The truth behind why Adam-12 was cancelled

Adam-12 may have been very popular with viewers, but it had to end after both of the main characters left the show.

There are many reasons why television shows get cancelled, and good ratings and viewership are not always a guarantee that a show will stay on the air.

The classic show, Adam-12, was cancelled all the way back in 1975, due to the scheduling conflicts of the show’s main characters.

Why popular television shows get cancelled

The world of television has become increasingly competitive, with streaming services driving up the production and turnover and driving down cable viewers.

However, just because streaming services are a fairly new invention, it does not mean that older shows did not deal with the same issues that plague television shows today.

Factors like scheduling issues, tight budgets and dwindling viewership have always been at the heart of television show cancellations. Even the most popular shows cannot always avoid or write around such issues successfully.

The truth behind why Adam-12 was cancelled

Adam-12 was one such popular, classic police procedural series which was eventually cancelled due to the scheduling conflicts of its main characters.

Adam-12 first started airing in 1968 and followed two officers from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), as they went about their daily policing duties, manning traffic stops, handling disputes, investigating crimes and much more.

The unique dynamic between the senior Officer Pete Malloy (played by Martin Milner) and the rookie Officer Jim Reed (who was played by Kent McCord) quickly made the show a firm favorite among audiences. Thus, it was renewed year after year without a problem.

However, all of this changed when one of the show’s leading men, Milner, accepted the role of Karl Robinson in the television show, The Swiss Family Robinson in 1974.

Although Adam-12 was still able to film, in what we now know to be the seventh and final season in 1975, Milner did eventually decide that it was better to leave this old show behind.

The creator of the series, Jack Webb, was determined for Adam-12 to continue without Milner and he reportedly brought in many actors to try and replace the character of Officer Malloy.

However, all of Webb’s plans to get Adam-12 up and running again without Milner fell by the wayside when the show’s other leading man, McCord, found out that he was going to be a father just days before the final episode of the show aired in 1975.

As a result, the show ultimately ended with this seventh season.

Adam-12 almost made it

Not everyone was ready to let go of Adam-12 when Milner left the show in 1975. In fact, Webb and McCord had even come up with the idea to introduce a brand-new character which would help to drive the narrative forward.

The idea was to introduce the actor and singer, Gary Crosby (Bing Crosby’s son) to the series as Officer Reed’s new trainee, Officer Ed Wells, after Officer Malloy had been promoted off-screen.

However, when McCord also departed from the show, this idea no longer had any chance of working and Adam-12 simply ended with the original cast.

Kent McCord actually went on to become a police officer in real life

Before Kent McCord was first cast as Probationary Officer Jim Reed on Adam-12, he had actually already played that same role in Webb’s other series, Dragnet.

However, it seemed like after the many years of playing a police officer on-screen, McCord just could not let the role go, and he eventually signed on to become a Los Angeles Reserve police officer.

McCord served as a Reserve Officer for the Los Angeles School Police Department from 2005 to 2009 and was even honored, alongside his co-star Milner (in memoriam), by the Los Angeles Police Reserve Foundation at a banquet held in 2016.

Where to watch Adam-12 in 2023

Finding classic television shows like Adam-12 on modern-day streaming services and cable channels can be quite challenging.

But even though Adam-12 never quite got that eighth season after all these years, you can still find the show on a select few streaming services.

The first seven seasons of Adam-12 are available to purchase on Amazon Prime Video, for $1.99 per episode, or $9.99 per season.

Of course, if you do not want a digital copy of the show, Amazon is also an option if you want to purchase Adam-12 DVD sets.

Alternatively, you can also find Adam-12 on other streaming platforms like Philo and Apple TV.

Or, if you are lucky, you may just be able to catch episodes of Adam-12, which air regularly on the Family Entertainment Television (FETV).