Mrs. Columbo

Mrs. Columbo (later called Kate Columbo, Kate the Detective, and Kate Loves a Mystery) is an American crime drama television series, initially based on the wife of Lieutenant Columbo, the title character from the television series Columbo. It was created and produced by Richard Alan Simmons and Universal Television for NBC, and stars Kate Mulgrew as a news reporter helping to solve crimes while raising her daughter.

The series debuted in February 1979 as a spin-off to the mystery crime drama series Columbo, focusing on Lieutenant Columbo's wife, who is never given a first name in the original Columbo series but was named Kate in this series. After poor ratings and reception from both audiences and the original producers of Columbo, both the series and the eponymous character herself were renamed in an attempt to change direction, but this did not help ratings and the series ended with a run of just 13 episodes. Neither Peter Falk nor the character of Lieutenant Columbo ever appeared on the show.

Series overview
Kate Columbo (later renamed Kate Callahan after an off-screen divorce) is the wife of Lieutenant Columbo, the title character from the television series Columbo. Kate is a news reporter who solves crimes while raising her daughter.

Cast

 * Kate Mulgrew as Kate Columbo / Kate Callahan
 * Lili Haydn as Jenny Columbo / Jenny Callahan (Kate's daughter)
 * Henry Jones as Josh Alden
 * Don Stroud as Sergeant Mike Varrick

Development
Shortly after the Columbo series ended its original run on NBC in 1978, despite objections from Columbo producers Richard Levinson and William Link, NBC executive Fred Silverman went forward in producing Mrs. Columbo as a spin-off to the original series. Levinson and Link further objected to Silverman's insistence on casting someone young to play the part; Kate Mulgrew was only 24 years old when the show made its debut. 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, and as part of efforts to revamp it, the linkage between this Kate Columbo and the Mrs. Columbo of the original television series was reduced. The name of the character was changed to Kate Callahan after an off-screen divorce, and the series was renamed Kate the Detective at the beginning of the second season, followed by Kate Loves a Mystery. There was evidently some confusion over what the new title would be, since the first episode of season 2, "Ladies of the Afternoon", was listed in guides as an episode of Kate the Detective while ads called the show Kate Loves a Mystery. 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.

Reception
Peter Falk expressed his disapproval of the spin-off, calling it a "bad idea" and "disgraceful". Richard Levinson later joked that if they made another episode of Columbo they would have Columbo say "There's a woman running around pretending to be my wife. She's changing things. She's a young girl. I wish my wife was like that. She's an impostor."

Home media
The Mrs. Columbo episode "A Riddle for Puppets" was included as a bonus feature in the Region 1 DVD release of the fourth season of Columbo, released in August 2005. The episode "Murder Is a Parlor Game" was included in the third season of Columbo. The episode "Caviar with Everything" was included in the fifth season of Columbo. Both seasons of Mrs. Columbo were released as a 5-disc set called Madame Columbo - Saisons 1 & 2 in France on October 22, 2014, by Universal and Elephant Films.