Several crime drama series have been telecasted on the American television till date, but Kojak is a series that has been cherished a lot by the viewers. This series has been created by Abby Mann starring Telly Savalas, Dan Frazer, Kevin Dobson, George Savalas, Mark Russell, Vince Conti and Andre Braugher.

Abby Mann is well known as one of the best drama writers who also won Academy Award for drama anthologies “Playhouse 90” and “Robert Montgomery Presents”. The character of Kojak was played by Telly Savalas, a bald Detective Lieutenant in New York City Police Department. The series was first aired on 24th October, 1973 and continued its six seasons till 18th March, 1978.

Introduction

The series was shot in New York City and the former bald law enforcement officer has been shown as a lollipop lover. Lt. Theo Kojak is a person who investigates cases using his own laws and bends to the extent he feels like. His own techniques and laws help him to prove the innocence of the suspect and find the real criminal. He is always shown using a catchphrase “Who love ya, Baby?” which has made him quite popular among the viewers.

From the initial episodes, Lt. Theo Kojak has been portrayed as a person who smokes heavily and has become a chain smoker. So as to promote anti smoking, Abby Mann decided to make the character quit smoking and due to this reason Lt. Theo Kojak starts loving lollipops. Lollipops were added as a substitute to smoking for the character which becomes a regular habit for him as well as a trademark for the show. Franck McNeil has been shown as a longtime supervisor of Kojak who later on gets promoted as Chief of Detectives.

Detective Team

Kojak works in Manhattan South Precinct’s Detective Squad as a commander where his team of detective includes one of his favourite employees, Det. Bobby Crocker. This character is depicted as a young officer who works undercover for the team starring Kevin Dobson in the role. Some of the other team members of Lt. Theo Kojak include detective Stavros, Saperstein and Rizzo starring George Savalas, Mark Russell and Vince Conti, respectively.

The third season episode “No Immunity for Murder” made the crime writer Joe Gores win Edgar Award for Mystery Writers of America. However, the show was not able to gain very high ratings and ended up after completing its five seasons in the year 1978, but when the returns of Theo Kojak were released, they became quite successful and were cherished by the viewers.

In addition to Lt. Theo Kojak, there were many other characters as well that took part in the series and made the five seasons a success on the television. The Kojak theme was given by Billy Goldenberg and the second title theme was composed by John Cacavas. In Brazil, the series became very popular and Kojak became slang for the bald men. People can also purchase the DVD boxset of this series and enjoy watching an uninterrupted series.

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