SinceThe X-Filesbecame peak television in the ’90s, the show launched the “paranormal procedural” into the spotlight, as plenty of dramas have tried to piggyback off its success. But for all the contributions that the show made to television at large, it wouldn’t have existed if not for the short-lived ABC series that paved the way. If you’re looking for a bingeworthy throwback to an era post-Twilight Zonebut pre-X-Files, then look no further thanKolchak: The Night Stalker. Headlined by futureA Christmas StorylegendDarren McGavin, the series ran for only a year in the mid-1970s, but it continues to make waves today.
‘Kolchak: The Night Stalker’ Birthed the Paranormal Procedural
Premiering on August 18, 2025 (a Friday, if you may believe it),Kolchak: The Night Stalkerwas a trendsetter for television. As the TV industry had just pivoted away from Western content afterthe infamous rural purge, the Big Three were looking for more urban material to wow and dazzle audiences. Along with a host of new sitcoms and urban cop dramas,Kolchakwas very much one of a kind. It would have been even more of a gamble for ABC, butthe show had actually spun off from two made-for-TV films that the network had aired previously:The Night Stalkerin 1972, andThe Night Strangerin 1973. The first of these TV horror pictures was based on a yet-unpublished novel byJeff Rice, but proved successful enough on its own that ABC ordered a sequel. Penned byRichard Matheson(yes,thatRichard Matheson), both films established McGavin’s Carl Kolchak as a traveling reporter who stumbles upon the weird and unexplained, first a vampire in Las Vegas and then an apparent immortal in Seattle.
Thebook cover of Jeff Rice’s novel(which was released after the film aired in 1972) claimed thatThe Night Stalkerwas “the #1 TV movie of all time” during its release. Considering that, it’s no surprise that a sequel and then a television continuation spawned from it. ABC believed themselves to have a hit on their hands, and since nobody had ever really done a “paranormal procedural” before,Kolchakwas set apart right out of the gate. Sure, shows likeRod Serling’sTwilight Zonewere popular in their day, but that was an anthology series.Kolchakwould follow a single protagonist across a vast array of wild, bizarre, and supernatural happenings that would rock anyone to their core.
But for a man like Carl Kolchak, it was the story that mattered, and he was always going to get down to the bottom of it.Kolchak investigated everything from UFOs and vampires to demons, gods, and even androids. Pulling from cultures and religions all over the world,Kolchak: The Night Stalker(which originally aired as simplyThe Night Stalkerduring its first few episodes, but was retitled soon after) was a series that was willing to go to the strangest placesthat procedurals never dared go.
Carl Kolchak Wasn’t Your Typical “Spooky Cop,” but He Got the Job Done
As a show with the man’s name in the title,Kolchak: The Night Stalkerworks because of the performance of its leading man.McGavin’s Kolchak was a reporter for Chicago’s Independent News Service, and the combination of his quippy nature and investigative prowess proved a winning combo for this sci-fi/fantasy drama.Blending the supernatural with science-fiction,Kolchakalso proved that sci-fi and fantasy weren’t as far apart as many might have believed. There was no culture, no concept, no monster so strange or horrible that Kolchak wouldn’t get to the bottom of it, withMcGavin giving a career-defining performanceas the world’s first TV “spooky cop,” despite not actually being law enforcement. With his signature outfit and an either intense or bewildered look plastered across his face, Kolchak was always (and yet never) prepared for the impossible.
While the show did include a few supporting cast members, such as his editor Tony Vincenzo (Simon Oakland), elitist rival Ron Updyke (Jack Grinnage), columnist Emily Cowles (Ruth McDevitt), and intern Monique Marmelstein (Carol Ann Susi), Kolchak largely tackled each case solo. ThoughThe X-Fileswould firmly establish most spooky cop shows as needing at least two heroes per case,Kolchak: The Night Stalkersent its protagonist out in the wild all on his own, and he kinda liked it that way.
Described byTim BrooksandEarle MarshinThe Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Presentas an “odd mixture of reality and fantasy,“Kolchakthrived in finding the phenomenal and the otherworldly, hidden within the generally mundane. When Kolchak sets sail on a cruise, he encounters a werewolf; when he investigates a politician (played byTom Skerritt), he discovers that he’s madea literal deal with the Devil. Additionally, when covering a serial killer, he discovers the culprit may actually be Jack the Ripper. What’s better is that, even accounting for a few wisecracks, McGavin plays it all as straight as possible, with an earnestness that’s quite endearing.
‘The X-Files’ Found Ways To Pay Tribute to ‘Kolchak’ Years Later
Unfortunately,Kolchak: The Night Stalkerwas canceled after 20 episodes andonly a single season. Airing for a single year,ABC abandoned ship on Carl Kolchak, though his short-lived adventures would befar more influential than perhaps anyone thought. In fact, the show was (in part) the basis forChris Carter’s initial premise forThe X-Files. “There was a show on when I was a kid calledKolchak: The Night Stalker,” Carter once toldNew York Daily News. “So 25 years go past, and all of a sudden I’m in the business 10 years and somebody finally asks me what I want to do… and I say: ‘I want to do something as scary asThe Night Stalker.” Instead of a paranormal reporter, Carter introduced two FBI agents: a skeptic and a believer.
But theKolchakinfluence didn’t stop there. There was plenty of crossoverbetween the forgotten ’70s seriesandThe X-Files. Many episodes share similar plots, including the Los Angeles-based vampires seen in bothKolchak’s “The Vampire” andX-Files’ “3,” or the invisible alien entity concept from “They Have Been, They Are, They Will Be…” that Carter would revisit in “Fallen Angel.” To further express his love forKolchak, Carter attempted to convince Darren McGavin to return as the reporter. According toAndy Meisler’sResist or Serve: The Official Guide to The X-Files, Vol. 4, the series creator tried for years to convince McGavin (then in his 70s) to return for a guest stint on the show, but each time he refused. It wasn’t until Season 5’s “Travelers” thatMcGavin opted to appear as former FBI Agent Arthur Dales, the first man assigned to the X-Files.
McGavin appeared as Dales on two occasions between the fifth and sixth seasons, and was also featured as Henry Black inThe X-Files’ sister series,Millennium, fora single Christmas-themed episode. Years later, whenThe X-Fileswas revived, the fan-favorite “Mulder and Scully Meet the Were Monster” features a lizard creature (played byRhys Darby) who, becoming “human,” takes on an appearance that quite clearly resembles Carl Kolchak, complete with his iconic seersucker suit and red-banded straw hat. And this isn’t to mention that, back in 2005,X-FilesproducerFrank Spotnitzattempted his ownNight Stalkerreboot, though it was even shorter-lived than the original. BeyondThe X-Files,Kolchak: The Night Stalkerwould inspire a whole new type of television procedural, one that has managed to captivate audiences for decades.
Kolchak: The Night Stalkeris available for streaming on Peacock in the U.S.
Kolchak: The Night Stalker
