NYPD detective Lieutenant Theodopolis “Theo” Kojak’s eponymous CBS series represented something new in police dramas when it debuted fifty years ago this October. It had to—in 1973 there were more than a score of crime‐oriented shows on prime time. What Kojak offered to separate itself from its glamorized competitors was a more gritty, straight-from-the-headlines realism in its sympathetic portrayal of police work. Though only airing for five seasons, it became a global phenomenon, and deserves revisiting today, especially for its understanding of law enforcement, criminality, and even human nature.
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