Cracker (U.S. TV series)

Cracker
Cracker - The Complete US Series
Created by	Jimmy McGovern
Starring	Robert Pastorelli Carolyn McCormick Josh Hartnett Angela Featherstone R. Lee Ermey
Theme music composer	Roy Hay
Country of origin	USA
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	16
Production
Executive producer(s)	James Steven Sadwith Scott M. Siegler
Producer(s)	Natalie Chaidez
Running time	60 minutes
Production company(s)	Granada Entertainment The Kushner-Locke Company
Release
Original network	ABC
Original release	September 18, 1997 (1997-09-18) – May 22, 1999 (1999-05-22)

Cracker is an American crime drama series produced by Granada Entertainment for ABC and based upon the British television crime drama of the same name created by Jimmy McGovern. An "innovative but disturbing" take on the standard police-detective genre, the Americanized Cracker consists of sixteen one-hour episodes set in Los Angeles. It stars Robert Pastorelli as criminal psychologist Gerry 'Fitz' Fitzgerald and a young Josh Hartnett. Robbie Coltrane, the star of the original series, appears as a villain in one episode. The remade show was broadcast as Fitz in some countries, including the UK.

Gerry "Fitz" Fitzgerald is an unconventional but brilliant psychologist, an insulting, nosy, loathsome individual. To be able to pay the bills, he gives lectures at colleges, has a small practice in a mini-mall, and has his own radio show. He also helps the Los Angeles police department solve difficult cases thanks mostly to his own quirks and perversity which give him an uncanny ability to get inside the criminal mind. But that is only true when he does not have to deal with his own inner demons, which include drinking, gambling, extramarital affairs, and a tense relationship with his wife Judith and his 17-year-old son Michael.

All 16 episodes are 60 minutes long.

Episodes 1 & 2

Original Air Dates—18 September 1997 & 25 September 1997

Gerry "Fitz" Fitzgerald is an alcoholic, self-hating psychologist and compulsive gambler who lectures at local community colleges and hosts a radio-call in show, while assisting the Los Angeles police department in various crimes. Fitz is asked to help track down a female serial killer of men who writes him love notes, claiming to be in love with Fitz. With the clock ticking and minimal evidence to move the investigation along, Fitz must find a way to locate the killer before she strikes again. On a personal front, Fitz is also having problems at home: Judith, his wife and a feminist author, is on the verge of throwing in the towel on their marriage despite their newborn baby. Michael, Fitz's 17-year-old son, finds it extremely difficult to relate to his equally troubled father. Michael becomes the next target for attack by the serial killer, Janice, who claims to be in love with Fitz and he must race against the clock to find the killer before Michael becomes Janice's latest victim.