Hunter (TV)

Hunter was a police drama television series starring Fred Dryer which ran on NBC from 1984 to 1991. The titular character, Rick Hunter, was a wily, physically imposing and oftentimes rule-breaking homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. Stepfanie Kramer co-starred as Hunter's female partner Dee Dee McCall. Created by Frank Lupo, the show in its early episodes played as television's answer to Dirty Harry. The show's co-executive producer was noted producer Stephen J. Cannell. Cannell's company produced the series.

Related Topics:
Fred Dryer - NBC - 1984 - 1991 - Los Angeles Police Department - Stepfanie Kramer - Frank Lupo - Dirty Harry - Stephen J. Cannell

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Initially placed in a Friday-night slot against the then-popular Dallas, the show struggled to find an audience and drew criticism for its often graphic depiction of violence. In the first season, the producers sought to create a hook by giving the main character a catchphrase, "Works for me", which was sometimes used two or three times an episode and was even tacked on to the end of Mike Post and Pete Carpenter's opening theme music. Several early episodes featured montages set to popular songs from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

Related Topics:
Dallas - Mike Post - Pete Carpenter

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Mid-way through the first season, with ratings showing no sign of improvement, Cannell gave network chief Brandon Tartikoff a private screening of a two-part episode ("The Snow Queen") that had yet to air and asked him to give the show time to find its feet. Tartikoff liked what he saw and put the show on hiatus until a better time slot could be found. Two months later, Hunter returned to the screens on Saturday nights and viewership slowly started to rise. The first season ended in joint 79th place in the Nielsen Ratings. Hunter would go on to become a mainstay of NBC's Saturday night schedule.

Related Topics:
Brandon Tartikoff - Nielsen Ratings

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For its second season, Cannell brought in his mentor, Roy Huggins, best known for his work on Maverick and The Rockford Files, to refine the show. As the new executive producer, Huggins toned down the violence, softened the main character's fractious relationship with his superiors, dropped a backstory concerning Hunter's family ties to the mob, and played up the chemistry between Rick Hunter and Dee Dee McCall. Huggins also moved the show's setting out of the back streets and into the more desirable areas of Los Angeles. Viewers responded to the changes, and the show's second season ended in 38th place in the Nielsen Ratings.

Related Topics:
Roy Huggins - Maverick - The Rockford Files - Los Angeles

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Just before work on the third season began, Dryer threatened to walk out unless his salary, reportedly US$21,000 per episode, was raised and creative changes were made. Cannell hit back with a US$20m breach-of-contract suit. A compromise was reached, with Dryer reportedly landing a new deal worth US$50,000 per episode. The third season, again helmed by Huggins, saw the arrival of Charles Hallahan as Captain Charlie Devane.

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Huggins retired at the end of the fourth season, which placed 18th in the Nielsen Ratings.

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For the fifth season, George Geiger took on the role of executive producer, having worked in the same capacity on Scarecrow and Mrs. King and as co-executive producer on Miami Vice. While in the first four seasons Hunter and McCall typically worked on cases together, allowing the producers to showcase the chemistry between the actors, the fifth season increasingly had them working separately, ostensibly to lessen the workload of Dryer and Kramer and to allow richer, more complex stories.

Related Topics:
George Geiger - Scarecrow and Mrs. King - Miami Vice

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By the sixth season, Dryer's growing influence had won him the role of executive producer. The sixth season featured one episode ("Unfinished Business") in which it was revealed that Hunter and McCall had once slept together. At the end of the sixth season, which placed in the top 25 of the Nielsen Ratings, Kramer left to pursue a career in music. In the season's final episode, McCall was shown marrying an old flame.

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For the seventh and final season, the producers moved the lead character from homicide to metro division, and NBC shifted the show to 10pm, Wednesdays. A new female co-star, Darlanne Fluegel, was brought in, only to leave halfway through the season. Her replacement was Lauren Lane.

Related Topics:
Darlanne Fluegel - Lauren Lane

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A revival TV movie, "The Return of Hunter: Everybody Walks in L.A.", saw Dryer and Hallahan reprise their roles. Airing on NBC in 1995, the movie took the O.J. Simpson case as its inspiration.

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In April 2002, 11 years after the original series ended, the TV movie "Hunter: Return to Justice" made its premiere to strong ratings. Kramer returned to her role of McCall, but the show's setting switched from Los Angeles to San Diego. After a second TV movie, "Hunter: Back in Force", Cannell, Dryer and NBC attempted to bring back Hunter as a regular series in 2003. It was cancelled after three episodes aired, with another two filmed but never shown in the US.

Related Topics:
2002 - San Diego - 2003

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