Police Squad!

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.

Police Squad! (1982) is a United States parody series created by Jerry Zucker, David Zucker, and Jim Abrahams for ABC. Leslie Nielsen plays Lieutenant Frank Drebin, a dim and earnest detective whose sincere devotion to his job is undone by his own incompetence. Alongside him, Alan North as Captain Ed Hocken and Ed Williams as Ted Olson keep the department grinding forward, while William Duell's Johnny the Snitch supplies street-level trouble. Each of the six half-hour episodes is built like a crime investigation of the era, with a case to crack, suspects to question, and an eccentric narrator who solemnly frames the proceedings. The engine of the show is the gap between procedural seriousness and the chaos the detectives create: every clue leads somewhere absurd, and every stakeout ends in a visual gag. The tone is deadpan, breezy, and gleefully silly, with farce and sight gags filling nearly every scene. A single season of six episodes, the series was cut short, leaving it a cult favorite. Fans of Naked Gun, Hot Shots!, and Monty Python's Flying Circus will find resonance in its anarchic spoofing and fearless commitment to the joke.

Cult parody praised for its relentless sight gags and deadpan absurdity, with a devoted following built after its short ABC run.

• Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insultshared slapstick sight gag parody of cop drama tropes, deadpan absurdist comedy
• Hot Shots!shared cop drama parody with deadpan absurd detective, sight gags
• Monty Python's Flying Circusshared absurdist farce from the same comedy sensibility, short-lived cult sketch parody

Created by

Jerry Zucker, David Zucker, Jim Abrahams

Release Date

1982-03-04

Episode runtime

25 min

Rating

8.3 / 10 (460)

What is Police Squad! about?

A deadpan parody of 1980s cop dramas in which the bumbling Lieutenant Frank Drebin and the Police Squad bungle every case with farce and sight gags.

What is Police Squad! like to watch?

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

Is Police Squad! violent?

Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Police Squad! as mild.

What did critics think of Police Squad!?

Cult parody praised for its relentless sight gags and deadpan absurdity, with a devoted following built after its short ABC run.

Which shows are like Police Squad!?

Shows with a similar feel include Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult, Hot Shots!, and Monty Python's Flying Circus.

How long is Police Squad!?

Police Squad!: 1 season, 6 episodes.

Is Police Squad! still running?

No, Police Squad! was canceled.

Where can I watch Police Squad!?

In United States, Police Squad! streams on Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads.