Although the first few episodes of Dragnet failed to meet the expectations that the show’s relatively large budget had lead the network to expect, it soon became one of NBC’s most reliable moneymakers once Jack Webb and his creative team perfected the format. Once Fatima and Chesterfield Cigarettes signed on as sponsors, the show ran straight without taking a summer break until the 1953 season. Other NBC series were taking the hot months off, so they turned to Webb to fill the 8PM Wednesday night slot.

The concept that Webb brought forth was a labor of love. He reunited with his former roommate and writing partner Richard Breen to develop Pete Kelly’s Blues. Webb’s character, Pete Kelly, lead a Dixieland Jazz band in a Kansas City speakeasy. Like the protagonists Breen and Webb had created for Pat Novak for Hire and Johnny Madero, Pier 23, Kelly was not a professional detective, but he did make himself available when a case came along.

Part of what made Pete Kelly’s Blues a labor of love was the fact that Webb had been a Jazz fan since childhood. Although every bit as straight-laced as Sgt Friday, Webb was comfortable in the smoky nightclub atmosphere of Jazz. Kelly’s band was “The Big Seven”, a reflection of Webb’s Mk VII Production company. Click here to read more about Pete Kelly's Blues