Season 1 • Episode 42
LatestMeet McGraw is an American dramatic television series starring Frank Lovejoy in the role of the hard-hitting detective McGraw, a man specifically given no first name in the program. Forty-one half-hour episodes aired on NBC during the 1957-1958 season, sponsored by Procter & Gamble. The series was produced by the Desilu Studios, most of whose productions were broadcast by CBS. The theme song for the series is "One For My Baby" by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer. Meet McGraw preceded The Bob Cummings Show on Tuesday evenings on NBC. It aired at 9:00pm ET/PT opposite John Lupton’s Western series, Broken Arrow on ABC and Bud Collyer's To Tell the Truth quiz show on CBS. After its cancellation, Meet McGraw was repeated as The Adventures of McGraw on ABC in 1958-1959, but not in prime time. A number of episodes of the series, including "Mohave" and "Lady in Limbo," are available on DVD.
Direction
Blake Edwards before Pink Panther—already flexing visual economy.
Score
Harold Arlen's 'One For My Baby' as theme? Unmatched.
Acting
Frank Lovejoy's granite-jawed gravitas carries every frame.
Creator
Blake Edwards
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Desilu produced this for NBC despite their CBS loyalty—Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were essentially television's power couple landlords.
The show's Tuesday 9pm slot pitted McGraw against 'To Tell the Truth'—truth versus fiction, literally competing for eyeballs.
US
