HBO’s First Serial Drama Adapted Stories By One Of The 20th Century’s Greatest Crime Authors

Philip Marlowe, Raymond Chandler’s iconic literary detective, was the star of the first-ever drama series from HBO. Starring Powers Boothe as the titular detective, “Philip Marlowe, Private Eye” premiered in April 1983 and returned for a second season in 1986.

Often, “Oz” is considered HBO’s first original drama, thanks to its role in ushering in the network’s more mature, prestige era. However, “Philip Marlowe, Private Eye” — a more conventional mystery-of-the-week co-production with the UK’s ITV — predated “Oz” by more than a decade. Its debut marked a turning point for HBO, which until then had been dominated by variety shows and sports.

“Philip Marlowe, Private Eye” adapted several of Chandler’s short stories featuring the detective. Throughout the first season, Boothe’s Marlowe was often assisted by Annie Riordan (Kathryn Leigh Scott). Unlike many adaptations of the era, the series maintained the original stories’ 1930s setting and leaned into classic film noir trappings, from Marlowe’s internal narration to the show’s smooth jazz soundtrack.

Across two short seasons, the show saw Marlowe embroiled with the mob, cracking murder mysteries, and frequently finding himself framed. While the series received mixed reviews in its day, Boothe’s portrayal has generally been warmly received by fans of Chandler’s original stories.

Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe has appeared on both the big and small screen in numerous adaptations dating back to the 1940s. While Powers Boothe did justice to the hard-boiled, world-weary detective of Chandler’s novels and short stories, perhaps the best-known screen Marlowe remains Humphrey Bogart, who portrayed the detective in the 1946 film noir classic “The Big Sleep.”

Chandler himself, who died in 1959 long before Boothe’s Philip Marlowe reached television, first saw his detective brought to life by Dick Powell — and he approved of the casting. Powell played the detective in the feature film “Murder, My Sweet,” and later in an episode of the TV anthology series, “Climax!,” which adapted Chandler’s novel, “The Long Goodbye.”

Prior to HBO’s take on Marlowe, some adaptations experimented with updating the setting of Chandler’s stories to a more contemporary era. 1978’s “The Big Sleep,” starring Robert Mitchum, even relocated the action from Los Angeles to London. After “Philip Marlowe, Private Eye” concluded, a 1995 episode of the neo-noir anthology series “Fallen Angels” adapted Chandler’s short story, “Red Wind,” reimagining Marlowe by casting Danny Glover in the role while keeping the original 1940s setting.