''Murphy's Law'' is an American

crime drama Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

that starred

George Segal George Segal Jr. (February 13, 1934 – March 23, 2021) was an American actor. He became popular in the 1960s and 1970s for playing both dramatic and comedic roles. After first rising to prominence with roles in acclaimed films such as '' Ship o ...

and

Maggie Han Maggie Han (born 1959) is an American retired actress. Her career began with modeling jobs in the United States and France and progressed to acting in film and television productions. She is best known for playing Yoshiko Kawashima in ''The Last ...

, loosely based on the ''Trace'' and ''Digger'' novels by

Warren Murphy Warren Burton Murphy (September 13, 1933 – September 4, 2015) was an American author, best known as the co-creator of '' The Destroyer'' series, the basis for the film '' Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins''. Early life Murphy was born in Je ...

. The opening theme song, which replaced an instrumental by

Mike Post Mike Post (born Leland Michael Postil; September 29, 1944) is an American composer, best known for his television theme music for various shows, including '' The White Shadow''; ''Law & Order''; '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''; ''The A-Tea ...

, was an edited version of "Murphy's Law," a song featured on the album "High Crime" by

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and songwriter. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and ...

. The series premiered November 2, 1988 on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

. On March 9, 1989, ABC announced that it had canceled the series and that the final episode would air on March 18, 1989. The actual final, unaired episode, entitled "All's Wrong That Ends Wrong," resolved a key storyline in the series (recovering alcoholic Murphy was awarded custody of his daughter from his estranged ex-wife) and also served an unsold pilot for a spin-off starring

Joan Severance Joan Marie Severance (born December 23, 1958) is an American actress and former fashion model. Early life Severance was born in Houston, Texas, the daughter of Martha and John C. Severance. Her father was an IBM systems manager who had to move ...

Synopsis

Daedelus Patrick Murphy (Segal) was a recovering alcoholic who worked as an insurance-fraud investigator for First Fidelity Insurance. His unusual methods sometimes led him to clash with office executive Victor Beaudine, though supervisor Wesley Harden often ran interference for Murphy since his methods got results. He lived with girlfriend and fashion model Kimiko Fannuchi (Han), while attempting to reconnect with his estranged daughter. In the actual final, unaired episode, entitled "All's Wrong That Ends Wrong," Murphy was awarded custody of his daughter from his estranged ex-wife. The episode also served as an unsold pilot for a proposed spin-off starring

as an insurance investigator.

Cast

Main

as Daedalus Patrick Murphy *

as Kimiko Fannuchi *

Josh Mostel Joshua Mostel (born December 21, 1946) is an American actor with numerous film and Broadway credits. The son of Zero Mostel, he is best known for his supporting roles in films such as '' Jesus Christ Superstar'' (1973), '' Harry and Tonto'' (1 ...

as Wesley Harden *Sarah Sawatsky as Kathleen Danforth *

Charles Rocket Charles Adams Claverie (August 28, 1949 – October 7, 2005), known by stage names Charlie Hamburger, Charlie Kennedy, and Charles Rocket, was an American actor. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live,'' played the villain Nicholas Andre ...

as Victor Beaudine *

Kim Lankford Kim Lankford (born June 14, 1954) is an American businesswoman and retired actress, best known for her role as Ginger Ward on '' Knots Landing'' from 1979 to 1983. Life and career Lankford was born in Montebello, California. She made her scre ...

as Marissa Danforth *

Serge Houde Serge Houde (born February 16, 1953) is a Canadian film and television character actor. He is best known for his role in Jon Cassar's Emmy-nominated miniseries ''The Kennedys (TV miniseries), The Kennedys'' playing the notorious Chicago mafia b ...

as Ed

Guest Stars

* Gerard Christopher *

Will Estes William Estes Nipper (; born October 21, 1978), known professionally as Will Estes, is an American actor. He is known for his role from 2010 to 2024 on CBS police drama '' Blue Bloods'' as Jameson "Jamie" Reagan, a New York City Police Departme ...

Norman Fell Norman Fell (born Norman Noah Feld; March 24, 1924 – December 14, 1998) was an American actor of film and television, most famous for his role as landlord Mr. Roper on the sitcom '' Three's Company'' and its spin-off, '' The Ropers'', and his ...

Clyde Kusatsu Clyde Kusatsu (born September 13, 1948) is an American actor. A prolific character actor, he has appeared in over 300 film and television productions since his debut in 1970. He is the Secretary of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, after previously se ...

Patrick Macnee Daniel Patrick Macnee (6 February 1922 – 25 June 2015) was a British-American actor best known for his breakthrough role as secret agent John Steed in the television series ''The Avengers (TV series), The Avengers'' (1961–1969). Starting out ...

Reni Santoni Renaldo Santoni (April 21, 1938 – August 1, 2020) was an American film, television and voice actor. He was noted for playing Poppie on the television sitcom ''Seinfeld'', Tony Gonzales in ''Cobra'', and Chico González in ''Dirty Harry''. ...

John Standing Sir John Ronald Leon, 4th Baronet (born 16 August 1934), known professionally as John Standing, is an English actor. Early life Standing was born in London, the son of Kay Hammond (née Dorothy Katherine Standing), an actress, and Sir Ronal ...

Julia Sweeney Julia Anne Sweeney (born October 10, 1959) is an American actress and comedian. She gained fame as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1990 to 1994. She played Mrs. Keeper in the film '' Stuart Little'' and ...

Episodes

Twelve episodes are registered with the

United States Copyright Office The United States Copyright Office (USCO), a part of the Library of Congress, is a United States government body that registers copyright claims, records information about copyright ownership, provides information to the public, and assists ...

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0094515, Murphy's Law 1988 American television series debuts 1989 American television series endings 1980s American drama television series American Broadcasting Company crime dramas 1980s American crime drama television series