While not the first to do it, Columbo is the best-known example of the "howcatchem" mystery series, inspiring series like Elsbeth or Poker Face, where an eccentric character pieces together the clues ...

Lieutenant Columbo, played with average Joe charm and unshowy, easy-to-miss dexterity by Peter Falk, is more than meets the eye — to the bad guys, not us, because we know how things will turn out.

Who would have thought a homicide detective from the ‘70s would have had a cultural moment in the 2020s? And yet, that’s been the case for Lieutenant Columbo. Peter Falk’s trench-coat-wearing cop had ...