There are 3 reasons cited in the press why Benzali left the show1. He was fired because he was "difficult" - I see nothing except "puff pieces" pushing this, but I guess it's possible
2. He was fired because he sucked. Obviously silly
3. He was fired because Bochco replaced him not because he was difficult but because a more appropriate leading man made sense - I think this is SORT of true. IMO, He was replaced because the network would not renew without a younger, sexier, more traditional leading manAs for why he hasn't gotten more since then, probably the fallout from all of these   See 4 other replies

The reason the show failed was because it was running at the same time as the OJ trial. People saw a murder trial all day long and on every news station, they did not want to watch it at night as well. The show died due to unfortunate timing. Unfortunately the fans from season one were disappointed by the numerous cast changes for season two and the change in format and new viewers were unfortunately privy to a weaker season. Of course watching a storyline about a famous athlete on trial for murder after the OJ trial results didn't help either.   See 4 other replies

Yes, he was widely panned in this role that he was nominated for a Golden Globe.   See 4 other replies

I wouldn't say Daniel was "blacklisted" - but from what I remember of this program and it's "failure", Daniel was who they blamed. I liked him a lot as he was so 'anti' leading man. He was commanding, had a presence, watchable, believable, a leader-type. But many critics primarily set him as the failure of the show. As time tells (and many fans of the program knew), they were dead wrong. Also, if I remember correctly, the first season of Murder One didn't run every week - at some point there was time in-between, hence the recaps at the beginning. A fine show, a stable of actors who are so known now (Anybody say, "Jigsaw"?!), excellent writing , this kept you on the edge of your seat.   See 4 other replies