Filmed on location in
New York City, the series concerned the detectives of
NYPD's 65th Precinct (changed from the film's 10th Precinct). Episode plots usually focused more on the criminals and victims portrayed by guest actors, characteristic of the "semi-anthology" narrative format common in early 1960s television (so called by the trade paper
Variety). For the first season, the primary writer was
Stirling Silliphant, who wrote 32 of the season's 39 episodes. Silliphant's work resulted in significant critical acclaim for the series and attracted film and television actors of the time to seek guest-starring roles. Many scenes were filmed in the
South Bronx near
Biograph Studios (also known as
Gold Medal Studios), where the series was produced, and in
Greenwich Village and other neighborhoods in
Manhattan. The exterior of the "65th Precinct" was the Midtown North (18th) Precinct, at 306 West 54th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, in the second and the third season, and the current 9th Precinct, at 321 East 5 Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues before it was renovated, in the first and in the fourth seasons.
Naked City was first broadcast during the 1958–59 season, with the title
The Naked City, as a half-hour series featuring
James Franciscus and
John McIntire playing Detective Jimmy Halloran and Lt. Dan Muldoon—the same characters as in the 1948 film (played there by
Don Taylor and
Barry Fitzgerald).
Harry Bellaver played the older, mellow Sgt. Frank Arcaro. For the first season, the narrator (voiced by
Lawrence Dobkin) identified himself as "Bert Leonard," claiming to be producer Herbert B. Leonard. While critically acclaimed, the series did not have good ratings. Midway through the season, McIntire quit the show (his character being killed in a car crash with a criminal) because of his desire to leave New York and relocate back to his Montana ranch. He was replaced with
Horace McMahon, who was then introduced in the same episode as Muldoon's curmudgeonly replacement, Lieutenant Mike Parker. The cast change did not help the show's ratings; ABC cancelled
Naked City at the end of the 1958–59 season. One of the show's sponsors (
Brown & Williamson), along with production staff, successfully lobbied the network to revive the show as an hour-long series, which premiered in 1960. The 1960 version featured
Paul Burke as Detective Adam Flint, a sensitive and cerebral policeman in his early thirties. Horace McMahon returned as Lt. Parker as did Harry Bellaver as Sgt. Arcaro.
Nancy Malone appeared regularly (for about half the newly produced episodes) as Adam Flint's aspiring actress girlfriend, Libby Kingston. The hour-long version of the show was broadcast by ABC in the 10:00 p.m. slot on Wednesday nights. For this iteration of the series, writer Silliphant was forced to reduce his involvement considerably, as he was simultaneously working as the main scriptwriter for
Route 66 which began in October 1960. Silliphant wrote the first three episodes of
Naked City's second season, then did not write any further episodes until he wrote three episodes for season four. Those employed as writers of
Naked City episodes during seasons 2, 3 and 4 included veteran TV writer
Howard Rodman (who also served as story editor),
blacklisted screenwriter
Arnold Manoff (writing with the
pseudonym "Joel Carpenter"), and
Shimon Wincelberg. Noted science-fiction TV writers
Charles Beaumont and
Gene Roddenberry also each contributed one episode. ==Main cast==