Longstreet (TV series)

Longstreet
James Franciscus as Longstreet, 1971.
Genre	Crime drama
Starring	James Franciscus Marlyn Mason Peter Mark Richman Ann Doran
Country of origin	USA
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	23 + pilot movie
Production
Executive producer(s)	Stirling Silliphant
Producer(s)	Joel Rogosin
Running time	60 mins.
Production company(s)	Edling Productions Corsican Productions Paramount Network Television
Distributor	CBS Television Distribution
Release
Original network	ABC
Original release	September 16, 1971 – August 10, 1972

Longstreet is an American crime drama series that was broadcast on the ABC in the 1971-1972 season (see 1971 in television). A 90-minute pilot movie of the same name aired prior to the debut of the series as an ABC Movie of the Week.

The series starred James Franciscus as insurance investigator Mike Longstreet. After a bomb (hidden in a champagne bottle) kills his wife, Ingrid, and leaves him blind, the title character pursues and captures the killers. He then continues his career as an insurance investigator despite his blindness. Longstreet's seeing eye dog was a white German Shepherd called Pax. The series was set in New Orleans, but was actually filmed in Los Angeles. Coincidentally, exactly a decade earlier, Franciscus had appeared as insurance investigator Russ Andrews in a 13-week CBS series The Investigators, with James Philbrook as his principal co-star. Both series aired at the same time, Thursday 9 PM (Eastern).

Mystery novelist Baynard Kendrick was credited in each episode as the creator of the source material for the series, although his character, Captain Duncan Maclain, had little in common with Longstreet aside from their both being blind private detectives.

Twenty-three episodes of the show were aired before it was canceled in 1972.

Mike enlists the teachings of martial arts expert Li Tsung in order to defend himself despite his blindness.

A dying man sets bombs around the city, and then calls Mike demanding $500,000 in ransom money. Mike suspects the bomber is someone from a case he worked in the past, as he meets with the bomber to pay the ransom.