Nero Wolfe

1981

Nero Wolfe

7.2 | en | Crime

Nero Wolfe is a television series based on the characters in Rex Stout's classic series of detective stories that aired January 16 – August 25, 1981, on NBC. William Conrad fills the role of the detective genius Nero Wolfe, and Lee Horsley is his assistant Archie Goodwin. Produced by Paramount Television, the series updates the world of Nero Wolfe to contemporary New York City and draws few of its stories from the Stout originals.

WATCH FREEFOR 30 DAYS

All Prime Video
Cancel anytime

Watch Now

Seasons & Episodes

EP14 Sweet Revenge

Jun. 02,1981

Two paid killers track Nero and Archie.

EP13 Blue Ribbon Hostage

May. 05,1981

A hood kidnaps one of Nero's priceless orchids in order to force Nero to prove his innocence in a murder.

EP12 The Murder in Question

Apr. 17,1981

A former prosecutor's wife and then his secretary are killed in apparent attempts on his life.

EP11 Death and the Dolls

Apr. 10,1981

The daughter of a wealthy sportsman urges Nero to investigate her father's death.

EP10 Gambit

Apr. 03,1983

A brilliant criminal with a grudge booby-traps Nero's apartment.

EP9 What Happened to April?

Mar. 20,1981

Nero suspects it was no accident when the dead body of a woman who specialized in an underwater striptease is found floating in the East River.

EP8 Murder by the Book

Mar. 13,1981

Nero and Archie use a computer to figure out the connection among three murders, an apparent suicide, and a missing manuscript.

EP7 In the Best of Families

Mar. 06,1981

Nero is hired by a wealthy socialite to learn the source of the large sums of money her playboy husband has been throwing around.

EP6 To Catch a Dead Man

Feb. 20,1981

Nero and Archie's lives are in danger because someone does not want them to locate the missing CEO of a large shipping firm.

EP5 Might As Well Be Dead

Feb. 13,1981

Nero locates a young man who has been missing for nine years, only to find that he is on trial for murder.

EP4 Wolfe at the Door

Feb. 06,1981

Nero leaves his brownstone when called to identify Archie's body at the morgue, only to find that it was an impostor and Archie is accused of his murder.

EP3 Before I Die

Jan. 30,1981

Nero must narrow down the suspects when a beautiful girl is killed after being hired by a mobster to act as a decoy for his daughter.

EP2 Death on the Doorstep

Jan. 23,1981

Nero becomes involved when Archie's college football teammate Barney is found dead on his doorstep.

EP1 The Golden Spiders

Jan. 16,1981

A boy is injured in his attempt to tell Nero about an abduction he's witnessed, to which the only clue is a pair of golden spider earrings worn by the victim.

7.2 | en | Crime , Mystery | More Info

Released: 1981-01-16 | Released Producted By: Paramount Television Studios , Country: United States of America Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website:

Synopsis

Stream Online

The tv show is currently not available onine

Cast

William Conrad , Lee Horsley , George Voskovec

Director

Ivan Goff

Producted By

Paramount Television Studios ,

Watch Free for 30 Days

All Prime Video Movies and TV Shows. Cancel anytime.

Watch Now

Cast

William Conrad

as Nero Wolfe

Jake and the Fatman In Like Flynn Trauma Center Manimal Nero Wolfe The Return of Frank Cannon The Return of the King How the West Was Won Moonshine County Express

Lee Horsley

as Archie Goodwin

The Hateful Eight Tales of an Ancient Empire Showdown at Area 51 French Silk Hawkeye Bodies of Evidence Palomino The Face of Fear Paradise

George Voskovec

as Fritz Brenner

Barbarosa Nero Wolfe Somewhere in Time Man on a Swing The Boston Strangler Mister Buddwing The Spy Who Came in from the Cold BUtterfield 8 12 Angry Men

Reviews

loza-1 I had never come across the character Nero Wolfe before, and I had never read any of Rex Stout's books. Then I saw this.I had seen William Conrad before in Canon. Here he is playing a different role. He is more selfish and testy than Canon, and barks out orders to the three people who work for him, and is rude to everybody else. Yet he still has a streak of affability that makes him likable.To me, this seemed strange. A man who is a private detective, but is obese to the point of invalidity, so he never leaves the house, and travels about the brownstone in an elevator. He hires a younger, fitter man to do all the legwork for him. He has a greenhouse on top of his brownstone, where, with the help of an ex-employee of a British botanical garden, he keeps and cultivates rare orchids. He also employs a chef to cook rich food for him. I must have seen all manner of TV detectives, but I had never seen anything like this before.I thought William Conrad was brilliant. He was genuinely funny. As well as a case that had to be solved, there were also the interchanges between Wolfe and the wisecracking Archie. The arguments between Wolfe and Theodore in the greenhouse; and between Wolfe and Fritz in the kitchen are hilarious. The row between Wolfe and Fritz about which portions of garlic and saffron to put into the marinade for the shish kebab is classic. In one episode Wolfe pours a bottle of Dutch beer into a pint mug, then drinks the lot down in one draught. In another episode, Archie tells the police that Wolfe takes his exercise by throwing darts from his bedside, then walks round the bed to collect the darts from the dartboard.Sadly they only made one series of this, so maybe the show didn't catch on, or maybe they stopped it because George Voskovec, who played Fritz, sadly died.Watch this series. It will change your life!

Prismark10 I read a Nero Wolfe story as a kid and found this series intriguing. It starred William Conrad who was better known from his previous TV role as the portly detective Frank Cannon.This is another QM production made in the early 1980s but the series was short lived. Nero Wolfe is a clever detective but would rather eat and tend to his orchids than hit the streets doing detective work.For that he has his assistants to do the legwork such as Lee Horsley who played Archie Goodwin who also provides the muscle to go with Nero's brains. The episodes were enjoyable and its a shame we did not see more. Maybe US viewers were still pining for Frank Cannon.

Garrett Michael Hayes I had never read any of the Nero Wolfe books before this series aired. I was drawn to it because I like William Conrad. How fortunate that I saw this and thus found the books!After reading a number of the novels, I was struck by a couple of things:First, the old brownstone was perfectly reproduced. Author Rex Stout made you feel you were really in that building when he wrote the novels, and the set designer followed suit.Second, the casting was a mixed bag. Conrad was an acceptable, though obviously softened, Wolfe. The characterizations of Fritz and Horstman were very well done, if mostly background. But Lee Horsley was badly out of place as Archie, as were the choices for Saul Panzer and Inspector Cramer.Several years later I saw the movie version with Thayer David and was very pleased. He would have been a letter perfect Wolfe.

eiffler123 Lee Horsley was the perfect Archie Goodwin. I'm a big fan of the books & when I read them I can see only Horsley as that character. He can come & rescue me anytime!!! William Conrad was also very good as Wolfe. I wish that they still showed them on tv so I would have a chance to tape them .