Television series

Renegade

Name: Renegade
Genre: Action, Crime
Released: 1992
Cast: Branscombe Richmond, Lorenzo Lamas, Kathleen Kinmont, Sandra Dee Robinson, Stephen J. Cannell

Vigilante
Action
Relentless

A framed ex-cop turned bounty hunter prowls the American badlands, hunting criminals to clear his name and avenge his murdered girlfriend. Renegade is pure 90s action: muscular, episodic, and unapologetically built for USA Network syndication. It's got motorcycle chases, betrayals, and moral clarity—good guys and bad guys, rarely much between. Ideal for anyone who wants their TV to move fast and ask no philosophical questions.

TVMaze rating

4.0

If you liked this

The Fugitive1963

A wrongly accused man on the run, hunting the real killer while evading the law. Tense, serialized, and anchored by Harrison Ford's quiet desperation. The template that made the premise legendary.

But Slower-paced and more procedural than Renegade—no motorcycle stunts or weekly episodic resets. You're waiting for resolution, not just the next escape.

Knight Rider1982

A lone vigilante with a vehicle, a handler, and a mission each week. Charismatic lead, lightweight plotting, pure 80s action comfort food. The DNA of shows like Renegade.

But Dated special effects and a very specific 80s charm that doesn't age equally well. Also, the car talks, which is either delightful or exhausting.

Wanted: Dead or Alive1958

A bounty hunter tracking fugitives across the Old West. Episodic, action-packed for its era, and the spiritual grandfather of every modern 'lone wolf' series. Steve Reeves is magnetic.

But Black and white, 26-minute episodes, and the pacing is leisurely by today's standards. You need patience and appetite for vintage television.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Renegade

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Point Break1991

Both are about a cop operating outside the law to catch criminals—but Point Break questions whether the cop's morality and the outlaw's are actually different. Renegade stays certain; Point Break dissolves into ambiguity.

An undercover cop infiltrates a gang of philosophizing surfer-bank robbers. Kinetic action sequences, existential menace, and Patrick Swayze as a charismatic criminal. Pure kinetic cinema.

But The surfing sequences slow the plot. The dialogue about transcendence will feel absurd if you're just here for chases and gunfire.

Magnum, P.I.1980

A charming con man working cases in Hawaii, sidestepping authority while staying morally grounded. Stylish, funny, and endlessly watchable. Tom Selleck at peak charisma.

But More comedy than action, and the 80s aesthetics are now nostalgia, not just setting. If you want fist-fights and motorcycle chases, look elsewhere.

The A-Team1983

Four ex-soldiers for hire, framed by the military, helping the helpless each week. Fast-paced, violent but cartoonish, and endlessly entertaining. Pure adventure with minimal pretense.

But Extremely silly—people survive explosions that should kill them repeatedly. The plotting is an excuse for spectacle, not the other way around.

Cannon1971

A hulking private detective solving cases methodically, with 1970s grit and no winking. William Conrad brings working-class dignity to the role. Forgotten gem of detective television.

But Slow by modern standards, and the episodic structure means stakes rarely carry over. Some cases are domestic drama rather than action.

Code Name K.O.Z.2015

A covert operative doing black-ops work, moving through the world with lies and lethal skill. Quick-paced, full of double-crosses, and pleasantly paranoid.

But Canceled after one season. The mythology never fully resolves, leaving you hanging and frustrated.

Jake and the Fatman1987

An older detective and his younger partner investigating crimes in Hawaii. Amiable, episodic, and asks very little of you except to enjoy watching two guys solve problems.

But Breezy to the point of weightlessness. Nothing sticks; everything resolves in 45 minutes. There's no real jeopardy or stakes.

Kung Fu1972

Both are episodic journeys through America by a displaced man seeking redemption and answers. But Kung Fu is internal and spiritual while Renegade is external and kinetic—same structure, opposite registers.

A Shaolin monk travels the American West seeking his brother, helping strangers and fighting injustice. Philosophical, beautiful, and genuinely strange—a genre hybrid that shouldn't work but does.

But Dialogue-heavy and slow-burning. The martial arts sequences are brief and meditative, not explosive. You need to meet the show's contemplative tone halfway.

Papillon1973

Both begin with a man framed and imprisoned, then freed by circumstance or escape. But Renegade is about clearing his name through action; Papillon is about accepting that some injustices can't be undone—only endured.

A wrongly convicted man escapes a brutal prison, determined to clear his name and destroy the system that trapped him. Methodical, brutal, and ultimately about the cost of survival. McQueen and Hoffman at their finest.

But Long, slow, and genuinely bleak. There's no lightness, no humor, no reset button. It takes its protagonist's suffering as real and permanent.