# Cover Up (TV series)
An American action-adventure show, **Cover Up** ran on CBS for a single season, broadcast between September 22, 1984 and April 6, 1985. Created by [Glen A. Larson](https://www.edgepedia.org/glen-a-larson), it stars [Jennifer O'Neill](https://www.edgepedia.org/jennifer-oneill), Jon-Erik Hexum, Antony Hamilton, and [Richard Anderson](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-anderson).[1](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/cover-up) The series is remembered for the accidental death of its male lead, Jon-Erik Hexum, during production of its first season.[2](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-BC/Broadcasting-Magazine/BC-1984/BC-1984-12-31.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Network and run | CBS, September 22, 1984 to April 6, 1985, one season[1](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/cover-up) |
| Episodes | 22 episodes in one season[3](https://epguides.com/CoverUp/) |
| Creator | Glen A. Larson[1](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/cover-up) |
| Main cast | Jennifer O'Neill as Danielle Reynolds; Jon-Erik Hexum as Mac Harper (episodes 1–8); Antony Hamilton as Jack Striker (episodes 9–22); Richard Anderson as Henry Towler[3](https://epguides.com/CoverUp/) |
| Premise | A fashion photographer and her male model are secret agents for the U.S. government[3](https://epguides.com/CoverUp/) |
| Genre | Drama, espionage; 60-minute run time[3](https://epguides.com/CoverUp/) |
| Audience rating | 7.7/10 on IMDb (about 826 votes)[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086690/) |
## Premise
Danielle "Dani" Reynolds is a renowned fashion photographer whose life changes when her husband is killed. She learns that he was not the mild-mannered man she thought, but a government agent who worked with no official government backing. She recruits Mac Harper, a former Green Beret, to help find his killer, and her husband's old boss, Henry Towler, then offers her a job as an agent posing as a photographer, with Mac as one of her models.[5](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/cover-up) The pair travel the world helping Americans in trouble overseas.[6](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/History/Total-Television-Programming-1948-1991-McNeil.pdf)
The cover-story device drove the show's structure: the two posed as a photographer and her male model while carrying out intelligence missions.[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086690/) Episode plots sent the pair to settings including a Central American country where an American woman is framed for murder, Rome during a diamond-smuggling operation, and Cannes, where a missing girl was last seen aboard a yacht.[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086690/episodes/)
## Cast and the death of Jon-Erik Hexum
**Jennifer O'Neill** played Danielle Reynolds in all 21 episodes credited to her across 1984 and 1985, with Richard Anderson as Henry Towler and [Mykelti Williamson](https://www.edgepedia.org/mykelti-williamson) as Rick.[8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086690/fullcredits) Jon-Erik Hexum played Mac Harper in the first eight episodes.[3](https://epguides.com/CoverUp/)
During the show's first season, the trade press reported the accidental death of actor [Jon-Erik Hexum](https://www.edgepedia.org/jon-erik-hexum), star of *Cover Up*, as one of the difficulties unrelated to ratings that plagued CBS's prime-time weekend schedule that winter.[2](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-BC/Broadcasting-Magazine/BC-1984/BC-1984-12-31.pdf) After his death, Antony Hamilton joined the cast as Jack Striker, an actual agent who joined Dani's team as the new model, appearing in episodes 9 through 22.[3](https://epguides.com/CoverUp/) • [9](https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/cover-up/1000251607/) A television history of the period records that the series carried a tribute to Hexum at the end of the next televised episode, read by his costar Richard Anderson, and that Hexum's name was misspelled in the tribute.[6](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/History/Total-Television-Programming-1948-1991-McNeil.pdf)
## Production and broadcast history
The series was announced by CBS in May 1984 as part of its schedule, with [Broadcasting](https://www.edgepedia.org/broadcasting) reporting that the show starred Jon-Erik Hexum and Jennifer O'Neill.[10](https://www.electronicsandbooks.com/edt/manual/Magazine/B/Broadcasting%20US/BC-1984/BC-1984-05-14%20c20130503%20%5B118%5D.pdf) It premiered on September 22, 1984 with a two-part opener, "Cover Up (1)" and "Cover Up (2)", and ran through the episode "Passions" on April 6, 1985.[11](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/27862/cover-up/episodes)
One television reference work describes *Cover Up* as an ill-fated adventure series and an updated version of *I Spy*, the 1960s espionage series.[6](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/History/Total-Television-Programming-1948-1991-McNeil.pdf) According to a CBS program wiki, the ratings held up as the show aired through the winter of 1984–85, but CBS canceled the series after its first season due to mediocre ratings.[12](https://cbs.wiki.gg/wiki/Cover_Up)
The series later reached European television: its German premiere came on July 13, 1991 on RTLplus, and in Spain it was broadcast under the title *Camuflaje*.[13](https://www.fernsehserien.de/cover-up) • [14](https://www.abandomoviez.net/dbs/s-1246-camuflaje) As of recent listings, the series is not available on any streaming service in the United States.[1](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/cover-up)
## Episode count and reception
Episode listings disagree on the total. The epguides and TVmaze guides list 22 episodes,[3](https://epguides.com/CoverUp/) • [11](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/27862/cover-up/episodes) while IMDb lists 21 episodes for the series.[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086690/) The two-part premiere accounts for part of the variation in how episodes are counted.
On IMDb the series holds a 7.7/10 rating from about 826 users, with the pilot, "Cover Up", the highest-rated listed episode at 7.9/10 from 135 votes.[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086690/) • [7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086690/episodes/)
## References
1. [Cover Up (1984) – watch tv show streaming online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/cover-up)
2. [Broadcasting magazine, December 31, 1984](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-BC/Broadcasting-Magazine/BC-1984/BC-1984-12-31.pdf)
3. [Cover Up (a Titles & Air Dates Guide), epguides.com](https://epguides.com/CoverUp/)
4. [Cover Up (TV Series 1984–1985), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086690/)
5. [Cover Up, TheTVDB.com](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/cover-up)
6. [Total Television Programming 1948–1991 (McNeil), entry for Cover Up](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/History/Total-Television-Programming-1948-1991-McNeil.pdf)
7. [Cover Up (TV Series 1984–1985) – Episode list, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086690/episodes/)
8. [Cover Up (TV Series 1984–1985) – Full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086690/fullcredits)
9. [Cover Up – Where to Watch and Stream, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/cover-up/1000251607/)
10. [Broadcasting magazine, May 14, 1984](https://www.electronicsandbooks.com/edt/manual/Magazine/B/Broadcasting%20US/BC-1984/BC-1984-05-14%20c20130503%20%5B118%5D.pdf)
11. [Cover Up – Episode List, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/27862/cover-up/episodes)
12. [Cover Up, CBS Wiki](https://cbs.wiki.gg/wiki/Cover_Up)
13. [Cover Up, fernsehserien.de](https://www.fernsehserien.de/cover-up)
14. [Camuflaje (1984), Abandomoviez](https://www.abandomoviez.net/dbs/s-1246-camuflaje)
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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*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license