Best Classic American TV Private Detective Shows

By Raymond Lockley

The private detective--the private investigator or PI or private eye, the private dick, the gumshoe. He's pretty suave, though looking seedily underpaid. He's definitely wise-cracking and hip. He's an all-American loner archetype, like the cowboy of a gone-by day. And he gets a lot of gigs on American television.

In the 1980s, it seemed like there were private eyes on every night. If American television is now more Establishment, with cops as the good guys, the lone shark PI is still in the run-down walk-up, waiting for hire. And in the classic era of TV (i.e. my younger days), there was a host of iconic characters that bridged the gap between the newer TV icons and the old cinematic private dicks, for every Thomas Magnum, a Peter Gunn or a Jim Rockford to help you make the transition from the PI portrayals of movie greats like Humphrey Bogart (as well as the many radio drama, some of which did move to TV).

Here's my list of the best classic American private detective TV shows:

  1. 77 Sunset Strip, 1958-64
  2. Boston Blackie, 1951-53
  3. Peter Gunn, 1958-61
  4. Hawaiian Eye, 1959-63
  5. Surfside 6, 1960-62
  6. Mannix, 1967-75
  7. The Rockford Files, 1974-80
  8. Man Against Crime, 1949-54
  9. Martin Kane, Private Eye, 1949-54
  10. Richard Diamond, Private Detective, 1957-60

Honorable Mention

Here's a few shows that perhaps belong in the pantheon of the area, but, well... you just can't call their stars "suave" or "hip":

To index of lists