| Genre: | Crime drama |
| Creator: | Eric Bercovici |
| Director: | Corey Allen Kerry Feltham Bruce Kessler Vincent McEveety Gary Nelson James Sheldon |
| Starring: | James Arness George DiCenzo Marshall Colt |
| Composer: | James Di Pasquale (all other episodes and theme) Michael Melvoin ("A Time of Peril") Angela Morley (four: 1.6, 1.10, 1.12, 1.14) |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Num Seasons: | 1 |
| Num Episodes: | 16 |
| Executive Producer: | Eric Bercovici Richard R. St. Johns |
| Producer: | Robert H. Justman Mark Rodgers |
| Runtime: | 44 minutes |
| Network: | NBC |
| Company: | Eric Bercovici Productions MGM Television |
McClain's Law is an American crime drama television series that aired on NBC during the 1981–82 season. New episodes ended on March 20, and rebroadcasts continued until August 24, 1982.
The series starred former Gunsmoke lead James Arness in a rare non-western role as Jim McClain, a former police detective who was medically retired after being wounded in the leg in a gun battle in the line of duty. He returns to duty fifteen years later to avenge the murder and robbery of a friend, and ends up coming out of retirement in order to share his expertise with a younger generation of police officers.[1]
At first, his request to be returned to active duty is met with resistance by police department supervisors. McClain is made to undergo physical fitness tests and a requalification and training program at the police academy. He handily passes all tests and is returned to active duty on the department at his former rank of detective. McClain is tough but compassionate. He is regarded by his colleagues as being an "Old School" cop. He carries a Smith & Wesson .44 caliber revolver when most of his fellow officers carry .38 Special caliber sidearms. His new coworkers come to respect McClain as a consummate professional of unyielding courage. McClain's Law, like several other series from this period, was criticized for its level of violence. The co-stars were Marshall Colt and George DiCenzo. Shaaron Claridge also played a dispatcher. This was Arness' final TV series; hereafter he primarily appeared in a series of made-for-TV movies reprising Gunsmoke.
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On June 21, 2016, Warner Archive Collection released McClain's Law - The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time.[2] This is a manufacture-on-demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and Amazon.com.