The seventh season of Homicide: Life on the Street aired in the United States on the NBC television network from September 25, 1998 to May 21, 1999 and contained 22 episodes. The seventh season marked the debut of characters FBI Agent Michael Giardello and Detective Rene Sheppard. Recurring character Detective Terri Stivers became a regular cast member as of season 7. The DVD box set of season 7 was released for Region 1 on June 28, 2005. The set includes all 22 season 7 episodes on six discs. During the sixth season, NBC had been considered canceling the show in the face of consistently low ratings, but a number of shocks at NBC increased Homicide's value. Among those factors were the loss of the popular series Seinfeld and the $850 million deal needed to keep ER from leaving the network. As a result, the network approved a 22-episode seventh season.