| Genre: | Crime drama/Comedy |
| Creator: | John Baskin Roger Shulman George Schenck Frank Cardea |
| Theme Music Composer: | Mark Snow |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Num Seasons: | 2 |
| Num Episodes: | 35 |
| Company: | Cardea-Schenck-Baskin-Schulman Productions Columbia Pictures Television |
| Executive Producer: | John Baskin Roger Schulman George Schenck Frank Cardea |
| Runtime: | 60 mins. |
| Channel: | CBS |
Crazy Like a Fox is an American television series set in San Francisco, California, that aired on CBS from December 30, 1984, to May 3, 1986.
The series starred Jack Warden as Harry Fox, a free-spirited private detective who lived by his wits, and John Rubinstein as his high-strung attorney son, Harrison, who unwillingly, and frequently, found himself dragged into his father's cases.
The show's opening would always feature Harry and Harrison talking on the phone in their offices like this:
Penny Peyser played Harrison's wife and Della Reese had a recurring role as a nurse at the local hospital who had an antagonistic (but joking and friendly) relationship with Harry, often assisting him in his investigations and providing information.[1]
Originally airing Sundays at 9 pm (EST), the show was a hit in its first season, ranking 10th with a 19.9 rating, and initially continued to pull solid numbers during its second season. But midway through that season, CBS brought back its Sunday Night Movie, which displaced the show (along with Trapper John, M.D., which followed Crazy Like a Fox up to that point), resulting in its being bounced around to various time slots, which caused ratings to drop significantly and led to its cancellation at the end of the season. The second season ended up ranking 44th with a 15.0 rating.[2]
Reruns were later shown in syndication and on the CBN Cable Network, and a reunion TV movie, Still Crazy Like a Fox, aired on CBS in 1987, featuring Monty Python's Graham Chapman in one of his last roles.
For his performance, Warden received two nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.[3] [4]
As of 2020, the show airs on the UK GREAT! TV. In 2023, reruns of the show aired for the first time on American television in over 30 years, being added to the MeTV+ schedule, five days a week at 11AM.[5]
| Season | Time slot (ET) | |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday at 9:00 pm | ||
| Sunday at 9:00 pm (Episodes 1–11) Wednesday at 9:00 pm (Episodes 12–18) Saturday at 8:00 pm (Episodes 19–22) |