# Dragnet (1951)

> A stoic Los Angeles police detective and his partners work through a steady stream of cases in clipped, just-the-facts 1950s police procedural.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/3536

## Facts

- Seasons: 8
- Episodes: 276
- Episode runtime: 30 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, drama
- Created by: Jack Webb
- Network: NBC
- Cast: Jack Webb, Ben Alexander, Barney Phillips, Mort Marshall, Joey Forman, Florence Marly, Pierre Watkin, Jeanette Nolan
- TMDB rating: 7.5/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043194/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: mild
- Tone: clipped, understated, matter-of-fact, tense

## What critics say

Widely regarded as a landmark, influential police procedural whose terse, documentary-style approach set a template for later crime drama, though its clipped style now reads as dated.

## Synopsis

Dragnet (1951-1959) is a United States national-television police procedural series created by Jack Webb for NBC. Sergeant Joe Friday (Jack Webb) is a dedicated Los Angeles police detective whose steady work is the engine of the show, and his partner Frank Smith (Ben Alexander) works each case alongside him through routine interviews, records checks and street-level legwork. Each episode is built around a single investigation, so the series moves through a long run of self-contained cases rather than one continuing storyline. Across eight seasons and 276 episodes, the show unfolds in a sober, understated register in which dialogue is terse and emotion is held in check. Its atmosphere is that of early postwar Los Angeles, with black and white street scenes, squad rooms and modest offices. The series is set in 1950s Los Angeles and carries a documentary-like tone that reflects the era's police culture. Fans of Adam-12 and The Naked City will find resonance in its matter-of-fact crime storytelling and its devotion to procedural detail.

## Shows like Dragnet

- [Mannix (1967)](https://ember.film/tv/2672)
- [Quincy, M.E. (1976)](https://ember.film/tv/2067)
- [The Streets of San Francisco (1972)](https://ember.film/tv/2342)
- [The Blue Knight (1973)](https://ember.film/tv/1105139)
- [Southland (2009)](https://ember.film/tv/16329)
- [Barney Miller (1975)](https://ember.film/tv/3095)
- [Cagney & Lacey (1982)](https://ember.film/tv/4013)
- [Ironside (1967)](https://ember.film/tv/4361)
- [Derrick (1974)](https://ember.film/tv/4362)
- [Hunter (1984)](https://ember.film/tv/4350)

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