Moonlighting (1985–1989)

The quirky cases of an ex model and a wiseguy detective who co-run a private detective agency.

Creator:

Glenn Gordon Caron

Stars:

Cybill Shepherd, Bruce Willis, Allyce Beasley

Won 3 Golden Globes. Another 15 wins & 56 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Cybill Shepherd	...	Madelyn 'Maddie' Hayes (66 episodes, 1985-1989)
Bruce Willis	...	David Addison Jr. (66 episodes, 1985-1989)
Allyce Beasley	...	Agnes DiPesto (66 episodes, 1985-1989)
Curtis Armstrong	...	Herbert Quentin Viola (35 episodes, 1986-1989)

Storyline

The top model Maddie Hayes was betrayed by her investment adviser who flew with all her money to South-America and began the hard life of a Casino owner. All the unfaithful manager has left Maddie is her house, her unbelievable beauty and intelligence and the run-down detective-agency "City Angels" (renamed by Maddie into "Blue Moon"). Because of her lack of money, she wants to sell the agency, but the houses only detective David Addison tries to convince her to join the agency as the new boss. So Maddie Hayes becomes involved in the work of a real private detective, which means so hard work as to spy upon unfaithful husbands, find missing people or murderers, foil attempts on VIP's lives, stop killers, help lovers and by the way save the world's peace and existence. While doing this Maddie and David try to get used to each other and this way they recognize their complete difference in life-style, humour, amusement and of course in the way how to run a detective agency. Maybe this is ...

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Plot Keywords:

private detective | ex model | murder | cigarette smoking | famous opening theme | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Mystery | Romance

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 March 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Par i brott

Filming Locations:

ABC Entertainment Center - 2040 Avenue of the Stars, Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$150,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

ABC Circle Films, Picturemaker Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min (66 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bruce Willis made the film Die Hard while starring in "Moonlighting." By the time the series ended, "Die Hard" was available on VHS. In one of the last "Moonlighting" episodes, Willis and a love interest are seen walking past a video rental store while an employee is tearing a "Die Hard" poster down from the window.

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Quotes

Maddie Hayes: Well, let me remind you Mr. Addison, that one case does not a detective make.
David Addison: Well, let me remind you Ms. Hayes, that I HATE IT WHEN YOU TALK BACKWARDS.

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Crazy Credits

Between the closing credits of episode 3.9, "The Straight Poop", about 5 minutes of bloopers from previous episodes are shown.

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Connections

Referenced in 30 Rock: Hey, Baby, What's Wrong?: Part 1 (2012)

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Soundtracks

"Moonlighting"
Music by Lee Holdridge
Lyrics by Al Jarreau
Sung by Al Jarreau

User Reviews

I love this show, but they ruined one of the best episodes on the DVD

Finally after years of waiting, the series that marked the career best of both Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd was finally released on DVD. They did a great job on the menus and so forth, but they absolutely destroyed one of my favorite episodes titled, "The Lady in the Iron Mask." They changed all the music which was originally very dark and moody and replaced it with this shrill garbage which even drowns out the dialogue in some places. At the end of the episode the hotel chase sequence was originally accompanied by the William Tell Overture which was the perfect choice for a hilarious climax. On the DVD however, they play the same crap that they played throughout the entire episode. Shame on you for whoever is responsible. It's better than not having the DVD out at all, but it just makes me mad.