The New Adventures of the Midnight Sleuth (universe TV show)

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The New Adventures of the Midnight Sleuth
NewAdventuresofMidnightSleuth.jpg
The show's marketing logo
Genre Mystery/Detective
Created by Michael J. Bayheimer
Based on The Midnight Sleuth
by Clarence Hadden
& Ernest Greene
Developed by Michael J. Bayheimer
No. of seasons 6
No. of episodes 36
Production
Producer(s) Michael J. Bayheimer
Running time 60 minutes
Production company(s) Paramutual Pictures
Release
Original release September 28, 2017 (2017-09-28) – October 31, 2023 (2023-10-31)

The New Adventures of Midnight Sleuth was a modern reboot of the classic radio drama The Midnight Sleuth.

Premise

The New Adventures of the Midnight Sleuth follows Midnight, a partially amnesiac fake detective who solves crimes in modern-day San Francisco. He's helped by his friend Laura Talbot, a late-night talk show host and former reporter. Laura has Midnight on her talkshow after he solves a case involving the disappearance of a major political figure's daughter. Midnight's partial amnesia is a constant source of comedy as his forgetfulness causes Laura to be the brain behind their detective work.

Production

Concept

The reimagining of the show was designed in a way to better reflect the modern tastes of the audience. Producer Michael J. Bayheimer was heavily influenced by the modern reboot of Sherlock Holmes 'SHERLOCK' and borrowed a lot of the tone and imagery for his reboot. Another major change was his removal of the original sidekick "Linda" from the show, deciding she wasn't necessary for the modern audiences.

Characters

The Midnight Sleuth universe is filled with numerous characters both major and incidental throughout the six-season storylines. As the years went by, many incidental characters (ones that appeared in only one episode) started coming back to be a part of a much bigger story arc.

  • The Midnight Sleuth
    • The detective with good hair, Midnight is one of the two core characters of the show. His backstory is a little iffy and unknown even after six seasons, however, what is known about him is that he calls Milwaukee and Chicago home, and moved to the San Francisco area sometime in the late 90s.
  • Laura Talbot
    • Talk show host turned detective. She met Midnight while having him on her talk show after his first major case.

Troubled Production

9 episodes into the show's first season, the studio decided a drastic rewrite of episode 12 (which had been planned to be a mid-season regular episode). Their hopes were to breathe new life into the show before it got canceled and delayed the remaining 3 episodes of the season until after the winter season. These last three episodes proved to be the craziest and most un-Midnight Sleuth the show could be and ultimately led to the very cancellation they were hoping to avoid.

Behind The Scenes

  • Midnight's trademark "great hair" was not an original element of the show. In the pilot, filmed 9 months prior to the show being picked up, the actor playing Midnight had just come off of a war movie resulting in his buzz cut hairdo. When he came back to film episode 2, the producers loved the longer hair the actor had and decided to keep it, writing it into the show and creating a new trademark.
  • Laura was originally not part of the show and her addition in episode two was the result of a studio note to producer Michael J. Bayheimer.

Episodes

Season 1 (2017)

No.
overall
No. in
series
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date Viewers
(millions)
1011"News Today, Gone Tomorrow"Chandler BinghamMichael J. Bayheimer28 September 2017 (2017-09-28)1.2
The daughter of a major political figure goes missing. Midnight accidentally stumbles upon those that kidnapped her and helps her escape.
1022"Stars In My Eyes"Terrance LucasMichael J. Bayheimer28 September 2017 (2017-09-28)1.0
Midnight goes on 'Late Night with Laura Talbot' to talk about his miraculous saving of the govenor's daughter. While there, the director of the show is murdered, resulting in Laura and Midnight trying to solve the case together.
1033"Unknown"UnknownUnknown5 October 2017 (2017-10-05)1.1
Unknown
1044"Unknown"UnknownUnknown12 October 2017 (2017-10-12)1.0
Unknown
1055"Unknown"UnknownUnknown19 October 2017 (2017-10-19)0.9
Unknown
1066"Unknown"UnknownUnknown26 October 2017 (2017-10-26)0.8
Unknown
1077"Unknown"UnknownUnknown2 November 2017 (2017-11-02)0.7
Unknown
1088"Unknown"UnknownUnknown9 November 2017 (2017-11-09)0.9
Unknown
1099"Unknown"UnknownUnknown16 November 2017 (2017-11-16)0.8
Unknown
11010"Unknown"UnknownUnknown29 March 2018 (2018-03-29)0.7
Unknown
11111"Unknown"UnknownUnknown5 April 2018 (2018-04-05)0.7
Unknown
11212"I Now Pronounce You Midnight And Death"UnknownUnknown12 April 2018 (2018-04-12)0.7
Midnight and Laura are about to get married when Father O'Mailey ends up dead in the church before the ceremony can begin.

Season 2 (2019)

No.
overall
No. in
series
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date Viewers
(millions)
20113"Shark Jumper Extraordinaire"Melody HollandBlake Young5 October 2019 (2019-10-05)N/A
A stunt man is found dead on the eve of his greatest trick yet. Was it an accident or did someone want him out of the picture?
20214"Unknown"UnknownUnknown5 October 2019 (2019-10-05)N/A
Unknown
20315"Unknown"UnknownUnknown5 October 2019 (2019-10-05)N/A
Unknown
20416"Unknown"UnknownUnknown5 October 2019 (2019-10-05)N/A
Unknown
20517"Unknown"UnknownUnknown5 October 2019 (2019-10-05)N/A
Unknown
20618"Death Knocks Thrice, Rings Once"UnknownUnknown31 October 2019 (2019-10-31)N/A
Unknown

Season 3 (2020)

No.
overall
No. in
series
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date Viewers
(millions)
30119"Unknown"UnkonwnUnknown2 October 2020 (2020-10-02)N/A
Unknown
30220"Unknown"UnknownUnknown2 October 2020 (2020-10-02)N/A
Unknown
30321"Unknown"UnknownUnknown3 October 2020 (2020-10-03)N/A
Unknown
30422"Unknown"UnknownUnknown3 October 2020 (2020-10-03)N/A
Unknown
30523"Unknown"UnknownUnknown3 October 2019 (2019-10-03)N/A
Unknown
30624"Unknown"UnknownUnknown31 October 2020 (2020-10-31)N/A
Unknown

Season 4 (2021)

No.
overall
No. in
series
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date Viewers
(millions)
40125"Unknown"UnkonwnUnknown2 October 2021 (2021-10-02)N/A
Unknown
40226"Unknown"UnknownUnknown2 October 2021 (2021-10-02)N/A
Unknown
40327"Unknown"UnknownUnknown2 October 2021 (2021-10-02)N/A
Unknown
40428"Unknown"UnknownUnknown2 October 2021 (2021-10-02)N/A
Unknown
40529"Unknown"UnknownUnknown2 October 2021 (2021-10-02)N/A
Unknown
40630"Unknown"UnknownUnknown31 October 2021 (2021-10-31)N/A
Unknown

Season 5 (2022)

No.
overall
No. in
series
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date Viewers
(millions)
50131"Unknown"UnkonwnUnknown1 October 2022 (2022-10-01)N/A
Unknown
50232"Unknown"UnknownUnknown1 October 2022 (2022-10-01)N/A
Unknown
50333"Unknown"UnknownUnknown1 October 2022 (2022-10-01)N/A
Unknown
50434"Unknown"UnknownUnknown1 October 2022 (2022-10-01)N/A
Unknown
50535"Unknown"UnknownUnknown1 October 2022 (2022-10-01)N/A
Unknown
50636"Unknown"UnknownUnknown31 October 2022 (2022-10-31)N/A
Unknown

Season 6 (2023)

No.
overall
No. in
series
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date Viewers
(millions)
60137"Unknown"UnkonwnUnknown7 October 2023 (2023-10-07)N/A
Unknown
60238"Unknown"UnknownUnknown7 October 2023 (2023-10-07)N/A
Unknown
60339"Unknown"UnknownUnknown7 October 2023 (2023-10-07)N/A
Unknown
60440"Unknown"UnknownUnknown7 October 2023 (2023-10-07)N/A
Unknown
60541"Unknown"UnknownUnknown7 October 2023 (2023-10-07)N/A
Unknown
60642"The Return of the Beginning of the End"UnknownUnknown31 October 2023 (2023-10-31)N/A
On the series finale, Midnight and Laura confront Daybreak and Professor R and attempt to stop them once and for all.

Reception

When it was announced that The Midnight Sleuth was coming to television, most of the public was unaware of its history as a radio program and this unfamiliarity was easily noticed in the lack of viewers. While the studio heavily promoted it as the next biggest thing, the show struggled to find it's footing in the first season. Most viewers said it was far too over the top compared to similar programs at the time, while fans of the classic Midnight Sleuth said it had nothing in common with it. The show ultimately was canceled midseason.

After much fan outcry, online funding campaigns, and protests, the show found a new home through the online streaming service Streamer and was renewed for a new season. The show became the online streaming service's highest-rated program and was quickly renewed for an additional four seasons. It ran until 2023 when the producers decided to end the show before it started to lose steam.

External links