Spenser: For Hire lasted for three seasons (1985–1988) and was followed by four made-for-TV movies (1993–1995), all starring Robert Urich, and Avery Brooks.
The two-hour pilot movie was an adaptation of the fourth novel in the book series, Promised Land.
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Promised Land" | Lee H. Katzin | John Wilder | September 20, 1985 | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | ||||||||||
| Spenser is hired to find the runaway wife of a wealthy businessman (Geoffrey Lewis). | |||||||||||
| 3 | 3 | "No Room at the Inn" | John Wilder | John Wilder | September 27, 1985 | ||||||
| Spenser is hired by the police department to protect a witness who may not be who she claims. | |||||||||||
| 4 | 4 | "The Choice" | Richard Colla | Daniel Freudenberger | October 4, 1985 | ||||||
| A pair of young thrill-killers target Spenser, accidentally shooting a bystander. | |||||||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Children of a Tempest Storm" | William Wiard | Robert Hamilton | October 11, 1985 | ||||||
| Spenser kills a would-be thief in the course of thwarting a robbery. | |||||||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Original Sin" | Harvey Hart | Robert Hamilton | October 18, 1985 | ||||||
| Spenser investigates the apparent suicide of a young nun, and stumbles onto a corrupt landlord. | |||||||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Discord in A Minor" | Harvey Hart | Story by : David Abramowitz Teleplay by : Janet Kapsin | October 25, 1985 | ||||||
| Spenser is fired from a bodyguard job after his young charge is kidnapped. | |||||||||||
| 8 | 8 | "The Killer Within" | Don Chaffey | Robert Malcolm Young | November 12, 1985 | ||||||
| Spenser is hired to protect a woman's identical twin sister from assassins. | |||||||||||
| 9 | 9 | "Autumn Thieves" | William Wiard | Jerry Ziegman | November 19, 1985 | ||||||
| Spenser stumbles onto a ring of thieves while investigating a relic stolen from a museum. | |||||||||||
| 10 | 10 | "Blood Money" | Unknown | Unknown | November 26, 1985 | ||||||
| The wife of a kidnapped oil tycoon hires Spenser to deliver $1 million in ransom money. | |||||||||||
| 11 | 11 | "Resurrection" | Virgil Vogel | Richard Collins | December 3, 1985 | ||||||
| Spenser investigates a crooked vice cop involved in the mugging of one of Susan's friends. | |||||||||||
| 12 | 12 | "Internal Affairs" | Richard Colla | Bruce Murkoff | December 17, 1985 | ||||||
| Marital infidelity and suspected involvement in a gambling ring lead to Lt. Quirk's suspension. | |||||||||||
| 13 | 13 | "Death by Design" | Virgil Vogel | Bruce Murkoff | January 7, 1986 | ||||||
| Spenser walks into a death trap when a beautiful university scientist hires him to track down her gigolo boyfriend. | |||||||||||
| 14 | 14 | "A Day's Wages" | Virgil Vogel | Robert McKee | January 14, 1986 | ||||||
| Spenser and Hawk blame themselves for failing to protect their respective clients from the clutches of the underworld. | |||||||||||
| 15 | 15 | "A Madness Most Discreet" | Ray Austin | Robert Hamilton | January 21, 1986 | ||||||
| Spenser is dazzled by the beauty and grace of a former Bolshoi ballerina who appeals for his help and tempts him with her love. | |||||||||||
| 16 | 16 | "Brother to Dragons" | Sutton Roley | Howard Gordon & Alex Gansa | February 4, 1986 | ||||||
| Spenser goes undercover at a private high school to investigate heroin use on campus, but discovers something far more serious. | |||||||||||
| 17 | 17 | "When Silence Speaks" | Ray Austin | Robert Hamilton | February 11, 1986 | ||||||
| Spenser is retained to locate a missing scientist by a deaf newspaper columnist (Phyllis Frelich) with whom the scientist had been corresponding. | |||||||||||
| 18 | 18 | "In a Safe Place" | Virgil Vogel | William Robert Yates | February 14, 1986 | ||||||
| Spenser and Susan look for a Mexican labor organizer who has suspiciously disappeared. | |||||||||||
| 19 | 19 | "Angel of Desolation" | Ray Austin | Robert Hamilton | March 4, 1986 | ||||||
| While working for a wealthy woman, Spenser is caught up in a deadly murder mystery complete with an illicit love story. | |||||||||||
| 20 | 20 | "She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not" | Virgil Vogel | Daniel Freudenberger | March 11, 1986 | ||||||
| Sgt. Frank falls in love with a white supremacist. | |||||||||||
| 21 | 21 | "At the River's Edge" | David Whorf | Robert Hamilton | March 25, 1986 | ||||||
| Spenser is hired by a 12-year-old to investigate the murder of her older sister. | |||||||||||
| 22 | 22 | "Rage" | Unknown | Bruce Murcoff | April 1, 1986 | ||||||
| A teenage girl's agitated condition following a rape gets her into deeper trouble when she's kidnapped by an ex-con bent on shooting Spenser. | |||||||||||
| 23 | 23 | "Hell Hath No Fury" | Virgil Vogel | Daniel Freudenberger | April 8, 1986 | ||||||
| The father of a boy killed in the collapse of an apartment takes a politician hostage to protest lax inspection charges. | |||||||||||
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | 1 | "An Eye for an Eye" | William Wiard | Stephen Hattman | September 27, 1986 | |
| New D.A. Rita Fiore tries to prosecute Spenser for blackmail. | ||||||
| 25 | 2 | "Widow's Walk" | William Wiard | Story by : Joe Smoke Teleplay by : Juanita Bartlett | October 4, 1986 | |
| A small fishing family hires Spenser to investigate the death of their father. | ||||||
| 26 | 3 | "White Knight" | Virgil Vogel | Daniel Freudenberger | October 18, 1986 | |
| While Spenser and Hawk are in a small town to view a boxing match, Hawk is arrested. | ||||||
| 27 | 4 | "Rockabye Baby" | Virgil Vogel | David Abramowitz | October 25, 1986 | |
| A mobster's pregnant teenage girlfriend tries to keep her unborn son from his father. | ||||||
| 28 | 5 | "And Give Up Show Biz?" | William Wiard | Robert Bielak | November 1, 1986 | |
| Spenser protects a man suffering from amnesia. | ||||||
| 29 | 6 | "The Long Hunt" | Virgil Vogel | David Carren | November 8, 1986 | |
| A young criminal's father attacks a bus transporting convicts to the state prison. | ||||||
| 30 | 7 | "Home Is the Hero" | William Wiard | Shel Willens | November 22, 1986 | |
| Rita hires Spenser to investigate a troubled teenager. | ||||||
| 31 | 8 | "One if by Land, Two if by Sea" | Virgil Vogel | William Robert Yates | November 29, 1986 | |
| A friend of Spenser's is shot and killed while portraying Paul Revere during a Revolutionary War re-enactment. | ||||||
| 32 | 9 | "Shadowsight" | Cliff Bole | Gerry Day | December 13, 1986 | |
| A girl who apparently has the unique ability to 'see' through both space and time, enlists Spenser's help to solve a rash of arsons. | ||||||
| 33 | 10 | "The Hopes and Fears" | Harry Harris | Michael Petryni | December 20, 1986 | |
| With the help of Hawk, a disgusted Spenser is determined to get rid of thugs who are terrorizing his Boston neighborhood. | ||||||
| 34 | 11 | "Among Friends" | Cliff Bole | Daniel Freudenberger | January 10, 1987 | |
| Hawk is the main suspect when Lt. Quirk is shot, due to a recent fracas between the two. | ||||||
| 35 | 12 | "I Confess" | Winrich Kolbe | Story by : Rudolph Berecht Teleplay by : Robert Malcolm Young | January 17, 1987 | |
| A wealthy man is murdered and, surprise, an innocent man is arrested. | ||||||
| 36 | 13 | "Murder and Acquisitions" | Harry Harris | Alex Gansa & Howard Gordon | January 24, 1987 | |
| Spenser investigates the apparent suicide of a philandering financier about to turn state's evidence to bring down insider trading. | ||||||
| 37 | 14 | "Personal Demons" | Cliff Bole | Cynthia Darnell | February 7, 1987 | |
| Spenser and Rita go after a corrupt ruler. | ||||||
| 38 | 15 | "Mary Hamilton" | Winrich Kolbe | Story by : Norma Safford Vela Teleplay by : David Carren | February 14, 1987 | |
| A girl (Melissa Leo) comes to Boston looking for her estranged father. Spenser decides to help her. | ||||||
| 39 | 16 | "Trial and Error" | David Whorf | Story by : Nelson Costello Teleplay by : Robert Bielak & Nelson Costello | February 21, 1987 | |
| A pimp is wrongfully arrested for the murder of one of his girls. Spenser agonizes between pursuing the real murderer or letting the pimp take the rap. | ||||||
| 40 | 17 | "One for My Daughter" | Winrich Kolbe | Story by : Joan H. Parker Teleplay by : Robert B. Parker | March 7, 1987 | |
| Spenser and Hawk protect a man (Larry Riley) who owes money to men of dubious ethics. | ||||||
| 41 | 18 | "My Brother's Keeper" | Michael Vejar | Alex Gansa & Howard Gordon | March 14, 1987 | |
| Spenser becomes embroiled in the seamy Vietnamese organized crime racket after a Vietnamese crime boss uses Spenser to track down a former soldier. | ||||||
| 42 | 19 | "The Road Back" | Winrich Kolbe | Stephen Hattman | March 21, 1987 | |
| Spenser loses all feeling in his right arm after he's shot while guarding a politician. | ||||||
| 43 | 20 | "If You Knew Sammy" | Bruce Bilson | Lee Goldberg & William Rabkin | April 4, 1987 | |
| NRA poster-boy Sammy Backlin (Sal Viscuso) breezes into town for a book signing, unwittingly involving Spenser in a shoot out. | ||||||
| 44 | 21 | "The Man Who Wasn't There" | Charles Picerni | Michael Petryni | May 2, 1987 | |
| Rita and her old college friends are reunited when a fictional person they created 20 years ago is found dead in his apartment. | ||||||
| 45 | 22 | "The Song of Orpheus" | Winrich Kolbe | Daniel Freudenberger | May 9, 1987 | |
| A prison inmate with a grudge against Hawk hires outside muscle to rub him out. Last episode to feature Carolyn McCormick as Rita Fiori. | ||||||
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 46 | 1 | "Homecoming" | Winrich Kolbe | Story by : Joan H. Parker Teleplay by : Robert B. Parker | September 27, 1987 | |
| Spenser tries to settle a feud between a mobster (William Hickey) and a judge. Susan returns from California. | ||||||
| 47 | 2 | "My Enemy, My Friend" | Virgil W. Vogel | Alex Gansa & Howard Gordon | October 4, 1987 | |
| A streetwise young kid (Kadeem Hardison) gets involved over his head in the underworld. | ||||||
| 48 | 3 | "Heart of the Matter" | Winrich Kolbe | Norma Safford Vela | October 11, 1987 | |
| Lt. Quirk faces his mortality when he suffers a heart attack. This is the last episode to feature Richard Jaeckel as Marty Quirk. | ||||||
| 49 | 4 | "On the Night He Was Betrayed" | David M. Whorf | Michael Fisher | November 1, 1987 | |
| Spenser helps an old friend, an alcoholic priest (James Rebhorn) who tries to help homeless teenagers, when he gets involved over his head. | ||||||
| 50 | 5 | "Sleepless Dream" | David M. Whorf | William Rabkin & Lee Goldberg | November 8, 1987 | |
| Spenser becomes obsessed with an apparently suicidal woman after a chance encounter on the street. | ||||||
| 51 | 6 | "Consilium Abditum" | Winrich Kolbe | Stephen Hattman | November 15, 1987 | |
| Spenser is arrested when he intervenes in a fight. | ||||||
| 52 | 7 | "Thanksgiving" | Richard Colla | Walter Brough | November 29, 1987 | |
| Spenser runs into an old friend while visiting a recreation of a Puritan village. | ||||||
| 53 | 8 | "Gone Fishin'" | Bruce Bilson | Tom Chehak | December 6, 1987 | |
| Spenser's fishing trip is interrupted when he has to protect a young man who's not allowed to marry the girl he loves. | ||||||
| 54 | 9 | "Child's Play" | Richard Colla | William Robert Yates | December 20, 1987 | |
| A sniper takes some shots at Spenser and Susan, and a young boy ends up dead in the crossfire. | ||||||
| 55 | 10 | "Skeletons in the Closet" | Winrich Kolbe | Don Nardo & Peter Jones & Robert B. Verduccio | January 3, 1988 | |
| Spenser and Hawk find themselves on opposite sides of the same case. | ||||||
| 56 | 11 | "The Siege" | Bill Duke | Andrew Sipes | January 10, 1988 | |
| Susan and an injured Hawk are trapped inside a post office when a disgruntled postal worker takes hostages. | ||||||
| 57 | 12 | "Arthur's Wake" | Winrich Kolbe | Jerome Coopersmith | January 16, 1988 | |
| Spenser protects an old friend, Arthur, after he's assaulted and robbed. | ||||||
| 58 | 13 | "To the End of the Line" | Harry Harris | Nelson Costello | January 23, 1988 | |
| When Frank's niece (Cady McClain) dies of a drug overdose, Spenser and Frank go after the men responsible. | ||||||
| 59 | 14 | "Play It Again, Sammy" | Bruce Bilson | Lee Goldberg & William Rabkin | January 30, 1988 | |
| Sammy Backlin calls Spenser for protection when he's being hunted by a 'vicious horde of bloodthirsty assassins'. | ||||||
| 60 | 15 | "The Big Fight" | Winrich Kolbe | Jonathan Day | February 6, 1988 | |
| One of Spenser's old trainers (Cliff Gorman) lures Spenser to a deserted warehouse where Spenser is supposed to be killed, to get out from under a gambling debt. | ||||||
| 61 | 16 | "Substantial Justice" | David M. Whorf | John Jay Osborn Jr. | February 13, 1988 | |
| Spenser protects a theater owner from gangsters, but begins to suspect she's not as innocent as she appears. | ||||||
| 62 | 17 | "Company Man" | Winrich Kolbe | Norma Safford Vela | March 12, 1988 | |
| Spenser suspects insurance fraud when a building blows up. Susan has a possibly cancerous mass removed. | ||||||
| 63 | 18 | "Watercolors" | Winrich Kolbe | Ronald D. Brown | March 19, 1988 | |
| Spenser protects a child artist after the child witnesses a mob execution while painting in the forest. | ||||||
| 64 | 19 | "Hawk's Eyes" | David M. Whorf | Tom Chehak | March 26, 1988 | |
| Spenser investigates the death of a friend apparently involved with white supremacists. Hawk is rendered blind by an explosion. | ||||||
| 65 | 20 | "McAllister" | Harvey Hart | William Robert Yates & Steven Hattman | April 30, 1988 | |
| Spenser assists a lawyer in proving the innocence of his client, a Navy seaman accused of murdering the captain's daughter. | ||||||
| 66 | 21 | "Haunting" | David M. Whorf | Michael Fisher | May 7, 1988 | |
| Spenser investigates an old child kidnapping case when he tries to track down a teenage girl's biological parents. | ||||||
During the early 1990s, Urich and Brooks reunited for four made-for-TV films, produced by the Lifetime cable network. The movies were based on four of Parker's novels. Parker and his wife Joan co-wrote the first two screenplays and the two movies kept to the spirit of the series. To keep production costs down Barbara Stock was replaced as Susan Silverman in the first two movies by Barbara Williams and in the other two by veteran actress Wendy Crewson (Air Force One) and Frank Belson was played by J. Winston Carroll. Parker's son Daniel appears in all four movies as a waiter in Spenser's favorite restaurant. Unlike the series which was filmed in Boston, the new movies were filmed in Toronto to take advantage of the lower production costs. The first two movies were still set in Boston (parts of Toronto easily passed for Boston), with the second two rewritten to be set in Toronto (the novel Savage Place was set in Los Angeles).[citation needed]
| Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Spenser: Ceremony" | Paul Lynch, Andrew Wild | Robert B. Parker & Joan H. Parker | July 22, 1993 | |
| Spenser is hired to locate April Kyle, the missing daughter of Harry Kyle, millionaire and candidate for Governor. | ||||
| "Pale Kings and Princes" | Vic Sarin | Robert B. Parker & Joan H. Parker | February 2, 1994 | |
| One of Susan's former patients, a news reporter, is killed, Spenser investigates. | ||||
| "Spenser: The Judas Goat" | Joseph L. Scanlan | Nahum Tate, Carol Daley, Monte Stettin | December 1, 1994 | |
| Spenser is hired out by Hugh Dixon to track down the killers of his wife and daughters. | ||||
| "Spenser: A Savage Place" | Joseph L. Scanlan | Nahum Tate, Carol Daley, Donald Martin | January 4, 1995 | |
| Candy Sloane, a news reporter that Spenser used to date, hires him out as backup while she investigates a credit card fraud ring. | ||||