Father Murphy is an American Western drama television series that aired on the NBC network from November 3, 1981 to September 18, 1983.

Michael Landon created the series, was the executive producer, and directed the show in partnership with William F. Claxton, Maury Dexter, Victor French, and Leo Penn.

The series stars former NFL Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle football player and Little House on the Prairie actor Merlin Olsen as an 1870s frontiersman named John Michael Murphy who teams up with prospector Moses Gage (Moses Gunn) to shelter a group of orphans who are being threatened with internment in a workhouse.

At the end of the first season, John's true identity is revealed to the head of the workhouse, and the orphans seem destined for a life of labor.

Notable guest appearances on the series include: Shannen Doherty, Mykelti Williamson, Kellie Martin, John M. Pickard, Eddie Quillan, Christina Applegate, Amanda Peterson, Donna Wilkes, Tina Yothers, Mary Beth Evans, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Jerry Hardin, James Cromwell, and Christopher Stone.