McMillan & Wife

by Michael RichComment — Updated August 3, 2023

Buy McMillan & Wife on DVD

The First Season (1971)
The Second Season (1972)
The Third Season (1973)
The Fourth Season (1974)
The Fifth Season (1975)
The Sixth Season (1976)
The Complete Series

McMillan & Wife

September 17, 1971 – April 24, 1977
(14) one and half hour episodes (seasons 1&2)
(26) two hour episodes (seasons 3-6)
in color NBC
Created by: Leonard B. Stern
Produced by: Paul Mason and Jon Epstein

Theme Music by: Jerry Fielding

CAST

  • Rock Hudson
  • Susan Saint James
  • John Schuck
  • Nancy Walker
  • Stewart “Mac” McMillan
  • Sally McMillan
  • Sergeant Charles Enright
  • Mildred

STORYLINE

Stewart “Mac” McMillan (Rock Hudson) is the San Francisco Police Commissioner and his young wife Sally (Susan Saint James) is his companion in crime fighting even if she isn’t an actual cop. As Commissioner Mac elects to work only the most high profile or unusually baffling cases. Even so he and his wife often find themselves in live threatening situations while trying to catch the bad guys.

Assisting him, if not somewhat ineptly, is Sgt. Charlie Enright of the SFPD (John Schuck) and the McMillan’s opinionated live in housekeeper, Mildred (Nancy Walker). This group are definitely not your typical crime fighters and laughs ensue often from the eclectic combination.

Part of NBC’s Sunday Night Mystery Movie wheel series with Columbo and McCloud the series started as 90 minutes but was expanded to 120 minutes after its first two seasons. After Susan Saint James’s departure (see Trivia below) the series struggled to find it’s audience and was canceled after just one more season.

Video Clip of McMillan & Wife

Passings

Rock Hudson passed away in 1985 of AIDS-related complications, he was only 59
Nancy Walker died of lung cancer in 1992, she was only 62

1970s TV

1970s tv police dramas

70s oldies tv

1970s classic tv

1970s retro tv

1970s old tv cop shows

TRIVIA:

Having a contract dispute with the producers, Susan Saint James left McMillan & Wife during the 5th season. To explain the sudden disappearance her character was killed off in a plane crash, Mac becomes a widower and the shows name was changed to just “McMillan”.

Nancy Walker and John Schuck also left the series to star in their own new shows. Martha Raye, Richard Gilliland, Gloria Stroock and Bill Quinn were added to the cast in the 6th season and as great as they were, it couldn’t make up for the loss of the on-screen chemistry that Rock Hudson and Susan Saint James shared.

Rock Hudson and Susan Saint James

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