Why This Forgotten ‘Columbo’ Spinoff Starring Kate Mulgrew Was a Mistake
What To Know
- Mrs. Columbo, a spinoff starring a young Kate Mulgrew, was launched in 1979 to capitalize on the popularity of the original Columbo series, despite strong objections from Columbo‘s creators and Peter Falk.
- The show struggled with its identity, undergoing multiple title changes and distancing itself from its Columbo roots, but failed to win over audiences and lasted only 13 episodes across two seasons.
- Critics and fans viewed the spinoff as a misguided attempt to exploit Columbo’s success, and the character of Mrs. Columbo remains a debated and mysterious figure in television history.
Here’s the thing about the forgotten Columbo spinoff Mrs. Columbo: When it premiered in February of 1979, I had no idea that this show wasn’t going to be universally perceived as a good idea. All I did know was that finally, at long last, after many years, I was going to get to see the legendary, often-spoken-about-but-never-seen Mrs. Columbo.
What was Mrs. Columbo?
For eight seasons, Lieutenant Columbo had talked about his wife. His comments were sometimes whimsical, but they usually were part of a cat-and-mouse game that Columbo would play with his suspect. His references to “the Mrs.” were meant to make him seem fallible, more human, instead of the crime-solving genius that he truly was.
The original Columbo series came to an end (at least for a while) after Peter Falk had decided to hang up his trench coat due to what he felt was a significant decline in the quality of the scripts for the show. So, you can only imagine how he felt when, almost immediately thereafter, NBC President Fred Silverman greenlit the Mrs. Columbo series.
Falk has gone on record as saying it was a bad idea. In fact, pretty much everyone involved with the original Columbo show thought Mrs. Columbo was a pretty awful idea.
Rex McGee, in an article for American Film, wrote that Columbo co-creator Richard Levinson said this about the series: “We thought it was a mistake because it looked like a rip-off, the exploitation of a successful idea. I just don’t see how it can work.”
Acknowledging that his concerns would likely be disregarded, Richard — along with William Link, Columbo‘s other creator — made a recommendation to Silverman and the network: if they were to move forward with the project, an actress like Maureen Stapleton might be able to pull off the character and bring along at least part of the original show’s rabid fan base.
Silverman, however, insisted that Mrs. Columbo needed to be young and beautiful. As such, future starship captain Kate Mulgrew was cast as the lead.
Truthfully, I never thought it was a horrible show. I recall it being a nice way to spend an evening. Despite Mulgrew’s relatively young age, it was clear that she was a talent and that, if for some reason the show wasn’t a success, it wasn’t going to be the end of her very promising career.
What went wrong with Mrs. Columbo?
As the show continued, however, it became evident that some retooling was necessary. Mulgrew was great, but it turns out that tying back to a very beloved show like Columbo wasn’t working.
At some point, the network began promoting the show as Kate Columbo, and then the show got an official title change to Kate the Detective. Also, audiences were informed that Kate had gotten a divorce and was now going by the name Kate Callahan. And then, believe it or not, another title change took place, and the show was then known as Kate Loves a Mystery.
Apparently, although I haven’t seen the episode, at some point the TV viewing audience was informed that this Kate had been married to a different police officer with the last name of Columbo, which is crazy because the original opening title sequence of the first handful of episodes had Columbo’s dog, his cigars, and that old beat-up Peugeot, making it very clear that she had been married to the Lieutenant Columbo.
Everett Collection
As you probably already know, or at least might have guessed, the show didn’t last all that long: 13 episodes over the course of two seasons. At that point, Fred Silverman was on his way out of NBC, and pet projects like this were no longer being defended by anyone at the Peacock Network.
You know, there are those that claim that there really isn’t a Mrs. Columbo at all, that she’s actually just a figment of the Lieutenant’s imagination. According to the Comic Book Rehab blog run by author Joseph Adorno, William Link liked to tease that she might simply be a ruse. I don’t think that’s right, but it is an interesting conversation starter if you find yourself in a room full of Columbo fans.