
Limited series · ABC
Police Squad!
There are 8 million stories in the Naked City. Here are six.
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How Police Squad! actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
Police Squad! reads strongest on Serialized, Bingeability and Humour.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
The story
What it's about
In this cult parody of cop dramas, replete with farce and sight gags, Lieutenant Frank Drebin and his fellow officers from Police Squad bungle their way though crime investigations.
Where the series peaks
Best Episodes
The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.

S01E01
A Substantial Gift (The Broken Promise)
Sally, a bank teller deeply in debt, robs her own bank and plants evidence that implicates a fairly commonplace man who was present during the crime. Police Squad, a special unit of the police force, is called to investigate a double shooting that happened during the robbery. However, the stories just don't add up. The evidence builds and points in Sally's direction, but it's up to Frank to find the clues that will put her away.
- Directed by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker
- Written by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker

S01E05
Rendezvous at Big Gulch (Terror in the Neighborhood)
The mob sets up an "insurance" scam that threatens several businesses and residents. Frank and Nordberg go to investigate. After a dance instructor is beaten up, they set up their own shop - a key-making and locksmith store - and go undercover. When the mob stops by to offer them "insurance", Frank dismisses their threats and the mob strikes their store. Frank ends up having the key to stopping the crime wave, largely because of the key-making and locksmith shop he and Nordberg set up.
- Directed by Reza Badiyi

S01E02
Ring of Fear (A Dangerous Assignment)
Frank investigates a veteran boxer who lately has been throwing his fights. He takes the boxer under his wing in order to expose the boxer's corrupt manager. Unfortunately, the manger has kidnapped the boxer's girlfriend and put the boxer's title fight in jeopardy. Frank now tries to save the boxer's girlfriend in the hopes that the boxer won't have to throw the match so he can have a shot at rejuvenating his career in the ring.
- Directed by Joe Dante

S01E04
Revenge and Remorse (The Guilty Alibi)
Frank investigates a district judge's courtroom after it is booby-trapped with a powerful explosive. The main suspect is a recently paroled ex-convict with a history of similar bombings. Upon questioning the bomber's ex-wife, Frank and Ed find she's more interested in getting charity than the fact that her ex-husband may be up to his old tricks. Frank and Ed discover the bomber has a showgirl girlfriend on the side. She has the perfect alibi for her boyfriend, but Frank and Ed wonder if she's really just covering for him.
- Directed by Paul Krasny
- Written by Neil Thompson, Nancy Steen

S01E03
The Butler Did It (A Bird in the Hand)
The daughter of a wealthy business man is kidnapped on her 18th birthday and Police Squad swings into action. The main suspect of their investigation is the girl's boyfriend. When Frank and Ed listen to a recording of the kidnapper's demands, they hear the distinct sound of a tuba in the background, though it could also be a ship's horn. They search for a tuba store. When they do track down and find the kidnapper, the criminal fights back.
- Directed by Georg Stanford Brown

S01E06
Testimony of Evil (Dead Men Don't Laugh)
A struggling comedian owes money to the owner of a nightclub. When his body is discovered at the bottom of a cliff in a car crash, all the clues point to suicide. It is later discovered that the comedian was also a police informant on a drug ring he infiltrated at his nightclub. Frank steps in and takes the place of the deceased at the nightclub in order to gather more clues.
- Directed by Joe Dante
- Written by Robert Wuhl, Tino Insana
Recently aired
Latest Episodes

S01E06
Testimony of Evil (Dead Men Don't Laugh)
- Directed by Joe Dante
- Written by Robert Wuhl, Tino Insana

S01E05
Rendezvous at Big Gulch (Terror in the Neighborhood)
- Directed by Reza Badiyi

S01E04
Revenge and Remorse (The Guilty Alibi)
- Directed by Paul Krasny
- Written by Neil Thompson, Nancy Steen

S01E03
The Butler Did It (A Bird in the Hand)
- Directed by Georg Stanford Brown


S01E01
A Substantial Gift (The Broken Promise)
- Directed by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker
- Written by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- Jim AbrahamsProducer
- David ZuckerProducer
- Jerry ZuckerProducer
Writing
- Jim AbrahamsWriter
- Neil ThompsonWriter
- Robert WuhlWriter
- Nancy SteenWriter
- David ZuckerWriter
- Jerry ZuckerWriter
Direction
- Jim AbrahamsDirector
- David ZuckerDirector
- Paul KrasnyDirector
- Joe DanteDirector
- Jerry ZuckerDirector
- Reza BadiyiDirector
Cinematography
- Sherman KunkelDirector of Photography
Music
- Ira NewbornOriginal Music Composer
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
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