime drama The Beat, starring Mark Ruffalo. Munch can be spotted in a crime scene in the second episode, "They Say It's Your Birthday."
After that, he made a stop at Law & Order: Trial by Jury via the Season 1 episode "Skeleton (Part 2)" before entering the world of The Wire via the Season 5 episode, “Took.” Since the critically acclaimed HBO show is set in Baltimore and this was a flashback episode, Munch’s introduction made sense. Here, a little bit of his backstory was revealed. After stopping for a drink at the Waterfront Bar, it was revealed that he once owned it.
Munch would later take a break from crime to appear in Arrested Development’s Season 3 episode, “Exit Strategy,” as part of a police sting operation. Here, he pretends to be Professor Munch to solve a case that’s tied to college students. While his appearance might not have made sense at first, it works considering that the Bluth family always had legal troubles.
After this adventure, Munch kept his comedy gloves on, appearing in 30 Rock’s Season 5 episode “Qué Sorpresa!” together with his SVU colleague, Detective Tutuola. However, this appearance doesn’t tie the comedy show to the rest of the Munchverse, since it came via a “show within a show” approach. In the episode, some of the show’s characters watch a Law & Order: SVU episode. Munch’s appearance on Sesame Street is also unrelated to the larger universe, as it's more of a parody.
Much’s last cameo would come in American Dad’s Season 13 episode, "Next of Pin." In the dying minutes, he is seen trying to recruit Steve as a detective after being impressed by his investigative work at a bowling alley.
Munch and the Tony Westphall Universe
Munch’s numerous cameos mean that television shows might be more connected than we think. For example, if Homicide is connected to The X-Files, and the latter did a crossover with The Simpsons, we can conclude all these shows are linked. The Simpsons also crossed over with Family Guy and 24, among other shows, so there’s that. Welcome to the Tony Westphall Universe.
In the final season of St. Elsewhere,it is disclosed that all the events have been taking place inside the mind of an autistic boy named Tony Westphall. This particular show has a crossover episode with Homicide, and that’s where the network gets even bigger. The medical drama also crossed over with shows like Newhart, Cheers, and M*A*S*H*.
The Tony Westphall Universe has thus emerged as a serious hypothesis over the years. It argues that not only does St. Elsewhere take place within the child’s imagination, but so do many other shows which are linked to the medical drama through crossovers and spin-offs. Most of the fictional things we see on TV could thus be on Tommy’s mind. This hypothesis was first tabled by comic book and TV writer Dwayne McDuffie in a blog post, and has remained a common reductio ad absurdum argument ever since.
It might have seemed like Munch’s world, but it really is Tony’s world, and we are just living in it.
