5 Most Important Action Shows That Define the Genre

When it comes to the action genre on the small screen, it was often regulated to a tier below the police procedurals and Westerns that often dominated the airwaves. But, as TV evolved over time, action shows evolved with it. The stakes were higher, the protagonists were more complexed, and, instead of focusing on the “case of the week” formula that had been the genre’s bread-and-butter for years, action shows now closely follow their big screen counterparts, where the action is the heartbeat of the narrative, not just a set piece to move the plot along.

Action shows are now in a much better place than they were, and it is all thanks to the shows that dared to rewrite the playbook of what an action show could be. From the neon-soaked streets of Miami to the real-time pressure of modern counterterrorism, the following action shows have made their impression on the genre as shows that traded in safe formulas for high-octane risks, and they showed that action shows could deliver the same big thrills as their big-screen counterparts. So, without further ado, here are the most important action shows that disrupted and defined the genre.

‘Miami Vice’ (1984–1989)

Image via NBC

Before Miami Vice premiered on NBC in 1984, action shows followed a format that didn’t do anything spectacular, and the action was seen more as a set piece than central to the storyline. That all changed when Anthony Yerkovich created a crime drama that fitted the times and pushed the boundaries of what an action cop drama could be. In essence, Yerkovich, along with executive producer Michael Mann, made the cop show look cool.

Miami Vice centers on James “Sonny” Crockett (Don Johnson) and Ricardo “Rico” Tubbs (Philip Michael Thomas), two vice detectives who work undercover to disrupt drug trafficking and prostitution in Miami. Right off the bat, Mann set forth to bring a new dynamic to Miami Vice, bringing film-quality and dynamic, colorful visuals that would set the bar high for action shows going forward.

Miami Vice was still a police procedural that worked on the “case of the week” format the genre worked with at the time, but the series was extremely fast-paced and full of energy, thanks to the music and aesthetic that were ingrained in the show’s DNA, which made Miami Vice feel more like a high-octane action music video than a traditional cop show. This was a show that was made for and defined pop culture in the 1980s, and introduced tropes that would become a staple of the action genre in subsequent years, from looking at the futility of the “war on drugs” to the moral ambiguity of the protagonist. Miami Vice remains one of the genre’s most popular cop shows, and it’s also one of its most important.

‘Starsky & Hutch’ (1975–1979)

Image via ABC

Today, it seems like buddy-cop shows and movies are a dime-a-dozen, but not enough praise is heaped on the show that launched the formula: Starsky & Hutch. Created by William Blinn, the series follows detectives David Michael Starsky (Paul Michael Glaser) and Kenneth Richard “Hutch” Hutchinson (David Soul), two cops who are different in personality, but find out they work well together in solving cases in fictional Bay City, California, defining the modern-day “buddy cop” formula as the two cops had a deep level of camaraderie that made viewers fall in love with the characters.

Starsky & Hutch were the pioneers of the “us against the world” partnership, with the show focusing a lot on the two’s banter and chemistry. Today, it’s normal for audiences to see two male leads show emotional vulnerability and a “bromance” toward one another, but in the 1970s, masculinity on television was often restrained.

That changed with Starsky & Hutch, as it was common to see the two showing emotional growth within their partnership, which shattered the restraints on male bonding on television and gave the show an emotional depth not really seen in cop shows. But, as emotional as the show was, make no mistake, this was an action show through-and-through, and the action was intense and fast-paced. Starsky & Hutch would become legendary with its spectacular car chases, which rivaled its film counterparts at times. All in all, Starsky & Hutch shifted the police drama from focusing just on cases, to a more character-driven style that would become the influence of countless cop shows and movies.

‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ (1997–2003)

If you laid eyes on Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) for the first time, vampire hunter would probably not be the first thing that comes to mind. That, however, is what makes Buffy the Vampire Slayer such a groundbreaking action horror series. The TV adaptation of the 1992 film of the same name, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, subverted the “blonde girl in an alley” trope, while, instead of making Buffy a character that would constantly need to be rescued, made her a feared hunter of monsters.

Buffy is the epitome of female empowerment. She was powerful and witty while retaining her femininity, showing that women were just as strong and powerful as men without resorting to making her more “masculine.” But, above all else, what makes Buffy the Vampire Slayer such an important action show is the way it used it. The action within this genre-bending series was there just to keep the audience entertained, but was used as metaphors for the challenges and societal pressures that teens faced then (and now). The supernatural threats Buffy encountered on a weekly basis were a representation of real-life anxieties, which gave the show more depth than one would find in a show such as this. Buffy the Vampire Slayer had a major impact on the supernatural action genre, and it redefined how strong female leads were portrayed within the action genre.

‘NCIS’ (2003–Present)

Image via CBS

It is quite a rarity that a parent series is overshadowed by its spin-off, but that’s exactly what happened to JAG, the action drama that has been upstaged by NCIS, which took the military action series to new heights. The creation of Donald P. Bellisario and Don McGill, the show follows the Major Case Response Team within the NCIS as they work to investigate high-visible crimes within the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. While other procedurals treat its main protagonists as equal-but-separate members, the team within NCIS is looked at as more of a “family” than a group of agents.

This makes the viewer more invested in the protagonists, as the office in which the NCIS agents operate is mostly composed of lighthearted office humor, a far cry from the typically serious nature of police offices in other crime procedurals. When you watch NCIS, you get the sense that the show follows more of a “sitcom” narrative, with intense and complex cases often solved within its time slot. This makes the show not only high-octane, but also more comfortable to watch. In short, NCIS is the pioneer of the “situation drama” that has given birth to other “comfort” procedurals such as ABC’s The Rookie; but, what makes NCIS so important to the action genre is its longevity. In over 20+ seasons and a cast shake-up, the show has, remarkably, kept its core identity and popularity, showing that an action show can enjoy the same longevity as comedy and dramas.

’24’ (2001–2014)

Image via FOX

While the theme of this piece is each show’s importance to the action genre, Fox’s 24 is in another tier entirely. The show wasn’t just important to the genre, it was revolutionary, as it gave the genre a necessary refresh and brought movie-like quality to the small screen in ways we hadn’t seen on television at the time. Created by Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran, 24 follows Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), a counterterrorism agent with the FBI who takes an “end justify the means” approach to defuse terrorist attacks within 24 hours.

As the title implies, each episode within a season is one hour ticked off the clock, leading to a season ending where the clock ticks to zero and often ends on a cliffhanger. This method of storytelling is called “real-time,” and, as you probably surmised by now, 24 was the pioneer of this format. By using “real-time” storytelling, it made the plot incredibly tense, and the pace made it hard for viewers to come up for air. Add in the “ticking clock” and split screens, and 24 had a sense of urgency that was rarely seen in action shows prior to the series premiere. It made 24 feel more like an action-movie blockbuster than a regular television show, and, today, the series feels like it was made for bingewatching, with its relentless action supercharging the crises that Bauer had to solve before the clock struck zero. 24 was a revolutionary action show that influenced modern-day thrillers such as Homeland and The Night Agent, and helped usher in a new era in storytelling within the action genre. While the other shows listed here are extremely important in creating the genre we have today, 24 was a show that put them all together to bring the genre into the platinum age of television.

24

Release Date

2001 – 2014-00-00

Showrunner

Robert Cochran