Mannix TV Show Overview
Mannix was an American television detective series that ran from 1967 through 1975 on the CBS television network. The Mannix TV series was originally created by Richard Levinson and William Link (who worked on other popular police crime dramas such as Columbo and Murder: She Wrote) and executive producer Bruce Geller, who was known for his work on Mission: Impossible.
The show was the last television series by actress Lucille Ball’s production company, Desilu.
Main Character: Joe Mannix
The show’s title character, Joe Mannix, is an Armenian-American private investigator. Mike Connors, an actor also of Armenian heritage, plays the starring role. In fact, he spoke the Armenian language at several points during the show.
He plays an Army veteran who works for an L.A. investigation firm known as Intertect. The detective firm used computers and the boss kept track of his employees using cameras. Mannix preferred to ignore the computers and solve cases using his own intuition and special methods. At one point, the production company removed the computers from the show, as they felt they were too high-tech for most viewers. Beginning with the second season, Mannix went out on his own.
Also, the show had incredible action sequences and even violence. For example, Mannix himself often took very brutal beatings during the course of his investigative work. He was often knocked out and was even shot during one episode. Conners injured himself several times during the filming of the show.
Primary Actors and Actresses Who Made up the Cast
- Mike Connors as Joe Mannix
- Gail Fisher as Peggy Fair
- Joseph Campanella as Lou Wickersham
- Ward Wood as Lt. Art Malcolm
- Robert Reed at Lt. Adam Tobias
Of course, there were many other actors and actresses who participated in the making of each episode. Also, a number of high-profile celebrities made guest appearances throughout the show’s run.
Awards & Recognition
During its run, the had decent ratings, ranging from #7 to #30 during various seasons. Mannix received four Golden Globe nominations. Also, the main actor, Mike Connors, won one Golden Globe and actress Gail Fisher won two. In addition, the show received four Emmy Awards. Plus, it won a number of other awards, including Edgar Allen Poe, TV Land, and Writer’s Guild.
Seasons and Episodes
Following is a list of the seasons, the number of episodes, and the date on which it first aired on television:
- Season 1 had 24 episodes. It first aired on September 16, 1967
- Season 2 had 25 episodes and first aired on September 28, 1968
- Season 3 had 25 episodes and first aired on September 27, 1969
- Season 4 had 24 episodes and first aired on September 19, 1970
- Season 5 had 24 episodes and first aired on September 15, 1971
- Season 6 had 24 episodes and first aired on September 17, 1972
- Season 7 had 24 episodes and first aired on September 16, 1973
- Season 8 had 24 episodes and first aired on September 22, 1974
Buy Mannix on DVD or Stream Online
There are a total of eight seasons with 194 episodes available on DVD, which are distributed by CBS Home Entertainment. Watch Mannix episodes on Amazon Video.
More Information
For more in-depth information on the Mannix TV series, visit the Wikipedia page. And don’t forget to check out our other Police Crime Dramas on DVD.
I LOVE Mannix it was a show that my mom, that passed away, always watched and I at an early age grew fascinated by the car chases and the fight scenes. I later became interested in the car companies that participated in the filming of Mannix and I believe that this was the ONLY P.I. show that featured ALL major automobile manufacturers where everyone of them were included in the main character.
I absolutely love ‘Mannix’, which is currently being shown in reruns on cable. Mike Connors and Gail Fisher were such a great combination onscreen.
They were a surprisingly good combination, with great on-screen chemistry. I always loved the plot lines of these old shows. They were focused more on figuring out who committed the crime, rather than glamorizing the criminals themselves.