# The Law & Harry McGraw

The Law & Harry McGraw is an American mystery crime drama television series created by Peter S. Fischer and a spin-off of Murder, She Wrote that aired on CBS from September 27, 1987, to February 10, 1988.
Harry McGraw had been a recurring character in Murder, She Wrote, having appeared in six episodes, beginning with "Tough Guys Don't Die" (season 1, episode 16).

## Plot

The series stars Jerry Orbach as a loudmouthed, uncouth, old school private detective who continually finds himself solving mysteries on behalf of the prim and proper attorney (played by Barbara Babcock), who has an office across the hall. The attorney, Ellie Maginnis, finds McGraw's methods somewhat hard to digest, albeit effective, and a romantic attraction between the two is suggested although the series didn't last long enough for such a subplot to fully develop.

## Cast

* Jerry Orbach as Harry McGraw
* Barbara Babcock as Ellie Maginnis
* Earl Boen as Howard
* Juliana Donald as E.J. Brunson
* Shea Farrell as Steve Lacey
* Marty Davis as Cookie
* Peter Haskell as Tyler Chase

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Viewers (in millions) |
| 1 | "Dead Men Don't Make Phone Calls" | Peter Crane | Peter S. Fischer | September 27, 1987 (1987-09-27) | 15.20 |
| 2 | "Murder by Landslide" | Peter Crane | Peter S. Fischer | October 6, 1987 (1987-10-06) | 9.4 rating |
| 3 | "Mr. Chapman, I Presume?" | Sigmund Neufeld Jr. | Steven Long Mitchell & Craig W. Van Sickle | October 13, 1987 (1987-10-13) | 15.40 |
| 4 | "The Fallen Arrow" | Allen Reisner | Robert E. Swanson | October 20, 1987 (1987-10-20) | 14.80 |
| 5 | "Rapaport's Back in Town" | Jackie Cooper | Peter S. Fischer | October 27, 1987 (1987-10-27) | 12.70 |
| 6 | "She's Not Wild About Harry" | Seymour Robbie | Janice Fishman | November 3, 1987 (1987-11-03) | 13.30 |
| 7 | "Angela's Secret" | Nick Havinga | Arthur David Weingarten | November 10, 1987 (1987-11-10) | 15.40 |
| 8 | "Solve It Again, Harry" | Jackie Cooper | Marvin Kupfer & Peter S. Fischer | November 17, 1987 (1987-11-17) | 12.40 |
| 9 | "State of the Art" | Allen Reisner | Tom Sawyer | November 24, 1987 (1987-11-24) | 13.00 |
| 10 | "Yankee Boodle Dandy" | Seymour Robbie | Tom Sawyer | December 1, 1987 (1987-12-01) | 17.40 |
| 11 | "Old Heroes Never Lie" | Walter Grauman | Walter Brough | December 8, 1987 (1987-12-08) | 13.40 |
| 12 | "Gilhooley's is History" | Sigmund Neufeld Jr. | Story by : Joe Goldberg Teleplay by : Richard Stanley & Ralph Meyering Jr. | January 13, 1988 (1988-01-13) | 12.50 |
| 13 | "Beware the Ides of May" | Seymour Robbie | Peter S. Fischer | January 20, 1988 (1988-01-20) | 12.90 |
| 14 | "Waiting Game" | Allen Reisner | Peter S. Fischer | January 27, 1988 (1988-01-27) | 12.30 |
| 15 | "Harry Does the Hustle" | John Llewellyn Moxey | Peter S. Fischer | February 3, 1988 (1988-02-03) | 13.10 |
| 16 | "Maginnis for the People" | Allen Reisner | Peter S. Fischer | February 10, 1988 (1988-02-10) | 11.10 |

## Cancellation

After the show's fast cancellation (it lasted a little more than a half-season), Orbach reprised the role of Harry McGraw in a few episodes of Murder, She Wrote before a few years later moving on to play NYPD Senior detective Lennie Briscoe on fellow Universal Television series Law & Order.

## Home media

The complete series was released in Australia by Madman Entertainment in 2012 as a 5-Disc (PAL Format) box set for region 4.