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Spenser: For Hire
Format	Crime / Drama
Created by	John Wilder / Robert B. Parker
Starring	Robert Urich Avery Brooks Barbara Stock Ron McLarty Jeffrey DeMunn
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	66 & 4 TV movies
Production
Running time	60 minutes per episode
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC
Original run	September 20, 1985 – May 7, 1988
External links
IMDb profile

Spenser: For Hire was a mystery television series based on Robert B. Parker's "Spenser" novels.

Spenser, played by Robert Urich, operated out of Boston and got involved in a new mystery (often a murder) each episode. The series ran on ABC from 1985 to 1988. The two-hour pilot movie was an adaptation of the fourth novel in the book series Promised Land.

The other major characters were Hawk, played by Avery Brooks, and Susan Silverman, played by Barbara Stock. Stock left the show in its second season and was replaced by Carolyn McCormick as Rita Fiore. Stock returned for the final season. In 1989, Brooks received his own, short-lived spinoff series, A Man Called Hawk. The show garnered decent ratings, despite frequent time slot changes and occasional pre-emptions. While the production quality was excellent, with brilliant dialogue and much more location filming than any other TV show previously done (expense was cited as one of the causes why ABC eventually canceled it after only three seasons), many fans of the books were nevertheless disappointed with the final product. Urich, who passed away after a long struggle with cancer, indicated it was his favorite acting role.

During the early 1990s, Urich and Brooks reunited for a further four made-for-TV films (though produced in Canada on a much limited budget) based upon the original series. Barbara Stock was replaced in the first two made for TV movies by Barbara Williams and in the other two by veteran actress Wendy Crewson (Air Force One). Three further telemovies were produced for cable TV, with Robert Parker himself serving as executive producer and Joe Mantegna taking over the role of Spenser. Further movies, though planned, never appeared.

Rykodisc released the four TV movies that were made following the cancellation of the weekly series, on DVD for the first time on June 28, 2005. It is unknown if the series will ever be released on DVD.

Cover Art	DVD Name	Ep #	Additional Information
	Spenser: The Movie Collection	4	Features the four TV movies: Spenser: Ceremony Spenser: Pale Kings And Princes Spenser: The Judas Goat Spenser: A Savage Place Spenser essay

• A Man Called Hawk

• Spenser: For Hire at The Internet Movie Database
• Bullets and Beer - the annotated detective site; everything about the Robert B. Parker Spenser character