1970s American detective show database

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Below is a complete list of American detective/mystery/crime shows from the 1970s. This includes shows that started in the 1960s and continued into the 70s, as well as shows that started in the 1970s and continued into the 80s.

Source acknowledgement: The list below was compiled largely by referring to David Martindale’s excellent reference book Television Detective Shows of the 1970s.

The list also includes information on where you can watch/stream the show online or whether you can purchase it on DVD. The final column also includes any additional notes and comments about the show, or links to any blog posts I have made about it.

A

Show Title	Air Dates	Available to stream?	Available on DVD?	Other notes
Adam-12	1968-1975	[stream here]	All seasons, from Season 1 through the Final Season are available individually on DVD.
Adams of Eagle Lake	1975
The American Girls	1978
Amy Prentiss	1974-1975			Spin-off of Ironside. Read my thoughts about it here.
The Andros Targets	1977
Archer	1975

B

Show Title	Air Dates	Available to stream?	Available on DVD?	Other notes
Banacek	1972-1974	[stream here]	[complete DVD set]	[read my thoughts about it here]
Banyon	1972-1973
Baretta	1975-1978		[Season 1 DVD]
Barnaby Jones	1973-1980		[complete DVD collection]	[read my thoughts about it here]
Bert D’Angelo/Superstar	1976
Big Shamus, Little Shamus	1979
B. J. and the Bear	1979-1981			(comedy)
The Blue Knight	1975			Inspired by the 1973 TV film of the same name.
The Bold Ones: The Protectors, a.k.a. Deadlock and The Law Enforcers	1969-1970		[complete DVD set]
The Bold Ones: The Lawyers	1968-1972		[complete DVD set]
Bronk	1975-1976		[complete DVD set]

C

Show Title	Air Dates	Available to stream?	Available on DVD?	Other notes
Cade’s County	1971-1972
Cannon	1971-1976		[complete DVD set]	[read my thoughts about it here]
Caribe	1975
Charlie’s Angels	1976-1981	[stream here]	[complete DVD set]
Chase	1973-1974
CHiPs	1977-1983	[stream here]	[complete DVD collection]	[read my thoughts about it here]
Chopper One	1974
City of Angels	1976
Columbo	1968, 1971-1978, 1989-1995, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2003	[stream here]	[Complete DVD Set]	[view my posts about it here]
Cool Million	1972

D

Show Title	Air Dates	Available to stream?	Available on DVD?	Other notes
The D. A.	1971-1972
Dan August	1970-1971		[complete DVD collection]
David Cassidy–Man Undercover	1978-1979
Dear Detective	1979			[Read my thoughts about it here.]
Delvecchio	1976-1977	Watch via my YouTube playlist
Detective School (a.k.a. Detective School — One Flight Up)	1979			sit-com
Dog and Cat	1977
Dragnet 1967	1967-1970	[stream here]	[Season 1 DVD] [Season 2 DVD] [Season 3 DVD] [Season 4 DVD]
The Duke	1979

E-F

Show Title	Air Dates	Available to stream?	Available on DVD?	Other notes
The Eddie Capra Mysteries	1978-1979
The Edge of Night	1956-1984			(a mystery soap opera, originally meant to be an adaptation of the Perry Mason radio series)
Eishied	1979-1980
Ellery Queen	1975-1976	[stream here]	[Complete DVD set]	[Read my thoughts on it here.]
Faraday and Company	1973-1974
The F.B.I.	1965-1974		Most seasons are available on DVD starting with Season 1 Part 1
The Feather and Father Gang	1976-1977

G-H

Show Title	Air Dates	Available to stream?	Available on DVD?	Other notes
Get Christie Love!	1974-1975	[stream here]	Only the pilot TV movie has been released.	[Read my thoughts about it here.]
Get Smart	1965-1970	[stream here]	[Complete DVD set]
Griff	1973-1974
The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries	1977-1979	[stream here]	[Complete DVD collection]	[Read my thoughts about it here.]
Harry O	1974-1976		[Complete DVD collection]
Hart to Hart	1979-1984, 1993+	[stream here]	[Complete DVD set]
Hawaii Five-O	1968-1980	[stream here]	[Complete DVD set]
Hawkins	1973-1974
Hec Ramsey	1972-1974

I-J

Show Title	Air Dates	Available to stream?	Available on DVD?	Other notes
Ironside	1967-1975		[Seasons 1-4 DVD set]
Jigsaw	1972-1973
Jigsaw John	1976
Joe Forrester	1975-1976

K

Show Title	Air Dates	Available to stream?	Available on DVD?	Other notes
Kate McShane	1975	[Watch the pilot episode on YouTube]		[Read my thoughts about it here.]
Kaz	1978-1979
Khan!	1975
Kingston: Confidential	1977
Kodiak	1974
Kojak	1973-1978	[stream here]	All seasons are available individually on DVD, starting with [Season 1] through [Season 5]. There is also a DVD complete movie collection.	[Read my thoughts about it here.]
Kolchak: The Night Stalker	1974-1975	[stream here]	The complete series is available on BluRay and DVD.

L

Show Title	Air Dates	Available to stream?	Available on DVD?	Other notes
Lanigan’s Rabbi	1977
The Law	1975
The Lawyers, a.k.a. The Bold Ones: The Lawyers	1969-1972
Longstreet	1971-1972		[Complete DVD collection]

M-N

Show Title	Air Dates	Available to stream?	Available on DVD?	Other notes
Madigan	1972-1973			Based on the 1968 film of the same name.
The Magician	1973-1974		[complete DVD collection]
The Manhunter	1974-1975
Mannix	1967-1975		[complete DVD set]
Matt Helm	1975-1976
McCloud	1970-1977	[stream here]	[Seasons 1 and 2 available on DVD]
McCoy	1975-1976
McMillan and Wife, a.k.a. McMillan	1971-1977	[stream here]	[complete DVD collection]	[Read my thoughts about it here.]
McNaughton’s Daughter	1976
The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo	1979-1981
Mission: Impossible	1966-1973, 1988-1990	[stream here] OR [stream here]	[Original series DVD set] [Original series Blu-ray set] [80s revival DVD set]
Mobile One	1975-1976
The Mod Squad	1968-1973		[Complete DVD set]
The Most Deadly Game	1970-1971
Most Wanted	1976-1977
Mrs. Columbo (renamed to Kate Columbo, then Kate the Detective, then Kate Loves a Mystery)	1979-1980	[Watch all episodes on YouTube]		[Read my thoughts about it here.]

N-O

Show Title	Air Dates	Available to stream?	Available on DVD?	Other notes
Nakia	1974
The Name of the Game	1968-1971
Nashville 99	1977
The New Adventures of Perry Mason (or simply The New Perry Mason)	1973-1974
O’Hara, U.S. Treasury	1971-1972
Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law	1971-1974

P

Show Title	Air Dates	Available to stream?	Available on DVD?	Other notes
Paris	1979-1980
Petrocelli	1974-1976		[Complete DVD set.]	[Read my thoughts about it here.]
Police Story	1973-1978, 1979, 1980, 1987		[Season 1 DVD; Season 2 DVD; Season 3 DVD]
Police Woman	1974-1978		[Complete DVD collection]	[Read my thoughts about it here.]
The Protectors	1972-1974	[stream here]	[Complete DVD set]

Q-R

Show Title	Air Dates	Available to stream?	Available on DVD?	Other notes
Quincy, M.E.	1976-1983		Individual seasons are available starting with Season 1 and ending with The Final Season	[Read my thoughts about it here.]
Richie Brockelman, Private Eye	1978
The Rockford Files	1974-1980	[stream here]	[Complete DVD set]	[Read my thoughts about it here.]
The Rookies	1972-1976
Rosetti and Ryan	1977

S

Show Title	Air Dates	Available to stream?	Available on DVD?	Other notes
Sam	1977-1978
Sarge	1971-1972
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!	1969-1970, 1978	[stream here]	[complete BluRay set]
Serpico	1976-1977			Based on the 1973 film of the same name.
Shaft	1971, 1972, 1973, 1973-1974		[TV movie collection]
The Silent Force	1970-1971
The Snoop Sisters	1973-1974		[Complete DVD set]	[Read my thoughts about it here.]
Starsky and Hutch	1975-1979	[stream here]	[Complete DVD set]
Storefront Lawyers, a.k.a. Men at Law	1970-1971
The Streets of San Francisco	1972-1977		[Complete DVD set]	[Read my thoughts about it here.]
S.W.A.T.	1975-1976	[stream here]
Switch	1975-1978			[Read my thoughts on it here.]
Sword of Justice	1978-1979

T-Z

Show Title	Air Dates	Available to stream?	Available on DVD?	Other notes
Tenafly	1973-1974
Toma	1973-1974
Vega$	1978-1981		[Complete DVD set]
The Young Lawyers	1969-1971		[DVD set]

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If you know of a show that is missing from the list above, or if you have any other additions or corrections, please let me know in the comments!