CHiPs is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner that originally broadcast on NBC from September 15, 1977, to July 17, 1983. The series production was handled by MGM Television. The program follows the lives of officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP) as they patrol the freeways of Los Angeles. Over its six-season run, CHiPs presented ...
NBC’s Ironside, which aired from 1967 to 1975, presented a unique twist on the police procedural. The series centers on Robert T. Ironside, a former San Francisco Police Department Chief of Detectives, portrayed with a steely resolve by Raymond Burr. After being paralyzed by a sniper’s bullet, Ironside is forced into a wheelchair, but his intellect and determination remain undiminished. ...
The 1970s TV scene was awash in procedural crime dramas, but Police Story, which aired on NBC, stood apart with its gritty realism and focus on the human side of law enforcement. Created by Joseph Wambaugh, a former Los Angeles Police Department detective, the anthology series eschewed sensationalism, instead presenting a realistic portrayal of the everyday challenges and moral quandaries ...
A gritty police procedural that defined 1970s television, The Streets of San Francisco aired on ABC for five seasons, from 1972 to 1977. The series, produced by Quinn Martin Productions, focused on two detectives solving crimes in the famously hilly city. The show’s success stemmed not only from its action-packed plots but also from the believable chemistry between its two ...
Few television shows have had the cultural impact of Hawaii Five-O, which aired on CBS from 1968 to 1980. Created by Leonard Freeman, this police procedural wasn’t just a hit; it was a phenomenon that redefined how crime dramas were made. Set against the stunning backdrop of the Hawaiian Islands, the program followed the exploits of an elite state police ...
Airing on CBS from 1973 to 1978, Kojak wasn’t just another cop drama; it was a cultural touchstone. At its core was Telly Savalas as the titular Lieutenant Theo Kojak, a bald, lollipop-loving detective with a no-nonsense approach to solving crimes in New York City. Savalas’s performance was the lynchpin of the whole operation, and he brought a unique blend ...
When “Cagney & Lacey” first appeared on CBS in 1982, it was with Meg Foster in the role of Christine Cagney, the serious, career-focused detective, the role had already been played by Loretta Swit in a TV Movie pilot for the series. The show, created by Barbara Corday and Barbara Avedon, aimed to depict the lives of two female police ...
Starsky and Hutch was a defining example of the ’70s buddy cop genre, leaning heavily on fast cars, casual violence, and a certain kind of macho swagger that was very much of its time. The show followed the exploits of detectives David Starsky (Paul Michael Glaser) and Kenneth “Hutch” Hutchinson (David Soul), two undercover cops cruising the grimy streets of the ...