Akiva Schaffer’s reboot ofThe Naked Gunhad a solid opening weekend at the box office, with critics and audiences embracingLiam Neeson’sturn towards the absurd. This has inevitably led to a renewed interest in the original,Leslie Nielsen-starring film trilogy, and thankfully, anyone with access to a Paramount+ subscription canbinge them without hesitation.
But even fans of the movies might not realize that beforeThe Naked Gun,there wasPolice Squad!,the very short-lived series that ran on ABC for just four episodes in 1982, with another two burned off over the summer. While the series is just as adored by die-hard comedy nerds as the movies, those who might want to stream it are sadly out of luck.Police Squad!is, like many other series of its era, not available on any streaming service, at least as of now. The reasons for this have to do with the murky economics of streaming and the complex cost/benefit analysis that every streamer has to do.
Police Squad!certainly isn’t the only classic series you can’t stream anywhere, and there are plenty of other older shows that had a far bigger cultural impact that are similarly unavailable. Shows likeAll in the Family,Tales from the Crypt,andMiami Vicewere all beloved hits in their day, but so far, no streamer has ponied up for them. And if popular, long-running shows like these are stuck in streaming limbo, a cultishly beloved flop likePolice Squad!probably has very little chance, even with itsNaked Gunassociation.
So why are so many older shows unavailable on streaming? There are a few reasons. Sometimes, it’s a complicated rights issue, with various properties changing hands as companies close and merge, and split off from each other. In the case ofPolice Squad!,the series was produced by Paramount but aired on the ABC network, so there may be some difficulty there.For some, even if they’re not on a streaming service, they can still be rented or purchased on demand, but sadly, even this isn’t an option forPolice Squad!
Another big reason has to do with music clearances. In a pre-streaming era, shows would license a particular song for use in a single episode at the time of airing, with syndication being a separate issue. If a show used a lot of pop music, licensing all the songs from their various rights holders can be a very long and expensive process, which may or may not be worth it to a streamer. This probably isn’t so much a concern withPolice Squad!,but it’s the reason a lot of older shows still can’t be streamed.
The third, and probably biggest, reason why so many older shows are left out of streaming comes down to basic demand. If a streamer doesn’t see a sufficient demand for a title, they’re not likely to go through all the complicated legal and financial steps to get ahold of it. Forshows that aired in the ‘70sand ’80s, the demographic most interested in them is likely to skew older, and it may not be one that most streamers are interested in pursuing.
More recentolder series likeFriendsandSeinfeldhave been big hits on streaming, fueled by a largely millennial fanbase that has a nostalgic attachment to them.Police Squad!certainly has its fans, but it’s a very small subset that even knows it exists, and a streamer likely wouldn’t see a big influx of subscriptions for acquiring it. If the newNaked Guncontinues to do well, a streamer may see the value in makingPollice Squad!available, but only time will tell.
AnyNaked Gunfans who want to go back to the source to see where it all began will have to do something nearly unthinkable in 2025: pick up a physical release.Police Squad!was released on DVD in the early 2000s, and just five years ago, Paramount put out a new Blu-ray edition, which can still be easily found online. While it’s too bad that no streamer has picked up the series yet, it’s a relief that it hasn’t been entirely lost to time. For anyone who might be hesitant to drop some hard-earned money on a show they’ve never seen, rest assured that if you loveThe Naked Gun,it’s well worth it.
It remains to be seen whetherPolice Squad!will ever escape its physical shackles and join the ranks of the streaming masses, but hopefully someday it will. In a way, its limited availability only adds to its cult status, beloved by those who’ve seen it and almost mythic to those who haven’t. It seems that Paramount still owns the rights, having released the Blu-ray and produced the reboot, so if it shows up anywhere, it’s most likely to be Paramount+. If anyone from that particular streaming service is reading this, please take pity on us poor comedy nerds and makePolice Squad!available on streaming.
‘Police Squad!’ is available on Blu-ray and DVD.
