Wiseguy (TV series)

Wiseguy
Wiseguy title, season one
Genre	Crime drama
Created by	Stephen J. Cannell Frank Lupo
Starring	Ken Wahl Steven Bauer Jonathan Banks Jim Byrnes
Composer(s)	Mike Post Walter Murphy
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	75
Production
Executive producer(s)	Stephen J. Cannell David J. Burke Stephen Kronish
Producer(s)	Brent-Karl Clackson Rod Holcomb (pilot) Alfonse Ruggiero, Jr. Alex Beaton
Running time	60 mins (approx.)
Production company(s)	Stephen J. Cannell Productions
Distributor	20th Television
Release
Original network	CBS
Original release	September 16, 1987 – December 8, 1990

Wiseguy is an American crime drama series that aired on CBS from September 16, 1987 to December 8, 1990, for a total of 75 episodes over four seasons. The series was produced by Stephen J. Cannell and was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, to avoid the higher studio costs associated with filming in Los Angeles.

Wiseguy originally starred Ken Wahl as Vinnie Terranova, a Brooklyn native and deep cover operative for the FBI under the supervision of senior agent Frank McPike, played by Jonathan Banks. The primary cast was rounded out by Jim Byrnes, who played an information operative known as Lifeguard (real name Daniel Burroughs) who would assist Vinnie in the field. This cast remained together for three full seasons, after which Wahl left the series. The writers conceived a new lead character, Michael Santana, and brought on Steven Bauer to fill the role.

The show placed #74 on Entertainment Weekly's "New TV Classics" list.

The series followed Vincent "Vinnie" Terranova, an undercover agent of the OCB (Organized Crime Bureau), a fictional division of the FBI. The show kept its focus on both the mechanics of being deep undercover and the consequences of the protagonist's actions.

Unlike similar series of the day, Wiseguy was structured more like a typical soap opera would be; for example, a cycle of episodes would focus on a particular story and the story would conclude in the final episode of the cycle, which gave rise to the term story arc. Some of the cycles were short while others were extended, but each new story had a specific set of central characters exclusive to it who would appear over the course of multiple episodes. For example, Kevin Spacey appeared in nine episodes of a first season arc as an antagonist, while Jerry Lewis was a protagonist for five episodes in a season two arc.