Episode 1
The Big Pipe
30m
A young woman is beaten to death with a led pipe and left in an empty office.
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars Bill Idelson, Virginia Gregg
TV series
Dragnet
1951TV-PG8 seasons6.5 / 10
Follows the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. The show takes its name from the police term "dragnet", meaning a system of coordinated measures for apprehending criminals or suspects.
Streaming, rental and purchase options
Where to watch in United States
Checked Sep 1, 2026
Dragnet is available to stream on Philo, YouTube TV, Fubo, Fawesome, Hoopla, Pluto TV, Shout! Factory TV, The Roku Channel, and Tubi in United States. You can also rent or buy it from Google Play and Apple TV. Use the direct links below to open the provider.
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Synopsis
Follows the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. The show takes its name from the police term "dragnet", meaning a system of coordinated measures for apprehending criminals or suspects.
Season 5 episodes
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Where to watch Dragnet
Episode 2
The Big Chet
30m
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars Paul Burke, Jeanne Baird
Episode 3
The Big No Rain
30m
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars Celia Lovsky
Episode 4
The Big Lift
30m
An organized gang of shoplifters is looting large department stores in the city.
Episode credits
Directed by Jack Webb
Episode 5
The Big Confession
30m
A man walks into the station and tells Friday that he wants to confess to a murder, but the cops have a hard time varifying his story.
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars Frances Bavier, Aaron Spelling
Episode 6
The Big Gap
30m
A pawn shop owner alerts Friday and Smith when a man claimed to have purchased an expensive ring that turns out to be junk and then asked the pawn shop owner to sell him a gun.
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars Don 'Red' Barry
Episode 7
The Big Look
30m
A woman is dragged from her home and badly beaten by an unknown attacker.
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars John Alvin, Walter Reed
Episode 8
The Big Glasses
30m
A housewife, Ella Ryburn, reports to Friday and Smith that she cannot contact her mother, who is married to Alfred Rudolph Shroder. When he is questioned, Shroder claims his wife left him and that, out of shame, he sold their house and put her items in storage.
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars Don 'Red' Barry
Episode 9
The Big Bird
30m
Sgt. Friday investigates a robber who only targets pet stores and homes that have pet birds.
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars Sally Corner, Paul Richards, Howard Wendell, William Boyett, George Chandler, Art Balinger
Episode 10
The Big Laugh
30m
A con man makes lonely women fall for his charms, then steals their money and disappears.
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars Peggy Maley, Jack Kruschen
Episode 11
The Big Smoke
30m
An elderly couple is brutally beaten and the trail leads police to a former handy man.
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars Olan Soule
Episode 12
The Big Bounce
30m
Joe Friday searches for a check forger who has been using the name of the old-time movie villain Parker Allington... who died three years ago.
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars Dee Carroll
Episode 13
The Big Shot
30m
A night club owner is shot down and there are no witnesses to the crime.
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars Junius Matthews, Sally Corner, Bill Idelson
Episode 14
The Big Locker
30m
Friday and Smith happen to catch a man trying to sell a stolen ring at a pawn shop.
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars John Alvin, Bill Idelson
Episode 15
The Big Note
30m
An anonymous note leads Friday and Smith to a group of teenage drug users and their neglectful parents.
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars Paul Burke, William Tracy, Peggy Maley
Episode 16
The Big Genius
30m
Friday and Smith investigate what seems to be the perfect crime.
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars Tom Greenway, Jack Dimond, Jeanne Dante
Episode 17
The Big Reminisce
30m
During a quiet New Year's shift, Friday and Smith remember some of their past cases and why it is they became cops.
Episode credits
Directed by Jack Webb
Episode 18
The Big Tour
30m
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars Olan Soule, John Mitchum, Marjie Millar, Art Balinger
Episode 19
The Big Sisters
30m
An elderly woman fakes a burglary report so she can get attention from the police and the media.
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars John Beradino, Sally Corner, Sarah Padden
Episode 20
The Big Ruling
30m
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars Elsie Baker, Marjie Millar
Episode 21
The Big Fall Guy
30m
Friday and Smith are on the trail of a robbery suspect that has robbed two stores.
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars Paul Frees
Episode 22
The Big Set
30m
A city councilman is beaten and robbed by two men outside a bar. When he dies from his injuries, Friday and Smith feel pressure to find the killers.
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars Stafford Repp, Lorna Thayer, Marjie Millar
Episode 23
The Big Child
30m
A two-year-old child after drinking bleach from under the sink. Friday and Smith are unable to locate the mother for questioning.
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars Mary Jane Croft
Episode 24
The Big Slug
30m
A liquor store owner is shot and killed during a botched robbery, but police can find no trace of the fatal bullet.
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars George Sawaya, Marjie Millar, Harry Harvey
Episode 25
The Big Daughter
30m
Friday and Smith investigate a missing persons report.
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars Ruta Lee, Dennis Cross, Gilman Rankin
Episode 26
The Big No Suicide
30m
Friday gets a call from a former mental patient who is threatening to kill himself and his family.
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars Mark Scott, Kim Charney
Episode 27
The Big Siege
30m
Police find themselves in a stand-off when an armed bank robber takes a woman hostage in her home.
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars Douglas Kennedy, Don Devlin
Episode 28
The Big Mama
30m
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars Karen Steele, Barbara Bestar
Episode 29
The Big Revision
30m
Friday and Smith hit a blank wall when a burglary suspect refuses to admit where he hid his stash.
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars Helen Walker, Art Balinger, Sam Gilman
Episode 30
The Big Ex-Blonde
30m
Friday goes undercover to catch brothers who steal people's money by posing as real-estate agents.
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars Art Gilmore
Episode 31
The Big Bobo
30m
A police officer is suspended from duty when he is accused of taking a bribe in exchange for a prisoner's release.
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars John Stephenson
Episode 32
The Big Rush
30m
Two bandits turn cop killer when they gun down an off-duty policeman during a tavern hold-up.
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars Paul Brinegar, John Pickard, Joseph Mell
Episode 33
The Big Setup
30m
An informant tips off police to a shipment of heroin coming into the country. Friday goes under cover to bust open the ring.
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars Richard Benedict, Bob Wehling
Episode 34
The Big Deal
30m
Friday and Smith are investigating a rash of car thefts. The stolen cars are being sold with forged pink slips.
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars Dick Ryan, George Cisar
Episode 35
The Big Wish
30m
A teenage boy turns himself in and confesses to being an addict, but he refuses to give up the names of his friends who supplied him.
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars Jonathan Haze, Sue George
Episode 36
The Big Hat
30m
A young man is found hiding in an empty train car with the strangled body of an older woman next to him.
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars Charles Seel
Episode 37
The Big Housemaid
30m
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars Mary Jane Croft, Lenore Kingston
Episode 38
The Big Gift
30m
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars Dick Whittinghill
Episode 39
The Big Salvage
30mfinale
Episode credits
Directed by Jack WebbGuest stars Cliff Arquette
Episode information updated Sep 17, 2026
More about Dragnet
Cast
Jack WebbJoe Friday
Ben AlexanderFrank SmithHarlan Warde
Howard Culver
Dennis Moore
George Sawaya
Allene Roberts
Frances BavierCredits
- Created by
- Jack Webb
- Written by
- Ben Alexander, John Robinson
Production details
- Status
- Ended
- Series type
- Scripted
- Episodes
- 276
- Original language
- English
Networks & production
NBCUnited States- Mark VIIUnited States
Universal TelevisionUnited States
Themes
detectivelapdlos angeles, californiamysterypolicepolice detective
