The show was created by William Blinn (inspired by the success of the then recent movie Busting), produced by Spelling-Goldberg Productions and starred Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul in the title roles, Starsky and Hutch.

The duo's boss was the gruff, no-nonsense-but-fair Captain Harold C. Dobey (Bernie Hamilton in the series, and gravel-voiced Richard Ward in the pilot).

In contrast to police characters on U.S. TV in prior years, Starsky and Hutch were open with physical gestures of friendly/brotherly affection toward one another, often declaring that they trusted only each other (in an "us against the world"–type sense).

were attracted not just by the characters, but the quality of writing during the first two seasons (despite the fact that the majority of first-season stories were actually existing scripts that were merely adapted to fit the series).

Although the show lost some of their viewers from the move from the Wednesday night time slot from the previous season, Starsky & Hutch held its own, finishing #34 with a 19.6 rating in the Nielsens.

It seemed that he would not be returning for filming, so to fill the presumed void, the character "Officer Linda Baylor" (played by Roz Kelly) was created, and a number of alternative scripts featuring her instead of Starsky were written (whether the show's name would have remained the same is unknown).

After being granted more creative control over scripts, opportunities to direct episodes, and a per-episode pay raise (to $35,000, up from $5,000), Glaser returned to the show.

Despite this major change in the tone of the show, with a lot of the violence reduced and more of a focus on the friendship of the two leads, viewership remained steady during the season.

It was intended that if Glaser was to quit, that the reformed Nick would take David's place on the police force (and allow the series to avoid a title change).

Although a fifth season was planned, increasing production costs, Glaser's persistent (and oft-publicized) desire to move on, and declining ratings, brought an end to the series.

The final episode, "Sweet Revenge" (which has Starsky fighting for his life after being gunned down), originally had its co-lead dying in the early drafts.

Mill Creek Entertainment acquired the rights to various television series from the Sony Pictures library including Starsky & Hutch in 2013.

Originally, Blinn was to have Starsky drive a Chevrolet Camaro convertible because he fondly remembered a green and white one that he owned.

However, when production started on the pilot episode, Ford Motor Company's Studio-TV Car Loan Program was the lease supplier for Spelling-Goldberg.

While the tires were mounted so that only the black wall side would show, thus hiding any unauthorized brand-name display, in one first-season episode ("Kill Huggy Bear"), a close-up shot of the villain cutting the rear brake lines shows the letters on the inside-facing side of the tires to say Firestone.

In the "Behind The Badge" interviews, Glaser said that during the early stages of production of the pilot, Spelling took him outside to introduce him to the red & white-striped, mag-wheeled Torino.

Unlike the pilot-movie cars, the first-season Torinos had no body-side mouldings, but did have body-colored sport mirrors, and brocade cloth split-bench seats.

In particular, the driver's side quarter panel and tail-light area were seen to be smashed up in 4th-season episodes, and at least one of the cars was shown to have a dented and twisted front bumper along with some visible damage to the grille behind.

The last appearance of the Torino on the series seems to show that the driver's door and window will not even close correctly, possibly due to the rigours and effects of the spirited stunt driving the car suffered over the years.

It was originally equipped with a 351 Modified (also VIN code "H"); however, during filming, one of the stuntmen damaged the engine beyond repair, and it was replaced overnight with a 429 Lima V8.

During the last season of Starsky & Hutch, The Dukes of Hazzard premiered on CBS, and one of the factory replicas was used in the first episode, "One Armed Bandits", seen to be driven by regular character Cooter Davenport (Ben L. Jones).

Dezer sold Torino #1 in a private auction in January 2015 to a Texas collector; at the time, it was mostly unrestored and somewhat battered due to wear and tear from TV-show filming and subsequent ownership.

It still had its original 460 V8, interior, and paint; however, Mickey Thompson valve covers and a chrome air cleaner were added by the first owner after he purchased it from Barber Ford.

In addition, the Torino has many fans and sparked a collectors market in the United Kingdom, as evidenced by the large number of UK-owned replicas (both factory and aftermarket).

[16] The first season of the show had a dark and ominous theme written by Lalo Schifrin that seemed to fit the hard action and violence of the season; the main title version was edited down from the chase climax cue of his score for the pilot episode (the climax contains the shot of Hutch leaping off a fire escape and landing on his car which appears in the opening titles of all subsequent episodes).

It also appears on the title screen of the Nintendo Entertainment System game Treasure Master, covered by Tim Follin.

The revamped version was the most easy-going of the different themes for the series, reflecting the last season's increased "buddy cop" feel.

The film stars Ben Stiller as Starsky, Owen Wilson as Hutch and Snoop Dogg as Huggy Bear, as they attempt to stop a drug kingpin played by Vince Vaughn.

The game combines driving and shooting gameplay and features the original voice of Huggy Bear, Antonio Fargas.

The plot would follow two female detectives, Sasha Starsky and Nicole Hutchinson, who would be attempting to uncover the truth behind their fathers' wrongful imprisonment 15 years prior.