[1] Early in the 1950s, an NBC pilot starring John Carradine and Cedric Hardwicke was made, but the sponsors were disappointed in the scripts, and the TV series never materialized.
[5] Each episode would start off with Dr. Fu Manchu and Nayland Smith playing a game of chess with the narrator telling us, "Black and white.
At the end of each episode, after Nayland Smith and Dr. Petrie had foiled Dr. Fu Manchu's latest fiendish scheme, Dr. Fu Manchu would be seen breaking a black chess piece as the closing credits rolled.
The series was directed by noted serial director Franklin Adreon, as well as by William Witney.
Watson type relationship of the films, the series featured Smith as a law enforcement official and Petrie as a staff member of the Surgeon General.