TV series
Jake and the Fatman is a television crime drama starring William Conrad as prosecutor J. L. "Fatman" McCabe and Joe Penny as investigator Jake Styles. The series ran on CBS for five seasons from 1987 to 1992. Diagnosis: Murder was a spin-off of this series.
Availability
Checked Sep 4, 2026
Jake and the Fatman premiered September 26, 1987. We don't have a confirmed streaming, rental or purchase option yet.
Jake and the Fatman is a television crime drama starring William Conrad as prosecutor J. L. "Fatman" McCabe and Joe Penny as investigator Jake Styles. The series ran on CBS for five seasons from 1987 to 1992. Diagnosis: Murder was a spin-off of this series.
Choose an episode, then use the watch options above for the show.
Episode 1
Senator candidate Kyle Williams' lover is killed after she threatens to reveal their affair. His speechwriter admits to him that he was the murderer, but threatens to frame him unless he cooperates.
Guest stars Robert Reed, Jane Badler, John Rubinstein
Episode 2
Carson Warfield is having an affair with his stepmother, and together they kill his father and frame a thief who used to work for them. When things don't add up McCabe gets suspicious, and starts nosing around.
Guest stars Stu Nahan, Kim Johnston Ulrich, Eugene Robert Glazer, Mike Muscat, Jim Beaver, Bruce Greenwood, Christopher Michael Moore, Heidi Kozak
Episode 3
Carson Warfield is having an affair with his stepmother, and together they kill his father and frame a thief who used to work for them. When things don't add up McCabe gets suspicious, and starts nosing around.
Guest stars Kim Johnston Ulrich, Bruce Greenwood, Frank Coppola, Anne Francis, Karen Austin, James Karen, Allan Rich, Fran Bennett
Episode 4
Jake's former partner is killed by his fiancée in an alley. She blames the murder on a Latin kid she saw stealing a VCR just before she pulled the trigger.
Guest stars Brynn Thayer, Larry Hankin, Tom McCleister, Lu Leonard, Rebeccah Bush
Episode 5
A wealthy lawyer kills his ex-wife's new man and frames her for the murder. She is arrested, and he takes the job of being her lawyer.
Guest stars Rebeccah Bush, Robert Culp, Julie Cobb, William Phipps, Dick Balduzzi
Episode 6
A call girl discovers that her pimp uses her to smuggle drugs. She contacts McCabe, but is killed just as they meet.
Directed by Christopher HiblerGuest stars Dianne Kay, Larry Hankin, Tim Haldeman, Lu Leonard, Rebeccah Bush
Episode 7
For some time David Thompson has gone out and killed bums, so that the police believe a serial killer is loose. Then when he lures his brother to an alley and kills him the same way, he won't be a suspect.
Guest stars Russell Todd, Dwight Schultz, Tim Russ
Episode 8
""Mad"" Marvin Michaels, the owner of an electronics store, is killed, and ex-con Bradford Long is the main suspect. McCabe assigns the case to the cop Karen Stetson, whose father was killed by Long.
Directed by Jerry JamesonGuest stars Don Stroud, Patrick Thomas O'Brien
Episode 9
Glen Latimer pushes his newly married rich wife Nancy of their boat, but she survives and is brought to a hospital. She is unsure if it was just an accident, so Jake goes befriends Glen posing as Nancy's brother.
Directed by Michael LangeGuest stars Terri Treas, Isabel Cooley, Lu Leonard
Episode 10
Ed Galvin escapes while he is being transported to prison, after threatening the life of McCabe and Andy Harmon (the cop who arrested him) during his trial.
Directed by Michael PreeceWritten by Paul Robert CoyleGuest stars Jeff Austin, Branscombe Richmond, John Furlong, Casey Sander, Signy Coleman, Joe Regalbuto, Joe Mays, Bobbie Eakes
Episode 11
A burglar kills a woman and blinds her nurse before fleeing. The police catch him, but have to let him go because the nurse can't identify him. When she is scheduled for an operation that could restore her eyesight, they fear he'll try to kill her.
Written by Paul Robert CoyleGuest stars Amy Steel, Mark Goddard, Casey Sander, Jeremy Roberts, Larry Hankin
Episode 12
One of the deputy DAs finally gets her first murder case when a man she was investigating for skipping alimony payments turns up dead.
Guest stars Kurt Fuller, Margaret Nagle, Joan Darling, Arthur Mendoza, Lu Leonard
Episode 13
Jake spots the hit man Sagittarius at the airport and follows him, but he spots Jake and is fatally wounded in the following gunfight. Jake takes his place to try to find out who the target was.
Written by Paul Robert CoyleGuest stars Danny Masterson, Joseph Ruskin, Steve Susskind, Gary Hudson, Dana Stevens, Lu Leonard, Alan Feinstein
Episode 14
Leslie Randall, a former PR manager for McCabe is raped. The rapist, a psychiatrist, frames one of his patients with an anonymous tip to the police.
Written by Paul Robert CoyleGuest stars James Olson, Richard Marcus, Casey Sander, Lu Leonard
Episode 15
A known mob man is killed in the home of star reporter Candace Morgan. She says he was shot through the window while she was interviewing him, but McCabe gets suspicious when there is one too many bullets.
Directed by Michael LangeGuest stars Kurt Fuller, Barbara Parkins
Episode 16
A man takes a courtroom hostage - with Derek and McCabe in it.
Guest stars Jeffrey Combs, Vaughn Armstrong, Maggie Roswell, Signy Coleman, Julian Christopher, Lu Leonard
Episode 17
A friend of McCabe is murdered just as he is about to fake his own death so his wife can collect a 4.5 million-dollar life insurance.
Guest stars Nana Visitor, Lee Purcell, Ivor Barry, Signy Coleman, Ed Nelson, Fredric Cook, Lu Leonard
Episode 18
A small time crook comes to McCabe offering to testify against the crime boss O'Rourke, after laying low for ten years. McCabe is suspicious, but is more than willing to go along with anything that can get O'Rourke behind bars.
Guest stars Tim Choate, Stacy Edwards, Allan Miller, John Lehne
Episode 19
The daughter of the wealthy Amos Banning arranges her own kidnapping, and murders her accomplice once she has the ransom.
Written by Dick NelsonGuest stars Bert Remsen, Merritt Butrick, Suzanne Snyder, Michael Paul Chan
Episode 20
Jennifer Wilding gets a surprise when her identical twin sister turns up wanting to resume their previous partnership - one steals jewelry and the other provides an alibi.
Guest stars Susan Blakely
Episode 21
A friend of Jake, Matthew Hammond, is having an affair with a rich lady. They decide to marry, but when she asks her husband for a divorce, he kills her and frames Hammond.
Directed by Christian I. Nyby IIGuest stars Jeanna Michaels, George DelHoyo, David Soul
Episode 22
A former cop who is now a crime writer commits a clever murder so that he can write a book about it that is likely to become a best seller.
Directed by Michael LangeWritten by Paul Robert CoyleGuest stars Kathryn Leigh Scott, Jere Burns, Anthony Franciosa, Casey Sander, Michael Paul Chan
Episode 23
Ned Covington and his wife plan to kill his boss, Phil Duncan, when he is passed over for promotion, but they kill another employee by mistake. Realizing this they try to frame Duncan for the murder.
Directed by Michael LangeGuest stars Reid Shelton, Tracey Needham, Kim Lankford, Edward Winter, Patrick Tovatt
Episode information updated Sep 17, 2026
Available now in United States
These shows are available now and closely match Jake and the Fatman.
William ConradJason McCabe
Joe PennyJake Styles
Alan CampbellDerek Mitchell
Bert Remsen
Kurt Fuller
Kathryn Leigh Scott
Mary-Margaret Humes
Amy Steel
CBSUnited States
Viacom ProductionsUnited States
Dean Hargrove ProductionsUnited States
Fred Silverman CompanyUnited States
Strathmore ProductionsUnited States
