David Cassidy: Man Undercover
David Cassidy: Man Undercover (the word "undercover" in the series title appeared at various times written as one word or two) is an American police drama starring David Cassidy, four years after his run starring in The Partridge Family, his first starring role since that series was cancelled. The series was spun off after Cassidy starred in a special two-hour episode of Police Story, titled "A Chance to Live," which aired in May 1978; this episode served as the pilot for Man Undercover.
| David Cassidy: Man Undercover | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Police drama |
| Created by | Richard Fielder |
| Written by | Sean Baine Stephen Downing Richard Fielder Rick Kelbaugh Chester Krumholz Mark Rodgers |
| Directed by | Edward M. Abroms Virgil Vogel |
| Starring | David Cassidy Simon Oakland Wendy Rastatter |
| Composer | Harry Betts |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | David Gerber |
| Producers | Mark Rodgers Mel Swope |
| Cinematography | Al Francis John V. LaBarbera Jack Whitman |
| Running time | 45–48 min |
| Production companies | Columbia Pictures Television David Gerber Productions |
| Distributor | Sony Pictures Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | November 2, 1978 – July 12, 1979 |
In A Chance to Live, Cassidy portrayed undercover police officer Dan Shay, a cop who successfully infiltrates a high-school drug ring as a fellow student. Cassidy earned an Emmy Award nomination for Best Dramatic Actor for the role. He reprised the role of Officer Shay for the Man Undercover series, which aired on NBC from November 2, 1978 to July 12, 1979. Only ten episodes of the show aired prior to its cancellation.
The role of Shay's wife, portrayed in "A Chance to Live" by Dee Wallace, was recast with actress Wendy Rastatter for the actual series.
This show is the last new filmed series from Columbia Pictures Television to display a copyright notice at the beginning under the show's logo in the opening credits.
Synopsis
Set in Los Angeles, the series stars Cassidy as undercover police officer Dan Shay. Each episode featured Shay going undercover in a different case. Simon Oakland starred as the head of Shay's undercover team.
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Running the Hill" | Bernard McEveety | Sean Baine | November 2, 1978 |
| 2 | "Baby Makes Three" | Vince Edwards | Dallas L. Barnes | November 9, 1978 |
| 3 | "Cage of Steel" | Sam Wanamaker | Walter Dallenbach | November 16, 1978 |
| 4 | "Deadly Convoy" | Alvin Ganzer | E. Arthur Kean | November 23, 1978 |
| 5 | "Flashpoint" | Alexander Singer | Mark Rodgers | December 7, 1978 |
| 6 | "RX for Dying" | Don Medford | Sean Baine | December 21, 1978 |
| 7 | "Firestorm" | Edward M. Abroms | Mark Rodgers | December 28, 1978 |
| 8 | "Teammates" | Alf Kjellin | Richard Kelbaugh | January 4, 1979 |
| 9 | "Nightwork" | Edward M. Abroms | Story by : Kendelle J. Blaire Teleplay by : Chester Krumholz | July 5, 1979 |
| 10 | "Death is a Close Friend, Too" | Virgil W. Vogel | Story by : Sy Salkowitz Teleplay by : Chester Krumholz | July 12, 1979 |