Chiefs (TV miniseries)
| Chiefs | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre | Drama/Police procedural |
| Written by | Robert W. Lenski |
| Directed by | Jerry London |
| Starring |
Keith Carradine Stephen Collins Brad Davis Danny Glover Tess Harper Charlton Heston Wayne Rogers Paul Sorvino Billy Dee Williams |
| Theme music composer | Michael Small |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 3 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) |
Jerry London Martin Manulis John E. Quill |
| Editor(s) | Eric Albertson John J. Dumas Armond Lebowitz |
| Running time | 6 hours |
| Production company(s) | London Films Inc. |
| Distributor |
Fremantle International CBS Television Studios Viacom |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Original release | November 13 – November 16, 1983 |
Chiefs is a television miniseries based upon the novel of the same name by Stuart Woods. It was first broadcast on CBS over three nights in November 1983. It was directed by Jerry London, and stars Charlton Heston, Keith Carradine, Stephen Collins, Danny Glover, Wayne Rogers, and Billy Dee Williams. It received three Emmy Award nominations and one Eddie Award nomination.
The miniseries is set in the fictional town of Delano, Georgia, loosely modeled after Manchester, Georgia, situated at the base of Pine Mountain, itself based on the Pine Mountain Range overlooking Manchester. The plot follows three generations of Delano police chiefs - Will Henry Lee (Wayne Rogers), Sonny Butts (Brad Davis), and Tyler Watts (Billy Dee Williams) - as they investigate a series of murders. The story begins in 1924 as town patriarch Hugh Holmes (Charlton Heston), whose character intermittently narrates the story, decides that the town has grown large enough to require a jail and a full-time police officer. The town appoints farmer Lee its first police chief, and, even though he has no law-enforcement experience, Lee becomes known as fair-minded and effective. Lee's farm employs a black family, the Coles, who regard their new and less benevolent employer, the Ku Klux Klan member Hoss Spence, with trepidation.
Not long after his appointment, Chief Lee has to investigate the death of a young boy who fell down a ravine while apparently fleeing an attack that had sexual characteristics. He also discovers that a number of other young male vagrants and hitch-hikers have been observed traveling towards Delano, but haven't been seen leaving the area. He is unable to obtain the cooperation of Sheriff 'Skeeter' Willis or the police chiefs of the neighboring counties, in pursuing his investigations. Despite this, Lee discovers that loner "Foxy" Funderburke (Keith Carradine) is responsible for the boys' murders, but Lee is mistakenly shot by a delirious man (his former employee Jesse Cole) before he can arrest Funderburke. Funderburke hovers in the background in the hospital room while the dying Lee tries to gasp out the truth about his guilt, but Lee's wife fails to understand. Despite the feverish delirium that caused him to believe that the police chief was trying to kill his son, Jesse Cole is executed, but not before urging his son Joshua to run away.
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