Based on the novel
The Ledger, the main character "Christie Opara"—a white, New York City police detective—was dropped completely and "Christie Love" emerged. Det. Olga Ford of the
NYPD served as the series' technical advisor.
Get Christie Love! was originally broadcast in January 1974 as an
ABC Movie of the Week, inspired by the 1970s
blaxploitation films such as
Tamara Dobson's
Cleopatra Jones (1973), and
Pam Grier's
Coffy (1973) and
Foxy Brown (1974). The title character had a
catchphrase; upon apprehending a criminal, Love would declare, "You're under arrest, Sugah!" The film proved a success, and consequently spawned a short-lived
television series on the
ABC network. Twenty-two episodes were shown from September 11, 1974 to April 5, 1975, featuring
Charles Cioffi as Love's supervisor Lt. Matt Reardon, who was later replaced by
Jack Kelly as Capt. Arthur Ryan. Financed on a meager budget and heavily sanitized to conform to
Graves' religious morals (she had become a
Jehovah's Witness since the making of the pilot, and eventually retired from the entertainment industry to focus on her faith), the series was cancelled after one year. One episode featured many of
Graves' former
Laugh-In co-stars such as
Judy Carne,
Jo Anne Worley, and
Arte Johnson in particular playing a mad bomber. Another notable guest star was
Jaclyn Smith, who appeared in an episode entitled "A Fashion Heist". ==Cast==