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

The New Adventures of the Midnight Sleuth
The show's opening logo
Genre	Mystery/Detective
Created by	Michael J. Bayheimer
Based on	The Midnight Sleuth by Clarence Hadden & Ernest Greene
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	42
Production
Producer	Michael J. Bayheimer
Running time	60 minutes
Production company	Paramutual Pictures
Original release
Network	Paramutual Network (2017-2018) Streamer (2019-2023)
Release	September 28, 2017 (2017-09-28) – October 31, 2023 (2023-10-31)
Related
The Midnight Sleuth Angelica: Monster Hunter

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 talk show 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 brains 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 (those who appeared in only one episode) started coming back to be 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 remains unknown even after six seasons; however, what is known 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 on her talk show after his first major case.

Troubled Production

9 episodes into the show's first season, the studio decided to drastically rewrite episode 12 (which had been planned as a mid-season regular episode). Their goal was to revive the show before it was canceled and to postpone the remaining three 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, ultimately leading 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 before the show was picked up, the actor playing Midnight had just come off a war movie, resulting in his buzz-cut hairdo. When he came back to film episode 2, the producers loved the actor's longer hair and decided to keep it, incorporating 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	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Viewers (millions)
1	1	"News Today, Gone Tomorrow"	Chandler Bingham	Michael J. Bayheimer	September 28, 2017 (2017-09-28)	1.2
The daughter of a major political figure goes missing. Midnight accidentally stumbles upon those who kidnapped her and helps her escape.
2	2	"Stars In My Eyes"	Terrance Lucas	Michael J. Bayheimer	September 28, 2017 (2017-09-28)	1.0
Midnight goes on 'Late Night with Laura Talbot' to talk about his miraculous saving of the governor's daughter. While there, the show's director is murdered, prompting Laura and Midnight to solve the case together.
3	3	"Unknown"	Unknown	Unknown	October 5, 2017 (2017-10-05)	1.1
Unknown
4	4	"Unknown"	Unknown	Unknown	October 12, 2017 (2017-10-12)	1.0
Unknown
5	5	"Unknown"	Unknown	Unknown	October 19, 2017 (2017-10-19)	0.9
Unknown
6	6	"Unknown"	Unknown	Unknown	October 26, 2017 (2017-10-26)	0.8
Unknown
7	7	"Unknown"	Unknown	Unknown	November 2, 2017 (2017-11-02)	0.7
Unknown
8	8	"Unknown"	Unknown	Unknown	November 9, 2017 (2017-11-09)	0.9
Unknown
9	9	"Unknown"	Unknown	Unknown	November 16, 2017 (2017-11-16)	0.8
Unknown
10	10	"Love Me To Death"	Unknown	Unknown	March 29, 2018 (2018-03-29)	0.7
Laura's talk show ratings drop, leading the producers to suggest a "celebrity romance" stunt with her new working partner, Midnight. Staging a public "first date" at a high-end, exclusive restaurant complete with paparazzi, Midnight and Laura find themselves in the middle of a case when the restaurant's celebrity chef collapses, poisoned by an unknown individual. Now with the restaurant locked down, the two must solve the murder while pretending to be madly in love for the cameras and reporters outside.
11	11	"Engaged to the Mob"	Unknown	Unknown	April 5, 2018 (2018-04-05)	0.7
With the "first date" going too well, viewing is up on Laura's show, and her network forces a next level: a public engagement party. Hosting the party at a vineyard owned by a major political donor, a high-ranking mafia informant who was hiding at the property, goes missing. Midnight and Laura now must track down the informant, all while faking intimate moments or dramatic lovers' quarrels to cover their tracks.
12	12	"I Now Pronounce You Midnight And Death"	Unknown	Unknown	April 12, 2018 (2018-04-12)	0.7
Just before Midnight and Laura are about to get married live on television, Father O'Malley ends up dead in the confessional. As the two start to investigate, Father O'Malley's ghost appears, visible only to Midnight. Unsure if it's his partial amnesia or he's having a psychological breakdown, Laura has to solve the murder while Midnight argues with the invisible priest.

Season 2 (2019)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Viewers (millions)
13	1	"Shark Jumper Extraordinaire"	Melody Holland	Blake Young	October 5, 2019 (2019-10-05)	N/A
Waiving off their fake, televised wedding, Midnight and Laura are on the case when a stuntman is found dead on the eve of his greatest trick yet. Was it an accident, or did someone want him out of the picture?
14	2	"Unknown"	Unknown	Unknown	October 5, 2019 (2019-10-05)	N/A
Unknown
15	3	"Unknown"	Unknown	Unknown	October 5, 2019 (2019-10-05)	N/A
Unknown
16	4	"Unknown"	Unknown	Unknown	October 5, 2019 (2019-10-05)	N/A
Unknown
17	5	"Unknown"	Unknown	Unknown	October 5, 2019 (2019-10-05)	N/A
Unknown
18	6	"Death Knocks Thrice, Rings Once"	Unknown	Unknown	October 31, 2019 (2019-10-31)	N/A
Detective Davis locks Midnight and Laura inside an abandoned San Francisco mansion overnight to solve a 1950s cold case. Each time the clock chimes, a paranormal event occurs. Midnight starts to think it's all a prank until they find Detective Davis outside of the house, and the ghost reveals itself to be the mansion's original detective, helping them from beyond the grave.

Season 3 (2020)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Viewers (millions)
19	1	"Unknown"	Unkonwn	Unknown	October 2, 2020 (2020-10-02)	N/A
Unknown
20	2	"Unknown"	Unknown	Unknown	October 2, 2020 (2020-10-02)	N/A
Unknown
21	3	"Unknown"	Unknown	Unknown	October 3, 2020 (2020-10-03)	N/A
Unknown
22	4	"Unknown"	Unknown	Unknown	October 3, 2020 (2020-10-03)	N/A
Unknown
23	5	"Unknown"	Unknown	Unknown	October 3, 2019 (2019-10-03)	N/A
Unknown
24	6	"The Daybreak Demise"	Unknown	Unknown	October 31, 2020 (2020-10-31)	N/A
Midnight's slick, highly competent former partner (The Daybreak Gumshoe) shows up, boasting that he never loses a case because he "works in the light." However, a string of bizarre, daytime sleepwalking crimes points to a supernatural curse affecting the city's wealthy elite.

Season 4 (2021)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Viewers (millions)
25	1	"Unknown"	Unkonwn	Unknown	October 2, 2021 (2021-10-02)	N/A
Unknown
26	2	"Unknown"	Unknown	Unknown	October 2, 2021 (2021-10-02)	N/A
Unknown
27	3	"Unknown"	Unknown	Unknown	October 2, 2021 (2021-10-02)	N/A
Unknown
28	4	"Unknown"	Unknown	Unknown	October 2, 2021 (2021-10-02)	N/A
Unknown
29	5	"Unknown"	Unknown	Unknown	October 2, 2021 (2021-10-02)	N/A
Unknown
30	6	"Through the Looking Door"	Unknown	Unknown	October 31, 2021 (2021-10-31)	N/A
Stumped on a case involving a stolen historical artifact, a mysterious figure in a trench coat (The Informant) steps out of a closet, drops a cryptic riddle, and vanishes. After that, doors in Midnight’s apartment start leading to random, impossible places, all of which have a tie to the missing historical artifact.

Season 5 (2022)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Viewers (millions)
31	1	"Unknown"	Unkonwn	Unknown	October 1, 2022 (2022-10-01)	N/A
Unknown
32	2	"Unknown"	Unknown	Unknown	October 1, 2022 (2022-10-01)	N/A
Unknown
33	3	"Unknown"	Unknown	Unknown	October 1, 2022 (2022-10-01)	N/A
Unknown
34	4	"Unknown"	Unknown	Unknown	October 1, 2022 (2022-10-01)	N/A
Unknown
35	5	"Unknown"	Unknown	Unknown	October 1, 2022 (2022-10-01)	N/A
A modern, unhinged, dark-web stage magician named Mysterio kidnaps Laura and traps her inside an elaborate, haunted escape-room warehouse filled with deadly, automated illusion traps. He forces Midnight to broadcast the deduction process live online as he makes his way through the deadly traps.
36	6	"Mysterio's Midnight Macabre"	Unknown	Unknown	October 31, 2022 (2022-10-31)	N/A
Unknown

Season 6 (2023)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Viewers (millions)
37	1	"Unknown"	Unkonwn	Unknown	October 7, 2023 (2023-10-07)	N/A
Unknown
38	2	"Unknown"	Unknown	Unknown	October 7, 2023 (2023-10-07)	N/A
Unknown
39	3	"Unknown"	Unknown	Unknown	October 7, 2023 (2023-10-07)	N/A
Unknown
40	4	"Unknown"	Unknown	Unknown	October 7, 2023 (2023-10-07)	N/A
Unknown
41	5	"Unknown"	Unknown	Unknown	October 7, 2023 (2023-10-07)	N/A
Unknown
42	6	"The Return of the Beginning of the End"	Unknown	Unknown	October 31, 2023 (2023-10-31)	N/A
The overarching mystery of Midnight's partial amnesia finally comes to light when they discover "Professor R" isn't a modern criminal, but a shadowy figure from the 1930s whose experimental chemical formula allowed him to transcend time. Midnight realizes his amnesia was caused by being Professor R's original assistant from the 1930s, displaced in time to modern San Francisco. The finale ends on a bittersweet, cinematic note where Midnight and Laura defeat the Professor, but Midnight chooses to let go of his past completely to remain Laura's partner in the present.

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 evident in the low viewership. While the studio heavily promoted it as the next biggest thing, the show struggled to find its footing in the first season. Most viewers found it far too over-the-top compared to similar programs at the time, while fans of the classic Midnight Sleuth noted that it had nothing in common with the classic. 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.