# Adam-12
**Adam-12** is an American television police drama that aired on NBC from 1968 to 1975, following two uniformed [Los Angeles Police Department](https://www.edgepedia.org/los-angeles-police-department) officers, Pete Malloy and Jim Reed, as they patrolled Los Angeles in their black-and-white patrol unit, 1-Adam-12.[1](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-1968-the-mod-squad-adam-12-hippies-20180420-story.html) Created by [Jack Webb](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-webb) and Robert A. Cinader as a successor to Webb's *Dragnet*, the series ran for seven seasons and 174 episodes of about 25 minutes each.[2](https://epguides.com/Adam12/) • [3](https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item?item=T78%3A0248)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Network and run | NBC, September 21, 1968 to August 26, 1975; seven seasons, 174 episodes[2](https://epguides.com/Adam12/) • [4](https://www.qsl.net/kg6ejj/adam12hh.htm) |
| Creators | Jack Webb and Robert A. Cinader; Webb also executive producer[3](https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item?item=T78%3A0248) |
| Stars | Martin Milner as Officer Pete Malloy, Kent McCord as Officer Jim Reed[1](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-1968-the-mod-squad-adam-12-hippies-20180420-story.html) |
| Format | Half-hour police procedural centered on uniformed patrol work, with documentary-style realism[1](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-1968-the-mod-squad-adam-12-hippies-20180420-story.html) |
| Police reception | In a 1977 survey of 816 police officers, Adam-12 scored highest of 13 shows on both realism and viewing frequency[5](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/001872677703000302) |
| Practical use | Episodes were for years used as additional training tools for police forces around the world[6](https://lapd.com/article/adam-12-season-two) |
| Related series | Part of Jack Webb's NBC procedural universe with *Dragnet* and *Emergency!*[7](https://www.tvline.com/2233607/nbc-home-shared-procedural-universe-before-law-and-order-one-chicago/) |
## Premise and characters
The series followed veteran Officer Pete Malloy ([Martin Milner](https://www.edgepedia.org/martin-milner)) and his rookie partner Jim Reed ([Kent McCord](https://www.edgepedia.org/kent-mccord)) through a typical patrol day in Los Angeles, answering emergency calls, handling family disputes, and responding to burglaries.[1](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-1968-the-mod-squad-adam-12-hippies-20180420-story.html) • [8](https://www.metv.com/stories/jack-webb-on-the-difference-between-dragnet-and-adam-12) In the pilot, Malloy, a veteran of several years, plans to resign after the loss of his former partner to a robber's bullet, but his day with the eager Reed causes him to reconsider.[9](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/adam-12/umc.cmc.5n5rplac416d3rhofqk0gbg3g) Over the run, viewers watched Reed progress from probationer to full-fledged officer.[10](https://www.metv.com/shows/adam-12)
Jack Webb described the show as distinct from *[Dragnet](https://www.edgepedia.org/dragnet-franchise)* despite the shared approach: Malloy and Reed were the first officers on the scene, while the detective work seen on *Dragnet* came later. "They are the shock troops of the force," he said. "The detectives come along later."[8](https://www.metv.com/stories/jack-webb-on-the-difference-between-dragnet-and-adam-12)
## Production and realism
**Procedural accuracy** was the production's stated aim. The pilot was shot in the last two weeks of September 1967, with Webb directing.[11](https://kentmccord.com/archives/adam12/pilot.htm) Writers went on ride-alongs with LAPD sergeants to gather story ideas, and a real police officer typically helped with scripts to make sure police work was portrayed accurately.[12](https://laist.com/shows/the-frame/how-the-tv-series-adam-12-helped-the-lapd-sell-the-good-cop-image) • [10](https://www.metv.com/shows/adam-12) The show used law enforcement jargon that was largely new to audiences and was produced with a documentary-style realism that focused on the culture of the streets as much as on the officers and their crimes.[1](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-1968-the-mod-squad-adam-12-hippies-20180420-story.html) Episodes carried the "Log" numbering convention in their titles, such as "Log 142: As High as You Are."
The Webb production style carried recognizable hallmarks: rapid-fire question-and-answer exchanges to deliver exposition, authoritative officers reciting harsh facts to defiant suspects, and an obsession with getting even the smallest bits of procedure correct.[6](https://lapd.com/article/adam-12-season-two) Unlike *Dragnet*, which ended every episode with the suspect caught and convicted, many criminals in *Adam-12* got away or had their fate left unknown, an acknowledgment that the rule of law does not punish a criminal every time.[6](https://lapd.com/article/adam-12-season-two)
## Reception and influence
A 1977 study by Alan F. Arcuril surveyed 816 police officers on their views of cop television shows. Of the 13 police shows surveyed, *Adam-12* achieved the highest scores from policemen on both the realism and frequency dimensions; respondents cited interesting dialogue, humor, and correct police procedure. The study attributed the show's popularity, along with that of *F.B.I.*, *Dragnet*, and *Streets of San Francisco*, to the high level of professional conduct depicted, with police portrayed as competent, well-trained, and dedicated. It also concluded that such shows may help the police image while leading the public to expect too much.[5](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/001872677703000302)
Episodes of *Adam-12* were for years used as additional training tools for police forces around the world.[6](https://lapd.com/article/adam-12-season-two) The show also inspired many viewers to consider policing as a career.[13](https://www.police1.com//entertainment/1960s-cop-shows-how-tv-policing-evolved-in-a-decade-of-upheaval) In recognition of the series, the LAPD activated Car 1 "Adam" 12 as a special unit at the discretion of the Central Area commanding officer.[14](https://www.lapdonline.org/newsroom/lapds-central-area-to-activate-1-adam-12-patrol-car/)
## Place in television history
*Adam-12* premiered in 1968, the same year as *The Mod Squad*, and the two shows marked a divide in the genre: while *The Mod Squad* put countercultural nonconformists on the side of the law, *Adam-12* kept one foot in institutional protocol, with crisp uniforms and above-the-ear hairlines.[1](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-1968-the-mod-squad-adam-12-hippies-20180420-story.html) The series was one of the first police procedurals on television and helped define the genre's focus on uniformed patrol work rather than detectives.[12](https://laist.com/shows/the-frame/how-the-tv-series-adam-12-helped-the-lapd-sell-the-good-cop-image) • [15](https://www.classic-tv.com/shows/adam-12)
It was part of a shared NBC procedural universe created by Webb with *Dragnet* and *Emergency!*, all set around Los Angeles law enforcement and emergency services. The shows crossed over several times: Malloy and Reed appeared in the *Emergency!* television-movie pilot "The Wedworth-Townsend Act," *Adam-12* Season 5, Episode 4 partially took place at the hospital from *Emergency!*, and the Station 51 crew was shown watching *Adam-12* in one episode.[7](https://www.tvline.com/2233607/nbc-home-shared-procedural-universe-before-law-and-order-one-chicago/) Decades later, *Dragnet* and *Adam-12* are commonly ranked among the greatest police procedurals of all time.[7](https://www.tvline.com/2233607/nbc-home-shared-procedural-universe-before-law-and-order-one-chicago/)
## References
1. [Lorraine Ali, "'The Mod Squad,' 'Adam-12' and how TV brought the counterculture into 1968's cop shows," Los Angeles Times, April 20, 2018](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-1968-the-mod-squad-adam-12-hippies-20180420-story.html)
2. [Adam-12 (1968), a Titles & Air Dates Guide, epguides.com](https://epguides.com/Adam12/)
3. [ADAM-12: LOG 142: AS HIGH AS YOU ARE (TV), The Paley Center for Media](https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item?item=T78%3A0248)
4. [Adam-12 Series Biography, Jack Webb Memorial](https://www.qsl.net/kg6ejj/adam12hh.htm)
5. [Alan F. Arcuril (1977), "You Can't Take Fingerprints Off Water: Police Officers' Views Toward 'Cop' Television Shows," Human Relations 30(3)](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/001872677703000302)
6. [Adam-12 - Season Two, Los Angeles Police Protective League](https://lapd.com/article/adam-12-season-two)
7. ["Decades Before Law & Order Or One Chicago, NBC Was Home To Another Shared Procedural Universe," TVLine](https://www.tvline.com/2233607/nbc-home-shared-procedural-universe-before-law-and-order-one-chicago/)
8. ["Jack Webb on the difference between Dragnet and Adam-12," MeTV](https://www.metv.com/stories/jack-webb-on-the-difference-between-dragnet-and-adam-12)
9. [Adam-12, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/adam-12/umc.cmc.5n5rplac416d3rhofqk0gbg3g)
10. [Adam-12, MeTV show page](https://www.metv.com/shows/adam-12)
11. [Adam 12 Pilot, The Official Kent McCord Archives](https://kentmccord.com/archives/adam12/pilot.htm)
12. ["How the TV series 'Adam-12' helped the LAPD sell the 'good cop' image," LAist](https://laist.com/shows/the-frame/how-the-tv-series-adam-12-helped-the-lapd-sell-the-good-cop-image)
13. ["Top 7 police TV shows from the 1960s," Police1](https://www.police1.com//entertainment/1960s-cop-shows-how-tv-policing-evolved-in-a-decade-of-upheaval)
14. ["LAPD's Central Area to Activate 1-Adam-12 Patrol car," LAPD Online](https://www.lapdonline.org/newsroom/lapds-central-area-to-activate-1-adam-12-patrol-car/)
15. [Adam-12, Classic TV Database](https://www.classic-tv.com/shows/adam-12)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Genre and subject-scripted series › Crime, police, and detective series › American crime series*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license