The Rap Sheet Celebrates the 40th Anniversary of the NBC Mystery Movie

Our friends over at The Rap Sheet are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the NBC Mystery Movie by profiling over the next few weeks — our guess is it may take longer than that! — all of the shows that participated in the series.

First up is arguably the most popular — it was certainly the longest running — of these shows, Columbo, starring Peter Falk as the LAPD homicide detective. There's a fascinating history to the show presented, from its roots in 1960 to the whole concept of a "rotating wheel" of shows contributing to an "umbrella" series. (The other two shows part of the original series were McCloud and McMillan & Wife.)

Check out The Rap Sheet's post on Columbo, and follow along as they make their way through the 13 or so other shows that were part of the NBC Mystery Movie.