# McMillan & Wife
**McMillan & Wife** is an American police procedural television series that aired on NBC from September 17, 1971, to April 24, 1977, starring [Rock Hudson](https://www.edgepedia.org/rock-hudson) as San Francisco Police Commissioner Stewart "Mac" McMillan and [Susan Saint James](https://www.edgepedia.org/susan-saint-james) as his amateur-detective wife, Sally.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/online-originals/mac-and-sallys-golden-anniversary) It was one of three rotating segments of the NBC Mystery Movie wheel, alongside *Columbo* and *McCloud*, and was created by Leonard Stern for Universal Television.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/online-originals/mac-and-sallys-golden-anniversary) • [2](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/History/Total-Television-Programming-1948-1991-McNeil.pdf) In its final season, after Saint James and [Nancy Walker](https://www.edgepedia.org/nancy-walker) left the cast, the title was shortened to *McMillan*.[2](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/History/Total-Television-Programming-1948-1991-McNeil.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Aired | NBC, September 17, 1971 to April 24, 1977, in 90- and 120-minute telefilms[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/online-originals/mac-and-sallys-golden-anniversary) • [3](https://epguides.com/McMillanandWife/) |
| Format | Rotating segment (a "wheel" show) of The NBC Mystery Movie with *Columbo* and *McCloud*[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/online-originals/mac-and-sallys-golden-anniversary) |
| Leads | Rock Hudson as Commissioner Stewart "Mac" McMillan; Susan Saint James as Sally McMillan (seasons 1–5)[3](https://epguides.com/McMillanandWife/) |
| Supporting cast | John Schuck as Sgt. Charles Enright; Nancy Walker as housekeeper Mildred; Martha Raye as Agatha and Richard Gilliland as Sgt. Steve DiMaggio in the final season[3](https://epguides.com/McMillanandWife/) • [4](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/mcmillan-and-wife) |
| Creator | Leonard Stern, executive producer for Universal Television[2](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/History/Total-Television-Programming-1948-1991-McNeil.pdf) |
| Recognition | Five Primetime Emmy nominations and no Primetime Emmy wins; IMDb lists 3 wins and 17 nominations overall, and a rating of 7.2/10 from about 3,400 users[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066685) • [11](https://www.televisionacademy.com/shows/mcmillan-wife-nbc-sunday-mystery-movie) |
## Premise and cast
Hudson played Stewart "Mac" McMillan, the police commissioner of San Francisco, who personally handled high-profile cases with the help of his wife Sally, a mystery buff who was the daughter of a detective.[6](https://www.ratingraph.com/index.php/tv-shows/mcmillan-wife-ratings-1415/) [John Schuck](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-schuck) played Sergeant Charles Enright, McMillan's chief aide, and Nancy Walker played Mildred, the McMillans' wisecracking housekeeper.[2](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/History/Total-Television-Programming-1948-1991-McNeil.pdf)
Reviewers frequently compared the series to MGM's *Thin Man* films because of the banter between the married leads.[7](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/58581/mcmillan-wife-complete-series/) Leonard Stern, who had produced *Get Smart*, said he conceived it as a mystery series with comedic overtones and a surprise ending, spawned by the Nick and Nora Charles template.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/online-originals/mac-and-sallys-golden-anniversary) Casting drew on a deliberate age difference: Saint James was 21 years younger than Hudson, which Stern said he wanted, describing the couple as "two different generations."[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/online-originals/mac-and-sallys-golden-anniversary)
The physical contrast between the leads' co-stars was a running joke: Hudson, at six feet five, towered over the four-foot-eleven Walker, and the pair's tango scene in one episode became a noted comic set piece.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/online-originals/mac-and-sallys-golden-anniversary)
## The NBC Mystery Movie format
Unlike *Columbo* and *McCloud*, which began as one-off television movies, *McMillan & Wife* was created specifically for the Mystery Movie strand and tailored to Hudson.[7](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/58581/mcmillan-wife-complete-series/) Each installment was a 90-minute telefilm (the 120-minute pilot "Once Upon a Dead Man" aired September 17, 1971) that rotated with new episodes of the other series rather than running weekly.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/online-originals/mac-and-sallys-golden-anniversary) • [3](https://epguides.com/McMillanandWife/) The success of the three originals prompted NBC to add a fourth Sunday entry, *Hec Ramsey*, and to expand the brand to Wednesday nights in 1972; all the wheel's series were Universal productions and shared [Henry Mancini](https://www.edgepedia.org/henry-mancini)'s opening theme.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/online-originals/mac-and-sallys-golden-anniversary)
Sources differ on the show's original night. The Total Television programming history records it premiering September 29, 1971 as a Wednesday segment of the Mystery Movie and moving to Sundays in 1972, while the Television Academy retrospective places it among the Sunday-night wheel from the start.[2](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/History/Total-Television-Programming-1948-1991-McNeil.pdf) • [1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/online-originals/mac-and-sallys-golden-anniversary) [JustWatch](https://www.edgepedia.org/justwatch) likewise states it initially aired on Wednesday nights and shifted to Sundays in its second season.[4](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/mcmillan-and-wife)
The series started slowly. Schuck said it ranked second-lowest among the Sunday Mystery Movies in the first season, but built its own audience by the second season as viewers acquired the habit of watching the time slot.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/online-originals/mac-and-sallys-golden-anniversary)
## Departures and the final season
At the end of the fifth season (1975–76), Susan Saint James and Nancy Walker both left the series.[8](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Radio-Programming/The-Encyclopedia-of-American-Television-Lackman-2002.pdf) Saint James said her contract was up and she wanted to try film; a DVD review attributes her exit to a contract dispute with Universal.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/online-originals/mac-and-sallys-golden-anniversary) • [7](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/58581/mcmillan-wife-complete-series/) In the first episode without her, dialogue looped in postproduction explained that Sally, along with the couple's rarely seen son, had died in a plane crash, and Mildred was written out as leaving to open a diner on the East Coast.[7](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/58581/mcmillan-wife-complete-series/) • [1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/online-originals/mac-and-sallys-golden-anniversary) [Martha Raye](https://www.edgepedia.org/martha-raye) joined as Agatha, Mildred's sister, as Mac's new housekeeper, and Schuck's Enright, promoted to [Lieutenant](https://www.edgepedia.org/lieutenant) and Deputy Chief, was largely replaced by [Richard Gilliland](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-gilliland)'s Sergeant DiMaggio, who introduced himself as "no relation" to the ballplayer Joe DiMaggio.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/online-originals/mac-and-sallys-golden-anniversary)
The retooled show ran as *McMillan*, with Hudson as a widowed solo lead closer to the single-star format of *Columbo* and *McCloud*. A DVD reviewer reports it was canceled after four episodes of the final season, with the last episode airing April 24, 1977.[7](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/58581/mcmillan-wife-complete-series/) • [1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/online-originals/mac-and-sallys-golden-anniversary)
## Reception and legacy
The series earned Emmy nominations for its actresses across its run: Susan Saint James for lead performance in 1973 and 1975, Nancy Walker for supporting performance in 1973 and 1975, and Martha Raye for a single-appearance lead in 1976, for the episode "Greed"; Golden Globe nominations for Saint James and Walker followed in the early 1970s.[9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066685/awards/) The full series currently streams on Amazon Prime Video and, free with ads, on [The Roku Channel](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-roku-channel).[4](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/mcmillan-and-wife)
The wheel format it helped establish is remembered as a precursor of the recurring made-for-television movie, and *McMillan & Wife* is counted, with *Columbo* and *McCloud*, among the enduring entries of the Mystery Movie strand.[10](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Encyclopedias/Archive-Encyclopedia-of-Television/Encyclopedia-of-Television-Vol-2-1st-Edition.pdf)
## References
1. [Mac and Sally's Golden Anniversary, Television Academy (December 23, 2021)](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/online-originals/mac-and-sallys-golden-anniversary)
2. [McMillan and Wife entry, Total Television Programming 1948–1991 (McNeil), WorldRadioHistory](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/History/Total-Television-Programming-1948-1991-McNeil.pdf)
3. [McMillan & Wife: A Titles & Air Dates Guide, epguides](https://epguides.com/McMillanandWife/)
4. [McMillan & Wife streaming details, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/mcmillan-and-wife)
5. [McMillan & Wife (TV Series 1971–1977), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066685)
6. [McMillan & Wife (1971–1977) ratings, Rating Graph](https://www.ratingraph.com/index.php/tv-shows/mcmillan-wife-ratings-1415/)
7. [McMillan & Wife: The Complete Series review, DVD Talk (Stuart Galbraith IV, 2013)](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/58581/mcmillan-wife-complete-series/)
8. [McMillan and Wife entry, The Encyclopedia of American Television (Lackman, 2002), WorldRadioHistory](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Radio-Programming/The-Encyclopedia-of-American-Television-Lackman-2002.pdf)
9. [McMillan & Wife awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066685/awards/)
10. [Encyclopedia of Television, Vol. 2, entry on The NBC Mystery Movie, WorldRadioHistory](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Encyclopedias/Archive-Encyclopedia-of-Television/Encyclopedia-of-Television-Vol-2-1st-Edition.pdf)
11. [McMillan & Wife NBC Sunday Mystery Movie, Emmy Awards and Nominations](https://www.televisionacademy.com/shows/mcmillan-wife-nbc-sunday-mystery-movie)
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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 › Private detective and mystery 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