The series was made by Zenith Productions for Central Independent Television, and first shown in the UK on the ITV network of regional broadcasters.

Writer Anthony Minghella scripted three, including the first, "The Dead of Jericho", which aired on 6 January 1987 featuring Gemma Jones, Patrick Troughton, and James Laurenson.

The character of Lewis was transformed from the elderly Welshman and ex-boxer of the novels to a much younger Geordie police sergeant with a family, as a foil to Morse's cynical streak.

As a result, unlike many classic sleuths, Morse does not always simply arrest his culprit; ironic circumstances have the case end and the crime brought to him[clarification needed].

Morse was also a romantic,[5] frequently mildly and gently flirting with or asking out colleagues, witnesses, or suspects — occasionally bordering on the unprofessional — but he had little success in love.

It is mentioned several times that Morse would have been promoted above and beyond Chief Inspector at Thames Valley Police CID, but his cynicism and lack of ambition, coupled also with veiled hints that he may have made enemies in high places, frustrate his progression despite his Oxford connections.

In the episode "Second Time Around", it is revealed that Morse opposed capital punishment and long sentences, which was upheld by his former superior who later became assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, and his former colleague thought of him as "a poor policeman and a very good detective".

His penchant for drinking, his life filled with difficult personal relationships and his negligence toward his health, however, make him a more tragic character than previous classic sleuths.

When seen at home, Morse is usually listening to music on his Roksan Xerxes record player,[8][9] solving a crossword, reading classic literature - for instance, Jude the Obscure in season 2, episode 2's Last Seen Wearing - or drinking ale.

In several episodes, Morse's crossword-solving ability helps him to spot people who have changed their identities by creating a new name using an anagram.

In "Masonic Mysteries", he is maliciously implicated in the murder of a woman when his Times newspaper with the crossword puzzle completed in his handwriting is placed in the victim's house.

In "Cherubim and Seraphim", he investigates the suicide of his niece and discusses with her English teacher her interest in the poet Sylvia Plath, who also killed herself.

Investigating the killing of a retired detective in "Second Time Around", Morse is haunted by an early case of his in which a young girl had been murdered and an obvious suspect could have very well been innocent.

The series also included opera and other classical genres as part of its soundtrack, most notably pieces by Richard Wagner and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whose Magic Flute is a significant plot device in one episode.

Whately announced that the show had "gone on long enough", with his character having done many stories between Morse and Lewis after he took on the role thirty years prior.

[16] In 2012, ITV aired a two-hour special prequel film, Endeavour, portraying a young Morse, with author Colin Dexter's participation.

Set in 1965, Shaun Evans plays the young Detective Constable Morse, who is preparing to hand in his resignation when he becomes involved in an investigation into a missing schoolgirl.