Gregory Medavoy was a fictional character as well as a protagonist

Protagonist

A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...

 in the television series NYPD Blue

NYPD Blue

NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...

. He was played by Gordon Clapp

Gordon Clapp

Gordon Clapp is an American actor, best known for portraying the role of Det. Greg Medavoy for all 12 seasons on the television series NYPD Blue, winning an Emmy Award in 1998.-Early and personal life:...

 from the third episode of the first season to the second to last episode of the series, when he retired. Aside from squadmate Andy Sipowicz

Andy Sipowicz

Andy Sipowicz is a fictional character and protagonist on the popular ABC television series NYPD Blue. Dennis Franz portrayed the character for its entire run....

 he was the longest running regular character in the series.

Often on the receiving end of jokes about his bumbling speech, Medavoy often provided viewers with comic relief

Comic relief

Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...

 for the series' duration. Despite his faults, he turned out to be a skilled detective

Detective

A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...

 who earned respect through his tenacity and inventiveness, though the other cops did continue to treat him with some contempt due to his tendency to drone on about arcane subjects and his general eagerness to be liked.

Initially, he was unhappily married to a nagging woman by the name of Marie, whom he caught cheating on him. He had an affair with Donna Abandando, the squad receptionist, and Medavoy's existing marriage made the relationship difficult. Finally after the pressure was too much for Abandando to cope, she ended things with Greg, who attempted to return to his marriage. This failed, and he was attracted to coworker Abby Sullivan - who revealed that she was a lesbian

Lesbian

Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...

. He fathered her child via artificial insemination

Artificial insemination

Artificial insemination, or AI, is the process by which sperm is placed into the reproductive tract of a female for the purpose of impregnating the female by using means other than sexual intercourse or natural insemination...

.

In season 7, Medavoy was partnered with Baldwin Jones

Baldwin Jones

Baldwin Jones was a character on the long running police drama NYPD Blue. He was played by Henry Simmons.Joining in the middle of season 7 from the Bias Squad after the departure of James Martinez, Jones was paired up with one of the squad's longest- serving detectives, Greg Medavoy...

, a strong and likable new detective. The two soon grew a friendship that was tested by Greg's neuroses and the younger Baldwin's irritation over them, but survived. Medavoy also overcame a witch hunt against him by new Lt. Bale, who tried to wreck Greg's career after learning he was working in a part-time job at a bar, which is not allowed. After a short suspension he upbraided Bale's autocratic ways and called him a bully and a coward. Greg carried himself with a noticeable increase in confidence afterwards.

In the final few episodes, Medavoy retired in order to join the real estate business with his new girlfriend Bridget, whom he'd met on a fraud case. At his retirement party, Greg expressed his love for both the job and his fellow coworkers. The toast made was the traditional NYPD toast "to the guy that invented this job".