Remington Steele
Remington Steele is an American television series co-created by Robert Butler and Michael Gleason. The series, starring Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan, was produced by MTM Enterprises and first broadcast on the NBC network from October 1, 1982, to February 17, 1987. The series blended the genres of romantic comedy, drama, detective procedural and (towards the end of the series) international political intrigue and espionage.
Remington Steele
- Robert Butler
- Michael Gleason
Stephanie Zimbalist in character as Laura Holt (Season 1 titles only)
Henry Mancini; incidental music by Richard Lewis Warren
"The Remington Steele Theme", composed by Henry Mancini
"Laura Holt's Tune", composed by Henry Mancini
United States
English
5
94 (list of episodes)
Michael Gleason
- Kevin Inch
- Gareth Davies
- Richard DeRoy
60 minutes (including commercials)
October 1, 1982 –
February 17, 1987
Remington Steele's premise is that Laura Holt, a licensed private investigator (Stephanie Zimbalist) opened a detective agency under her own name but found potential clients refused to hire a woman, no matter how qualified. To solve the problem, Laura invents a fictitious male superior she names Remington Steele. Through a series of events in the first episode, "License to Steele", Pierce Brosnan's character, a former thief and con man (whose real name even he proves not to know and is never revealed), assumes the identity of Remington Steele. Behind the scenes, a power struggle ensues between Laura and Steele as to who is really in charge, while the two carry on a casual romantic relationship.
Series history[edit]
Development[edit]
Remington Steele’s initial premise was conceived in 1969 by long-time television director Robert Butler[14] as a series featuring a solo female private investigator. Butler pitched the idea to Grant Tinker before he was head of MTM, but Tinker felt the series was ahead of its time. In January 1980, following the success of several sitcoms featuring working women, including the groundbreaking Mary Tyler Moore Show, Butler and Tinker, now head of MTM, revived the concept.[15]: 23, 43 MTM Vice President of Programming Stu Erwin felt Butler's concept was only "half a show" and suggested that Butler work with veteran writer Michael Gleason to expand the premise. Imagining Holt's fictional boss, Gleason proposed to Butler: "Wouldn’t it be great if he showed up and made her crazy?"[16] In 1981, Gleason, Butler, Erwin and Tinker pitched the series to NBC and were initially rejected by executives who failed to "get" the premise. Shortly thereafter, Tinker left MTM to become chairman of NBC, then the number-three network, and subsequently a pilot was ordered.[17]
Stephanie Zimbalist, an established actress with roles in several television movies, was approached for the role of Laura Holt. At first she turned the series down, not wishing to be tied down to one show, but had a late-night change of heart.[18] Pierce Brosnan (best known then for his role in The Manions of America) auditioned for the role of Remington Steele but was initially refused by NBC executives who were concerned that Brosnan was a relative unknown in America. MTM's Stu Erwin stood firm in a face-to-face meeting with NBC executive Brandon Tartikoff, and Tartikoff relented.[15]: 28
Originally, NBC asked for a pilot that imagined the series six months into its run, with the characters already working together in the detective agency. This pilot was produced in February and March 1982 and was eventually aired with revisions as "Tempered Steele". NBC had some concerns about audience confusion over this episode, but ultimately agreed to schedule the series for the 1982–83 season.[15]: 29–30 NBC also asked for a premise pilot which told the story of how Laura Holt met the man who became Remington Steele. This second pilot, "License to Steele", became the first episode aired in the series.[19]
Syndication[edit]
After a nearly two-decade absence from local syndication, the series returned to broadcast television and was seen from September 3 to December 31, 2012, on MeTV and resumed in September 2013. It also aired on Family Net. Reruns have previously aired on A&E from 1995 to 1997 and on PAX (now Ion Television) from 2000 to 2001. It also aired in India on Star Plus in early 1990s to March 31, 1993.
MeTV ran the series starting 29 May 2017 in place of Diagnosis: Murder, beginning with the season 2 premiere, "Steele Away with Me". Decades Television ran the series as part of its weekend long Decades Binge Marathon the weekend of July 9 and 10 2022
In the United Kingdom, Freeview Channel 5USA, started showing the series from the first episode on October 30, 2017. In Germany, the series started on July 29, 1985, with the first episode in the first program and ended with the last episode on November 29, 1992, on ARD-TV.
MeTV+ began airing the series on 25 September 2023.