Mrs. Columbo

This article is about the 1979–1980 television series and its titular character. For Mrs. Columbo, mistakingly thought to be the wife of Lieutenant Columbo Columbo, see Columbo (character) § Family. For the 1990 episode of Columbo: "Rest in Peace, Mrs. Columbo", see Columbo (season 9) § ep53.

Mrs. Columbo
Title card for earliest episodes
Also known as	Kate Columbo Kate the Detective Kate Loves a Mystery
Genre	Crime drama
Created by	Richard Alan Simmons
Starring	Kate Mulgrew Lili Haydn Henry Jones Don Stroud
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	13
Production
Producers	Fred Silverman Richard Alan Simmons
Running time	60 minutes
Production companies	Universal Television Gambit Productions
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	February 26, 1979 (1979-02-26) – March 19, 1980 (1980-03-19)
Related
Columbo (1968–2003)

Mrs. Columbo (later called Kate Columbo, Kate the Detective, and Kate Loves a Mystery) is an American crime drama television series, initially based on the wife of Lieutenant Columbo, the title character from the television series Columbo. It was created and produced by Richard Alan Simmons and Universal Television for NBC, and stars Kate Mulgrew as a news reporter helping to solve crimes while raising her daughter.

The series debuted in February 1979 as a spin-off to the mystery crime drama series Columbo, focusing on Lieutenant Columbo's wife, who is never given a first name in the original Columbo series but was named Kate in this series. After poor ratings and reception from both audiences and the original producers of Columbo, both the series and the eponymous character herself were renamed in an attempt to change direction, but this did not help ratings and the series ended with a run of just 13 episodes. Neither Peter Falk nor the character of Lieutenant Columbo ever appeared on the show.

Series overview

Kate Columbo (later renamed Kate Callahan after an off-screen divorce) is the wife of Lieutenant Columbo, the title character from the television series Columbo. Kate is a news reporter who solves crimes while raising her daughter.

Cast

• Kate Mulgrew as Kate Columbo / Kate Callahan
• Lili Haydn as Jenny Columbo / Jenny Callahan (Kate's daughter)
• Henry Jones as Josh Alden
• Don Stroud as Sergeant Mike Varrick

Production

Development

Shortly after the Columbo series ended its original run on NBC in 1978, despite objections from Columbo creator-producers Richard Levinson and William Link, NBC executive Fred Silverman went forward in producing Mrs. Columbo as a spin-off to the original series. Levinson and Link further objected to Silverman's insistence on casting someone young to play the part; Kate Mulgrew was only 24 years old when the show made its debut. The information NBC released about the show was unambiguous that Mrs. Columbo in the new series was the previously unseen wife frequently mentioned on Columbo.

Retooling

The show received poor ratings, and as part of efforts to revamp it, the linkage between this Kate Columbo and the Mrs. Columbo of the original television series was reduced. The name of the character was changed to Kate Callahan after an off-screen divorce, and the series was renamed Kate the Detective at the beginning of the second season, followed by Kate Loves a Mystery. There was evidently some confusion over what the new title would be, since the first episode of season 2, "Ladies of the Afternoon", was listed in guides as an episode of Kate the Detective while ads called the show Kate Loves a Mystery. The revamped series also introduced the character Sergeant Mike Varrick of the Valley Municipal Police Department, played by Don Stroud.

In this final incarnation, the producers completed their retreat from the show's original premise, and Kate Callahan was then regarded as being a completely different character from Mrs. Columbo of Columbo, Kate's ex-husband now named Philip. Lt. Columbo was previously shown to have the first name Frank in the 1971 Columbo episode "Dead Weight". None of the changes aided the show's ratings, however, and it was cancelled in December 1979. One last new episode, the thirteenth, aired in March 1980.

Episodes

Season 1: 1979

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	1	"Word Games"	Boris Sagal	Richard Alan Simmons	February 26, 1979 (1979-02-26)
Kate stumbles into a crime-fighting career of her own when she overhears an attorney's plan to murder his wife. Double-length pilot film (90 min.).
2	2	"Murder Is a Parlor Game"	Don Medford	Story by : Sheldon Willens Teleplay by : Sheldon Willens & Al Reynolds & Howard Berk	March 1, 1979 (1979-03-01)
Kate suspects a former Scotland Yard inspector of murdering a waiter.
3	3	"A Riddle for Puppets"	Edward Abroms	Gregory S. Dinallo	March 15, 1979 (1979-03-15)
Kate goes after a psychotic ventriloquist who murdered the craftsman who made his dummy.
4	4	"Caviar with Everything"	Don Medford	Al Reynolds & Howard Berk	March 22, 1979 (1979-03-22)
Kate suspects the death of a chic Beverly Hills caterer was not as accidental as it appeared.
5	5	"A Puzzle for Prophets"	Sam Wanamaker	Al Reynolds	March 29, 1979 (1979-03-29)
Kate is skeptical when the business manager of a clairvoyant is scared to death of a TV show.

Season 2: 1979–80

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
6	1	"Ladies of the Afternoon"	Don Medford	Story by : Larry Alexander Teleplay by : Lawrence Hertzog	October 18, 1979 (1979-10-18)
Kate investigates a murder that involves a group of housewives turned daytime prostitutes. Don Stroud debuts as Sgt. Varrick; this episode also features Ted Danson. As of this episode Kate is now named "Kate Callahan", all references to her husband are removed, and the paper she works for is now The Valley Advocate (rather than The Weekly Advertiser). None of these changes are explained or even commented upon within the show.
7	2	"It Goes with the Territory"	Leo Penn	Merwin Gerard	October 25, 1979 (1979-10-25)
A scoop about political corruption leads to a murderous car bombing. With Peter Donat and Bibi Besch
8	3	"Off the Record"	Reza Badiyi	Story by : Chris Bunch & Alan Cole Teleplay by : Simon Muntner	November 1, 1979 (1979-11-01)
Kate is in serious trouble with the law after trying to keep a source secret during a murder investigation. Kate mentions to Varrick she has reverted to her maiden name of Callahan (without mentioning her married name). She had already been using the name for the previous two episodes; this episode appears to be shown out of order.
9	4	"The Valley Strangler"	Sigmund Neufeld Jr.	Story by : Will Lorin Teleplay by : Lawrence Hertzog	November 8, 1979 (1979-11-08)
10	5	"A Chilling Surprise"	Philip Leacock	E. Arthur Kean	November 22, 1979 (1979-11-22)
11	6	"Falling Star"	Sam Wanamaker	Story by : Robert McKee & Robert Misiorowski Teleplay by : Lawrence Hertzog & Merwin Gerard and Robert McKee & Robert Misiorowski	November 29, 1979 (1979-11-29)
12	7	"Feelings Can Be Murder"	Seymour Robbie	Mary Anne Kasica & Michael Scheff	December 6, 1979 (1979-12-06)
13	8	"Love, on Instant Replay"	E. Arthur Kean (credited as Alan Smithee)	Joe Gores	March 19, 1980 (1980-03-19)

Reception

Peter Falk expressed his disapproval of the spin-off, calling it a "bad idea" and "disgraceful". Richard Levinson later joked that if they made another episode of Columbo they would have Columbo say "There's a woman running around pretending to be my wife. She's changing things. She's a young girl. I wish my wife was like that. She's an impostor."

Home media

The Mrs. Columbo episode "A Riddle for Puppets" was included as a bonus feature in the Region 1 DVD release of the fourth season of Columbo, released in August 2005. The episode "Murder Is a Parlor Game" was included in the third season of Columbo. The episode "Caviar with Everything" was included in the fifth season of Columbo. Both seasons of Mrs. Columbo were released as a 5-disc set called Madame Columbo - Saisons 1 & 2 in France on October 22, 2014, by Universal and Elephant Films.

External links

• Mrs. Columbo at IMDb