LAST NAME ONLY COP SHOWS
I'm making a list of cop/detective/crime shows named after the last name of the main character.
Each listing is clarified with the shows distinguishing gimmick.
This list is focused on shows that only feature the character's last name in their title, thus excluding shows that use a full name, such as "T.J. Hooker," or shows that add clarifying titles to the name, such as "Magnum P.I.," "Quincy M.E.," or "The Rockford Files." Also excluded are partner shows, such as "Starsky and Hutch" and "Cagney and Lacey."
This list will primarily be focused on shows from the seventies and eighties, the time period when last name only cop shows flourished, and American television, as I'm not that familiar with British/European television. However, I have made a few exceptions for stuff I like/am otherwise familiar with. Suggestions are welcomed.
Each listing is clarified with the shows distinguishing gimmick.
This list is focused on shows that only feature the character's last name in their title, thus excluding shows that use a full name, such as "T.J. Hooker," or shows that add clarifying titles to the name, such as "Magnum P.I.," "Quincy M.E.," or "The Rockford Files." Also excluded are partner shows, such as "Starsky and Hutch" and "Cagney and Lacey."
This list will primarily be focused on shows from the seventies and eighties, the time period when last name only cop shows flourished, and American television, as I'm not that familiar with British/European television. However, I have made a few exceptions for stuff I like/am otherwise familiar with. Suggestions are welcomed.
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- CreatorAnthony WilsonStarsGeorge PeppardRalph ManzaMurray MathesonThe adventures of proud Polish-American freelance insurance investigator Thomas Banacek.Detective is Polish.
- CreatorEd AdamsonStarsRobert ForsterJoan BlondellRichard JaeckelThe adventures of 1930's Los Angeles private eye Miles Banyon.Detective show set in the 1930s.
- CreatorStephen J. CannellStarsRobert BlakeTom EwellEdward GroverThe cases of maverick undercover New York City detective Tony Baretta (Robert Blake).Detective doesn't wear a uniform.
- CreatorEric BlakeneyStephen J. CannellStarsRichard GriecoMarcia StrassmanCarmen ArgenzianoIn this "21 Jump Street" spin-off, a rebellious young cop becomes an insurance investigator for a multinational corporation."21 Jump Street" spin-off starring Richard Grieco, otherwise known as the other guy from "21 Jump Street."
- CreatorAndrew W. MarloweStarsNathan FillionStana KaticSusan SullivanWhen a psychopath commits murders based on novelist Castle's books, Detective Beckett seeks his help to solve the case. He decides to work with her and uses his experiences as research for his novels.Detective is a murder-mystery novelist.
- CreatorEdward HumeStarsWilliam ConradPatrick CullitonTom PittmanFrank Cannon, a husky ex-cop and culinary enthusiast, solves tough cases as a private investigator.Detective is really fat.
- CreatorRichard LevinsonWilliam LinkStarsPeter FalkMike LallyJohn FinneganLos Angeles homicide detective Lieutenant Columbo uses his humble ways and ingenuous demeanor to winkle out even the most well-concealed of crimes.The audience already knows who committed the crime and the fun of the show is watching the detective, who merely pretends to be absent-minded, figure out whodunit.
- CreatorLarry CohenStarsLorne GreeneBen MurphyPatricia StichWade Griffin quits the police force after three decades to become a private eye.Detective is a former cop.
- CreatorAllan SloaneStarsBurt ReynoldsWayne GriceLeon JanneyThe crime busting techniques of Iroquois detective John Hawk of the New York City District Attorney's office.Detective is a full-blooded American Indian.
- CreatorDavid KarpStarsJames StewartStrother MartinMayf NutterThe cases of slow-talking West Virginia attorney Billy Jim Hawkins.Country lawyer solves crimes using folksy wisdom.
- CreatorFrank LupoStarsFred DryerStepfanie KramerCharles HallahanRick Hunter is a renegade cop who bends the rules and takes justice into his own hands. Partnered with the equally stunning and rebellious Sgt. McCall, he sets out to crack down on L.A.'s slimiest criminals.Detective is played by former football player and has obnoxious unresolved sexual tension with his female sidekick.
- CreatorCollier YoungStarsRaymond BurrDon GallowayDon MitchellWheelchair-using, crime-fighting detective Robert T. Ironside battles the bad guys on the streets of San Francisco.Detective is in a wheelchair.
- CreatorDon Carlos DunawayRon LeibmanSam RolfeStarsRon LeibmanGeorge WynerPatrick O'NealThe cases of former car thief-turned-criminal attorney Martin "Kaz" Kazinski.Ex-con becomes criminal defense lawyer.
- CreatorAbby MannStarsTelly SavalasDan FrazerKevin DobsonA bald, lollipop sucking police detective with a fiery righteous attitude battles crime in his city.Detective is bald and sucks on lollypops all the time.
- CreatorHunt BaldwinJohn CovenyStarsRobert TaylorKatee SackhoffLou Diamond PhillipsWalt Longmire is the dedicated and unflappable sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming. Widowed only a year, he is a man in psychic repair but buries his pain behind his brave face, unassuming grin and dry wit.Cop investigates crime in rural Wyoming.
- CreatorStirling SilliphantStarsJames FranciscusMarlyn MasonPeter Mark RichmanThe cases of a blind insurance investigator.Detective is blind.
- CreatorNeil CrossStarsIdris ElbaDermot CrowleyMichael SmileyJohn Luther is a brilliant homicide detective with a knack for getting inside the minds of murderers. Unfortunately, his unconventional methods and personal demons put him at odds with his team.Detective is a genius.
- CreatorLee David ZlotoffStarsRichard Dean AndersonDana ElcarBruce McGillThe adventures of a secret Agent armed with almost infinite scientific resourcefulness.Detective makes plot-resolving inventions out of random crap lying around.
- StarsRichard WidmarkRonny CoxGeorge ColeA dedicated New York police officer named Madigan hunts down lawbreakers locally and internationally.New York cop investigates crimes in Europe.
- CreatorBruce GellerRichard LevinsonWilliam LinkStarsMike ConnorsGail FisherWard WoodPrivate detective Joe Mannix uses force to solve crimes.Detective gets beat up a lot.
- StarsRay MillandSimon ScottHenry CordenA private investigator, who had been a successful lawyer, solves crimes almost anywhere in the world, although he is based in New York City.Detective used to be a rich lawyer.
- CreatorDean HargroveStarsAndy GriffithLinda PurlKene HolidayBen Matlock is a very expensive criminal defense attorney, who charges one hundred thousand dollars to take a case. Fortunately, he's worth every penny, as he and his associates defend his clients by finding the real killer.Country lawyer solves crimes using folksy wisdom.
- CreatorHerman MillerStarsDennis WeaverJ.D. CannonTerry CarterA New Mexico deputy marshal gets assigned to Manhattan's 27th Precinct.Country cop moves to the city.
- CreatorDean HargroveRoland KibbeeStarsTony CurtisRoscoe Lee BrownePhilip ChapinMcCoy has expensive tastes with an equally costly lifestyle offset with a gambling problem. To make ends meet he becomes a con man relieving others of their ill gotten gains with the aid of Gideon, a nightclub comedian.Good con man cons bad con men.
- CreatorAndy BreckmanStarsTony ShalhoubJason Gray-StanfordTed LevineThe series follows Adrian Monk, a brilliant former San Francisco detective, who now consults the police as a private consultant whilst battling with an obsessive-compulsive disorder.Detective has obsessive-compulsive disorder.
- CreatorHal SitowitzRonald M. CohenMichael BravermanStarsPat MoritaRobert ClohessyRachel TicotinCrime drama about a wise, elderly, Asian-American LAPD cop investigating crimes with his culturally insensitive and thickheaded but overall good-natured younger partner, Lt. George Shaver.Japanese-American detective uses Asian mysticism to solve crimes.
- CreatorHarold BuchmanSidney J. FurieE. Jack NeumanStarsBarry NewmanSusan HowardAlbert SalmiA Harvard-educated lawyer from Boston sets up shop in a small Arizona town.Big city lawyer moves to the country.
- StarsJames McEachinDavid HuddlestonRosanna HuffmanAfrican-American private eye Harry Tenafly was a happily married, middle-class family man who had given up being a cop to work for a better paying position at a big L.A. detective agency. One of the few TV detectives who relied more on brains and solid legwork, Tenafly had no interest in gunfights, fisticuffs, or chasing beautiful women. Nevertheless, trouble seemed to find him anyway.Detective is black.
- CreatorEdward HumeStarsTony MusanteSimon OaklandSusan StrasbergThis series Is based on the real-life story of New Jersey detective David Toma. Toma was a master of disguise and undercover work. Toma himself made a cameo appearance in many episodes.Detective is a master of disguise.
- StarsRichard RoundtreeEddie BarthJudie SteinBased on the films of the same name, John Shaft is a two-fisted black private eye modeled on Mike Hammer and Phillip Marlowe.Detective is black.
- CreatorMark GatissSteven MoffatStarsBenedict CumberbatchMartin FreemanUna StubbsThe quirky spin on Conan Doyle's iconic sleuth pitches him as a "high-functioning sociopath" in modern-day London. Assisting him in his investigations: Afghanistan War vet John Watson, who's introduced to Holmes by a mutual acquaintance.Detective is Sherlock Holmes.
- CreatorRod HolcombDavid E. PeckinpahStarsJack ScaliaJoseph SirolaJudith HoagTony Wolf, a San Francisco cop, is framed on a drug charge by the criminals he has been pursuing. Thrown off the force, he gets a job as a private detective working for the attorney, Dylan Elliott, who led the fight to have him thrown off the force. Dylan came to believe that Tony had been framed and attempts to help him prove his innocence. Tony lives with his father, Sal, on a boat that always needs repairs, and spends most of his free time with Connie, his girlfriend.Wrongfully disgraced cop makes peace with fisherman dad.