Created by Andrew Wreggitt "Corporate crime, my ass." When television's Tom Stone made its debut back in February 2002, I couldn't help thinking "Wow! A promising new P.I. show — from Canada! And it's set in Calgary!" Even better? It turned out to be pretty good. TOM STONE, naturally, was the hero — a fast-talking … Continue reading Tom Stone
Tag: Ex-cop
Frank Clemons
Created by Thomas H. Cook (1947 --) You want it darker? More a long novel spat out in parts than a series, these three books by Thomas H. Cook featuring FRANK CLEMONS form one of the truly classic P.I. hat tricks of all time. Too bad, then, that within a few years, these dark, … Continue reading Frank Clemons
Leo Beckett (Dirty Work)
Created by Laurence Marks, Maurice Gran & Sam Lawrence In the limited BBC One series Dirty Work (2000), slick, smiling LEO BECKETT is a former cop who made his money from gambling (he cheats) and occasional private eye work in Cardiff, Wales, scamming his way through life. The "dirty work" in question consists of the … Continue reading Leo Beckett (Dirty Work)
Marissa Wong (Wong & Winchester)
Created by Hollis Ludlow-Carroll SOMEHOW I missed the short-lived Canadian TV show Wong & Winchester (2023) when it first aired, but I'm glad I stumbled across it (while searching for something else on Plex, a streaming service that mysteriously popped up on my television, a few years later). It's not one of the great private eye … Continue reading Marissa Wong (Wong & Winchester)
Matt Moulton
Created by Michael Amedeo THE WORLD is White, the world is Black... It's San Francisco in 1949, and when we meet him in the series debut, 2024's Past Tense, MATT MOULTON is a WWII vet and an ex-cop, now toiling away as a "stylishly embittered private dick." He's tough and bitter, and about as white … Continue reading Matt Moulton
Jack Kiley
Created by John Harvey Pseudonyms include Jonothan White JACK KILEY is a former cop and ex-football hero turned London-based private eye, created by British crime writer John Harvey. You wanna know about the tone of the stories? Gritty as a truckload of sandpaper, harder than a kick in the teeth and determined to set the … Continue reading Jack Kiley
Ben Ames
Created by Gayleen Froese Burned out and disillusioned criminologist and former cop turned Calgary-based private eye BEN AMES chases cheatersof all types (but mostly marital and insurance) all over Kananaskis County in the foothills and front ranges of the Canadian Rockies. "People will surprise you," Ben says to one of his clients in the series … Continue reading Ben Ames
Lance Wingman (Destination Kill)
Created by Joe Palmer Got dystopia? Not sure how "PI-ish" this 2026 comic book is, but it does have ex-copper turned private eye LANCE WINGMAN as a major character, teaming up with his former partner on the force, Gina Serene, a burned-out, pill-popping detective charged with squelching a worker's uprising in the corporate-controlled, robot-dominated hellscape … Continue reading Lance Wingman (Destination Kill)
Alo Nudger
Created by John Lutz "People shouldn't do this kind of thing to each other." — Alo philosophizes in The Right to Sing the Blues Introducing the weenie as shamus. St. Louis ex-cop turned private eye ALO NUDGER is perhaps the most Chaplinesque of fictional gumshoes. Where other P.I.s are hardcases living on cigarettes, booze, broads … Continue reading Alo Nudger
Edison Bixby & Wally Nash
Created by Lee Goldberg Ex-cop turned insurance investigator EDISON BIXBY is brilliant. Just ask anyone. Hell, just ask him. He's rich and handsome; a certified genius when it comes to cracking seemingly impossible crimes. He's also possibly just plain certifiable, obsessed with a crackpot theory (or is it?) about environmental design and how it affects … Continue reading Edison Bixby & Wally Nash