 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2013) |
| Diagnosis: Murder | |
|---|---|
 Title screen used in seasons 1 and 2 | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | Joyce Burditt |
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer |
|
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 8 |
| No. of episodes | 178 (+ pilot and 5 TV movies) (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Production locations | Denver Los Angeles |
| Running time | 45 minutes |
| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | October 29, 1993 – May 11, 2001 |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
Diagnosis: Murder is an American mystery medical crime drama television series starring Dick Van Dyke as Dr. Mark Sloan, a medical doctor who solves crimes with the help of his son Steve, a homicide detective played by Van Dyke's real-life son Barry. The series began as a spin-off of Jake and the Fatman (Dr. Mark Sloan made his first appearance in the nineteenth episode of the fourth season of the show, "It Never Entered My Mind"), became a series of three television films, and then a weekly television series that premiered on CBS on October 29, 1993. Joyce Burditt, who created the show, wrote the Jake and the Fatman episode.
The series struggled at first and was almost cancelled at the end of the second season, but it returned as a midseason replacement in the third season, and was regularly renewed thereafter. During the show's eight seasons 178 episodes were produced and aired on the CBS network in the United States, and two more TV movies aired after the series' final episode aired on May 11, 2001. The show is currently distributed by CBS Television Distribution.
In the Jake and the Fatman episode, Dr. Mark Sloan was a widower with no sons. Dr. Amanda Bentley is played by Cynthia Gibb in the TV movies and, finally, by Victoria Rowell in the TV series. Stephen Caffrey played Dr. Jack Parker in the movies, a role that went to Scott Baio as Dr. Jack Stewart in the weekly series (first two seasons).
The first two TV movies were shot in Vancouver, British Columbia, and the third was shot in Denver, Colorado. The first eight episodes of the series were also shot (and set) in Denver, before quickly (and without explanation) shifting to Los Angeles for the remainder of the show's run. Since 1997, reruns of the show have been shown in syndication and on Freeform (formerly ABC Family and originally CBN Satellite Service), Ion Television (formerly PAX-TV), Hallmark Channel, 10 Bold, CBS Action and MeTV. In the UK it is currently being shown on Great! TV.