Best Detective Series of the 70s
by leavey-2 | created - 5 months ago | updated - 5 months ago | PublicForensic science has changed the job of police detectives dramatically over the last 50 years. DNA phenotyping, high-tech crime scene analysis, CODIS (FBI's database of prior felons, missing persons and arrestees) and computerized forensic profiling were not available or not as advanced as today.
Fifty years ago, solving crimes was mostly based on old-fashioned police scrutiny. Which is your favorite detective series from the 1970s?
Discuss the list here
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1. Columbo (1971–2003)
PG | 100 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Los Angeles homicide detective Lieutenant Columbo uses his humble ways and ingenuous demeanor to winkle out even the most well-concealed of crimes.
Stars: Peter Falk, Mike Lally, John Finnegan, Bruce Kirby
Votes: 25,997
2. Kojak (1973–1978)
PG | 60 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A bald, lollipop sucking police detective with a fiery righteous attitude battles crime in his city.
Stars: Telly Savalas, Dan Frazer, Kevin Dobson, George Savalas
Votes: 6,308
3. Starsky and Hutch (1975–1979)
60 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Two streetwise cops bust criminals in their red-and-white Ford Gran Torino, with the help of police snitch, Huggy Bear (Antonio Fargas).
Stars: David Soul, Paul Michael Glaser, Antonio Fargas, Bernie Hamilton
Votes: 7,350
4. The Streets of San Francisco (1972–1977)
PG | 60 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A veteran cop with more than twenty years of experience is teamed with a young Inspector to solve crimes in San Francisco, California.
Stars: Karl Malden, Michael Douglas, Reuben Collins, Richard Hatch
Votes: 4,882
5. McCloud (1970–1977)
PG | 120 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Sam McCloud is a Marshal from Taos, New Mexico, who takes a temporary assignment in the New York City Police Department. His keen sense of detail and detecting subtle clues, learned from his experience, enable him to nab unsuspecting criminals despite his unbelieving boss.
Stars: Dennis Weaver, J.D. Cannon, Terry Carter, Ken Lynch
Votes: 2,572
6. The Rockford Files (1974–1980)
PG | 50 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The cases of an easy going ex-convict turned private investigator.
Stars: James Garner, Noah Beery Jr., Joe Santos, Luis Delgado
Votes: 6,587
7. Tatort (1970– )
90 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A German language television series that has been running continuously since 1970, which makes it the longest-running German TV drama. Every episode features different detectives of a different city trying to solve a murder case.
Stars: Klaus J. Behrendt, Miroslav Nemec, Udo Wachtveitl, Dietmar Bär
Votes: 2,325
8. Cannon (1971–1976)
PG | 60 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Frank Cannon is an overweight, balding ex-cop with a deep voice and expensive tastes in culinary pleasures; he becomes a high-priced private investigator.
Stars: William Conrad, Patrick Culliton, Tom Pittman, Charles Bateman
Votes: 2,493
9. Baretta (1975–1978)
PG | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The cases of maverick undercover New York City detective Tony Baretta (Robert Blake).
Stars: Robert Blake, Tom Ewell, Michael D. Roberts, Edward Grover
Votes: 1,997
10. Ellery Queen (1975–1976)
PG | 100 min | Crime, Drama, Family
The son of a police detective solves baffling crimes.
Stars: Jim Hutton, David Wayne, Tom Reese, John Hillerman
Votes: 1,095
11. Derrick (1974–1998)
60 min | Crime, Drama
Detective Chief Inspector Stephan Derrick and his loyal assistant Inspector Harry Klein solve murder cases in Munich and surroundings.
Stars: Horst Tappert, Fritz Wepper, Willy Schäfer, Holger Petzold
Votes: 1,380
12. McMillan & Wife (1971–1977)
PG | 120 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
San Francisco Police Commissioner Stewart "Mac" McMillan and his amateur detective wife keep their marriage unpredictable while solving the city's most baffling crimes.
Stars: Rock Hudson, John Schuck, Susan Saint James, Nancy Walker
Votes: 1,947
13. Police Woman (1974–1978)
120 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Follows Sergeant "Pepper" Anderson, LAPD's top undercover cop. A member of the Criminal Conspiracy Unit, Pepper works the wild side of the street, where she poses as everything from a gangster's moll to a streetwalker to a prison inmate.
Stars: Angie Dickinson, Earl Holliman, Charles Dierkop, Ed Bernard
Votes: 1,542
14. The Professionals (1977–1983)
50 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Bodie and Doyle, top agents for Britain's CI5 (Criminal Intelligence 5), and their controller, George Cowley fight terrorism and similar high-profile crimes. Cowley, a hard ex-MI5 operative... See full summary »
Stars: Gordon Jackson, Martin Shaw, Lewis Collins, Bridget Brice
Votes: 2,498
15. The Sweeney (1974–1978)
60 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Jack Regan and George Carter are hard-edged detectives in the Flying Squad of London's Metropolitan Police. They pursue villains by methods which are underhanded and often illegal, frequently violent and - more often than not - successful.
Stars: John Thaw, Dennis Waterman, Garfield Morgan, John Alkin
Votes: 1,709
16. Der Alte (1977– )
60 min | Crime, Drama
A police department, lead by an older, experienced detective solve crimes together.
Stars: Michael Ande, Markus Böttcher, Ulf Söhmisch, Rolf Schimpf
Votes: 572
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