The 2025 reboot of “The Naked Gun” has origins that go back further than the three prior films: the 1988 original, “The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear” in 1991 and “The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult” in 1994. We first met Detective-Sergeant-Captain-Lieutenant Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) in March 1982 on the ABC series “Police Squad!,” which deserved far better than cancellation after four episodes (ABC broadcast two more episodes in July). The show’s creators — Jim Abrahams and brothers David and Jerry Zucker — applied the comedy template from their 1980 hit movie “Airplane!” to a classic police procedural to make a silly show that was canceled for the silliest reason ever.
Tony Thomopoulos was president of ABC at the time, but apparently didn’t have much confidence in his audience. In 1989, the Los Angeles Times quoted Thomopolous as saying that viewers had to ”pay too much attention” to appreciate the humor of “Police Squad!” Whether or not you were watching when it aired, this notion seems utterly ridiculous in hindsight. Although there were often subtle visual gags playing out in the background of a scene, the jokes weren’t hard to catch or understand despite a rapid-fire pace.
“Police Squad!” might be the only comedy show to be canceled for essentially being too funny, and it’s become a cult hit thanks to the film franchise. That success makes ABC’s decision look even more shortsighted now, although we knew it was a mistake 40-plus years ago. A 2017 article in Vulture quoted TV Guide’s contention from 1982 that this was “the most stupid reason a network ever gave for ending a series.”
You can buy Police Squad! on DVD or Blu-Ray
Despite the show’s very brief run on network TV, the “Police Squad!” legacy has lived on for decades. The original “The Naked Gun” film placed 11th in TVLine’s rankings of the best movies that came from TV shows. David Zucker directed the first two “Naked Gun” sequels, and Seth MacFarlane produced a 2025 reboot starring Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr.
The creator of “Ted,” “The Orville,” and the upcoming Peacock series “Dungeon Crawler Carl” said the Drebin family might not yet be done with its hapless crime-fighting efforts. “I know everyone would love to [make another ‘Naked Gun’ film], including Liam,” MacFarlane told The Hollywood Reporter. “We have not heard anything yet. I think it’s all up to Paramount.”
As for the original “Police Squad!” series, complex distribution rights (Paramount Television produced the series for ABC) have contributed to keeping it off of major streaming outlets. There are plenty of “Police Squad!” highlight videos and blooper reels on YouTube, though, and you can buy the complete “Police Squad!” series from Amazon on DVD ($8.08) or Blu-Ray ($13.96).