Development Shortly after the
Columbo series ended its original run on
NBC in 1978, and despite objections from
Columbo creator-producers
Richard Levinson and
William Link, NBC executive
Fred Silverman went forward in producing
Mrs. Columbo as a spin-off to the original series. (Mulgrew was 12 when Peter Falk first appeared as Columbo and discussed his wife in the pilot film
Prescription: Murder.) The information NBC released about the show was unambiguous that Mrs. Columbo in the new series was the previously unseen wife frequently mentioned on
Columbo.
Retooling The show received poor ratings, The revamped series also introduced the character Sergeant Mike Varrick of the Valley Municipal Police Department, played by
Don Stroud. In this final incarnation, the producers completed their retreat from the show's original premise, and Kate Callahan was then regarded as being a completely different character from Mrs. Columbo of
Columbo, Kate's ex-husband now named Philip. Lt. Columbo was previously shown to have the first name Frank in the 1971
Columbo episode "Dead Weight." None of the changes aided the show's ratings, however, and it was cancelled in December 1979. One last new episode, the thirteenth, aired in March 1980. ==Episodes==