The Plainclothesman was the first American police procedural series,[1] and was broadcast on the DuMont Television Network from October 12, 1949, to September 12, 1954.

[1] If the Lieutenant was hit in the face, the camera was made to wobble,[6] This technique may have been used as a cost-cutting device for cash-strapped DuMont, since union rules provided a lower-pay scale for unseen television performers.

[7] When playing the Lieutenant, actor Ken Lynch often had to climb on the sides of the camera, or kneel underneath it for long periods of time.

[3] During the show's Sunday time slot it followed Rocky King Detective, and the two police procedurals were among DuMont's most popular series.

As the trade publication Sponsor noted in an article "... Jack Orrison, who plays Sergeant Brady in the show, is seen exuding satisfaction as he puffs a Harvester Cigar into the face of the audience.

[1]: ix  One kinescoped episode of the series is held in the J. Fred MacDonald collection at the Library of Congress.