The radio version depicted the investigations of Lieutenant Ben Guthrie and Sergeant Matt Greb, later replaced by Sergeant Pete Carger, detectives in the police force of an unnamed "great American city."
Television
The television version was set specifically in San Francisco and was produced with the cooperation of the San Francisco Police Department, which received a credit at the close of each episode. It starred Warner Anderson as Guthrie and Tom Tully as Grebb. Grebb was now an inspector instead of a sergeant because at the time the series was made there was no such rank as sergeant in the Bureau of Inspectors, SFPD's investigative division, and a full inspector was the closest equivalent to the generic detective sergeant the character had been on radio. The TV version, a CBS Television production, was filmed on location, using Desilu's production facilities. In the final season, the show expanded to an hour, and the Grebb character was replaced by a number of younger officers, including Policewoman Sandy McAllister. Others in the cast were Jan Brooks, Bob Palmer, Skip Ward, William Leslie, Tod Burton, Marshall Reed, and Ruta Lee. The announcer was Art Gilmore. The Lineup was a Top 20Nielsen ratings hit for three of its six seasons during its original network run. The series finished at #17 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1955-1956 season, at #16 for 1956-1957 and at #18 for 1957-1958. It received an Emmy nomination for Best Action or Adventure Series in 1956.
Guest stars
Russ Conway appeared in "The Robert Avery Case" and "The Missing Cargo Case".
Walter Coy appeared in "The Murdered Blonde Case".
Ron Hagerthy appeared in "The Toy Tiger Case" and then as John Oakhurst in "The Security Officer Case".
Rodolfo Hoyos, Jr. guest-starred as Luis Gonzalez in "The Reluctant Addict Case".
Douglas Kennedy appeared in "The Charles Cleveland Case" and "The Drugstore Cowgirl Case".
Joyce Meadows appeared as Paula Adams in "The Boylston Billing Case".
Eve Miller appeared in "The Christmas Story", "The Stanley Devlin Case" and "The Daniel Leadley Case".
Nan Leslie was cast three times, in "The Chick Madison Case" and "The Pigeon Drop Case" and "The Girls and Guns Case".
Donna Martell guest-starred in "Girl Safecrackers" and "The Pawn Ticket Case".
