Jules Maigret (French: [ʒyl mɛɡʁɛ]), or simply Maigret, is a fictional French police detective, a commissaire ("commissioner") of the Paris Brigade Criminelle (Direction Régionale de la Police Judiciaire de Paris:36, Quai des Orfèvres), created by writer Georges Simenon.

[5] The character of Maigret was invented by Simenon while drinking in a cafe[3] and imagining a Parisian policeman: "a large powerfully built gentleman...a pipe, a bowler hat, a thick overcoat.

Other prominent characters include police surgeon Dr. Paul, Judge Coméliau, the Examining Magistrate who alternates between being a help and a hindrance to Maigret, and Dr.

[citation needed] Maigret wears a thick black overcoat, a bowler hat (which he later swaps out for a fedora) and frequently smokes a tobacco pipe.

[12] In his investigations, Maigret's method is to put himself in another person's place in order to discover why the crime was committed, rather than just finding out whodunit.

[16] A production called Maigret and the Lady by Philip Mackie toured in England and Scotland in 1965, before playing at the Strand Theatre in London in October 1965.

[17] The cinematic potential of Maigret was realized quickly: the first screen Maigret was Pierre Renoir in 1932's Night at the Crossroads, directed by his brother Jean Renoir;[1] the same year brought The Yellow Dog with Abel Tarride,[1] and Harry Baur played him in 1933's A Man's Neck, directed by Julien Duvivier.

In 1950, Charles Laughton played the first English-language Maigret in The Man on the Eiffel Tower,[1] adapted from the 1931 novel A Battle of Nerves.

[18] In 2024, director Pascal Bonitzer announced he will write and direct Maigret in Society, starring Denis Podalydès.

In the late 1960s, Simenon's son Marc created a television spinoff entitled Les Dossiers de l'Agence O. Pierre Tornade starred as Maigret's former sidekick Torrence, now working for a private investigation agency.

The series featured guest appearances by other characters from the Maigret canon, including inspectors Lucas (Pierre Mondy), and Janvier (Louis Arbessier).

In Japan, Kinya Aikawa[1] played Megure, a Japanese-born equivalent to the French Maigret, reinvented in a modern Japanese setting, in Tōkyō.

Davies took over the part after Basil Sydney, who appeared as Maigret in the original transmitted pilot, proved unavailable owing to ill-health.

His portrayal won two of the highest accolades: his versions were dubbed into French and played across the Channel; and Simenon himself said of Davies "At last, I have found the perfect Maigret!

In 2004, Sergio Castellitto played Maigret in two Italian TV movies: La trappola ("The Trap") and L'ombra cinese ("The Chinese Shadow").

[32] In 2021, the Simenon estate signed a co-production and licensing deal with Playground Entertainment and Red Arrow Studios to produce a new English-language series, with the option extending to the entire Maigret canon.

"[36] Jacques Blondeau adapted the novels into the comic series Maigret (1950–53), published in Samedi Soir and Paris Journal.