Television series
Jason King
Jason King is a gloriously camp crime drama about a bestselling novelist who solves real crimes while living as his own fictional character. Peter Wyngarde is magnetic as the velvet-voiced, sexually ambiguous playboy investigator, all tailored excess and theatrical detection. It's pure early-70s escapism—clever enough to reward attention, ridiculous enough to never take itself seriously. For anyone nostalgic for when TV could be this unapologetically flamboyant.
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Department S1969
The parent series that spawned Jason King, featuring the same adventurous spirit and mystery-of-the-week format. Wyngarde is equally magnetic, and the show shares that perfect balance of intricate plotting and theatrical flair.
But It demands patience with 1960s pacing and some plots don't quite land. The show can feel lumpy when it's trying too hard to be clever.
The Saint1962
Roger Moore as Simon Templar: charming, ruthless, impossibly stylish. Every bit as much about the glamour of the protagonist as the crime he's solving. Moore makes moral ambiguity look like silk.
But The plots are often thin and the moralizing can clang. It's more about watching Moore than being surprised by whodunits.
The Persuaders1971
Tony Curtis and Roger Moore as mismatched con-artist partners solving crimes across Europe. Absurdly charming, visually sumptuous, and it shares Jason King's commitment to style over substance in the best way.
But The premise is paper-thin and some episodes are just excuses for tourist board montages. It knows this and doesn't care.
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Sapphire and Steel1979
Both use their protagonist's surface—flamboyance versus inscrutability—to hide something stranger underneath. Both are stranger than they first appear; both demand you surrender to their logic rather than questioning it.
Joanna Lumley and David McCallum as time-fixing agents who solve mysteries that operate on dream logic. It's surreal, erotic, genuinely unsettling, and utterly committed to the illogical. Shares Jason King's refusal to play by genre rules, but inverts the tone completely.
But The plots are deliberately impenetrable and some episodes feel unfinished. If you need narrative clarity or resolution, this will frustrate you deeply.
More like this (6)
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.1964
Robert Vaughn and David McCallum as Cold War spies in a show that understands style is part of espionage. Witty, stylish, with that same blend of absurdity and genuine menace that makes Jason King tick.
But It lurches between camp and serious without quite committing to either. Some episodes feel padded; others feel rushed.
Columbo1968
Peter Falk as the shambling detective who outthinks everyone. Like Jason King, it's driven by character and performance as much as mystery. But instead of flamboyance, Columbo uses apparent incompetence as his disguise.
But The format is repetitive by design. If you need surprise or narrative variety, even a great performance won't hold you for long.
Mannix1967
Mike Connors as a private investigator who's tough but not invulnerable. Genuinely well-plotted mysteries with real stakes, and it shares Jason King's commitment to glamorous 1970s excess in sets and wardrobe.
But It plays the action straighter than Jason King, so it can feel a bit earnest. The cases can be procedurally dry.
Jade1995
A twisty, nasty erotic thriller about a woman and a man who may or may not be what they seem. Like Jason King, it's shamelessly sexy and plays with ambiguity about character. It commits to style and sexual intrigue as plot engines.
But The twist divides people sharply. Some find it cheap; others see it as the point. The 90s softcore aesthetic hasn't aged gracefully for everyone.
In Like Flint1967
James Coburn as super-spy Derek Flint, essentially Jason King on film: preposterous, impeccably dressed, casually seductive, solving crimes that belong in comic books. Pure style, pure fun, no apologies.
But There's almost no substance beneath the surface. If you need character depth or grounded stakes, this is paper-thin entertainment.
Velvet2014
Both understand that performance is not decoration but weapon and survival tool. Both are about people who use style as their actual character, not a surface for one. Both are unusually erotically charged.
A Spanish period thriller about a woman navigating 1950s Madrid's high fashion world while committing crimes. Gorgeously styled, genuinely suspenseful, and absolutely committed to the erotics of fabric, posture, and performance as means of survival and seduction.
But Subtitles, and the pacing is European—patient, sometimes glacial. Some find the melodrama overwrought; others find it essential.
People
Cast
Writing
- Dennis SpoonerCreator
- Monty BermanCreator