Andy Barker, P.I.
An accountant reluctantly solves cases as a private investigator.
Andy Barker, P.I. is an American detective sitcom that aired on NBC, starring Andy Richter as a certified public accountant who reluctantly becomes a private investigator after being mistaken for the former office tenant, a real private eye. The show was produced for one season and scheduled to run a six-episode, five-week course starting Thursday, March 15, 2007. However, the series was cancelled and removed from the Thursday lineup after the fourth episode aired, with the final two episodes airing on Saturday, April 14.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Sitcom
- Creator
- Conan O'Brien; Jonathan Groff
- Starring
- Andy Richter
- Clea Lewis
- Harve Presnell
- Tony Hale
- Marshall Manesh
- Composer
- Adam Cohen
- Language
- English
- Country
- United States
- Seasons
- 1
- Episodes
- 6
Facts from the source article.
Development and production
NBC ordered the pilot on March 7, 2006, written by creators Conan O'Brien and Jonathan Groff. The series was shot single-camera without a laugh track. All six episodes were posted on the NBC website before the broadcast premiere. The show premiered alongside the detective series Raines, and both offered free pilot downloads on the iTunes Store.
Cast
Early promotional images featured Amy Farrington as Ruth (later renamed Jenny Barker and played by Clea Lewis) and Ion Overman as Jessica (later reworked into Nicole, played by Nicole Randall Johnson); these roles were recast before the series debut. Andy Richter portrays Andrew 'Andy' Barker, a middle-aged CPA who reluctantly takes on a missing-person case after being mistaken for the former tenant, a real private investigator. Clea Lewis plays Jenny Barker, Andy's wife, who initially disapproves but later warms to his detective work; they have an infant daughter named Molly and at least one son. Harve Presnell plays Lew Staziak, the retired P.I. and prior tenant who becomes Andy's mentor, suffering from alektorophobia and memory lapses. Tony Hale plays Simon, manager of the Video Riot rental store, who has extensive movie trivia knowledge and befriends Andy as an investigative partner. Marshall Manesh plays Wally, an Afghan restaurant owner with excellent surveillance equipment. Nicole Randall Johnson plays Nicole, an unmotivated file clerk who hires herself as Andy's unwanted assistant; she is fluent in reading lips and appears in two episodes.
Episodes
Episode titles after the pilot are plays on classic mystery film titles: 'Fairway, My Lovely' (based on Farewell, My Lovely), 'Three Days of the Chicken' (based on Three Days of the Condor), 'Dial M for Laptop' (based on Dial M for Murder), 'The Big No Sleep' (based on The Big Sleep), and 'The Lady Varnishes' (based on The Lady Vanishes). The final two episodes aired on a Saturday at 8:00 and 8:30.
More in Television Series by Universal Television
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced