The Mod Squad

The Mod Squad was the enormously successful groundbreaking "hippie" undercover cop show that ran on ABC from September 24, 1968, until August 23, 1973. It starred Michael Cole as Pete Cochren, Peggy Lipton as Julie Barnes, Clarence Williams III as Linc Hayes, and Tige Andrews as Captain Adam Greer. The executive producers of the series were Aaron Spelling and Danny Thomas. The iconic counter-culture police series earned six Emmy nominations, four Golden Globe nominations plus one win for Peggy Lipton, one Directors Guild of America award, and four Logies. In 1997 the episode "Mother of Sorrow" was ranked #95 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.

The Mod Squad (1968-1973) is an American network crime drama created by Buddy Ruskin for ABC and produced by Thomas/Spelling Productions. Michael Cole stars as Pete Cochren, Peggy Lipton as Julie Barnes, and Clarence Williams III as Linc Hayes, three young people recruited by Captain Adam Greer (Tige Andrews) to work undercover for the Los Angeles police. Their engine is simple and vivid: each case sends the trio into the counterculture scenes of late sixties and early seventies America, where they must earn the trust of drifters, activists and small-time criminals while staying one step ahead of the people they are investigating. Across five seasons and 124 hour-long episodes, the series works as a case-of-the-week procedural, with each episode built around a new undercover assignment and a new set of street characters. The show is set in 1960s and early 1970s Los Angeles, and its look and music carry the era's generational restlessness. Its tone mixes earnest social concern, breezy hippie style and tense undercover moments, and viewers who enjoy Starsky & Hutch, The Rockford Files and Dragnet will find a familiar pleasure in its partnership-driven crime stories.

• Starsky & Hutchundercover police procedural with a counterculture youth angle and ensemble trio
• The Rockford Filescrime series built on undercover operatives working outside conventional police channels
• Dragnetlate sixties youth-rebellion tone paired with police action

Created by

Buddy Ruskin

Release Date

1968-09-24

Episode runtime

60 min

Rating

6.9 / 10 (29)

What is The Mod Squad about?

Three young undercover operatives, a former offender, a runaway and a rebel, take cases for a police captain while blending into the late sixties counterculture.

What is The Mod Squad like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Mod Squad as brisk, its intensity as mild and its storytelling as simple.

Is The Mod Squad violent?

Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Mod Squad as mild.

Which shows are like The Mod Squad?

Shows with a similar feel include Starsky & Hutch, The Rockford Files, and Dragnet.

How long is The Mod Squad?

The Mod Squad: 5 seasons, 124 episodes.

Is The Mod Squad still running?

No, The Mod Squad has ended.