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Rick Schroder as NYPD Detective Danny Sorenson in NYPD Blue

Danny Sorenson was a fictional detective on the popular TV series, NYPD Blue, appearing from season six through season eight. The character was played by actor Rick Schroder.

Sorenson was introduced midway through the sixth season as the 15th squad's replacement for the deceased Bobby Simone. He was partnered with Detective Andy Sipowicz. Because he was replacing the well-liked Simone, Sorenson encountered some initial hostility from Sipowicz, who was Simone's former partner, and Detective Diane Russell, Simone's widow. Sipowicz and Russell were also skpetical of Sorenson's youth, as he was only 28 at the time he earned his gold detective's shield. The confident Sorenson was quickly able to earn the respect and acceptance of his co-workers by proving himself a highly capable detective.

Sorenson soon struck up a volatile romantic relationship with uniformed officer Mary Franco. However, the relationship was undermined by Sorenson's troubled psyche. It was hinted throughout the character's run that Sorenson had a difficult childhood and was left with a lot of deep unresolved issues that caused him personal torment. His personal demons were a constant barrier to emotional intimacy in his relationship with Franco.

Sorenson also had something of a savior complex. On one occasion, Sorenson forced one of his informants, over the objection of Franco, to spend the night at his apartment out of concern that the informant would overdose if he was out on the street. Sorenson fell into a downward spiral when he found out the next morning that the informant, who left in the middle of the night through the bathroom window, had overdosed in an abandoned building. He was burned to death when the building was set on fire by an arsonist.

Sorenson was visibly shaken by the death, as it reminded him of an incident involving his sisters when he was young. After finding Sorenson in tears in the locker room, Russell took a maternal interest in Sorenson and attempted to counsel him through his grief. Sorenson, an alcoholic, showed up drunk on Russell's doorstep later that evening. Russell, a recovering alcoholic herself, let him sleep it off on her couch, and in the morning again offered him her counsel.

Romantic feelings soon developed between Sorenson and Russell. Ultimately, Sorenson broke up with Franco, and began a highly destructive relationship with Russell. Russell eventually ended the relationship out of guilt, feeling she had betrayed her deceased husband.

Sorenson was thrown into a personal tailspin, and work relations between he and Russell quickly deteriorated. Sorenson began drinking heavily and on one occasion showed up on the job with alcohol on his breath, something that did not go unnoticed by recovering alcoholic Sipowicz. During this time, Sorenson also got involved in a dangerous relationship with Kristen, a dancer at a seedy strip club. The owners of the club, who were under police investigation, approached Sorenson about working for them by providing information about the investigation. Sorenson took the news to his boss, Lt. Rodriguez, who authorized Sorenson to go undercover.

While at the strip club one evening, Sorenson got into a fight with an obsessive fan of Kristen's. Sipowicz was called to take the drunken Sorenson home. There, Sorenson and Sipowicz had a conversation about Sorenson's relationship with Russell. Sipowicz also attempted to talk Sorenson out of his self-destructive ways, pointing out the dangers of getting involved with Kristen and working undercover at the club.

The next morning, Sorenson failed to show up at work, causing Sipowicz and Detective Connie McDowell to go to his apartment. They found no sign of Sorenson, but did find Kristen's dead body. After Sorenson had been missing for several months, an informant tipped the squad off to the location of a buried rug in Brooklyn. Inside the rug was Sorenson's body.