Banyon was a detective series aired in the United States by NBC as part of its 1972-73 lineup, though a stand-alone two-hour TV movie first aired in March 1971. The show was a Quinn Martin Production (in association with Warner Bros. Television), the first-ever show Martin made for the NBC network.

Banyon was a period drama set in the late 1930s in Los Angeles. It revolved around the life of private investigator Miles C. Banyon (Robert Forster), a tough-but-honest detective who would take on essentially any case for $ 20/day. Located in the same complex (the famed Bradbury Building) as Banyon's office was the secretarial school operated by Peggy Revere (Joan Blondell). By an agreement between Banyon and Revere, part of the training provided to these young women was a turn serving as Banyon's secretary; this gave him the advantage of not having to provide a salary for a secretary but meant that he never had the same one long enough for her to become a truly knowledgable or reliable assistant. Besides Revere, the other ongoing female character was Banyon's girlfriend Abby Graham (Julie Gregg), a nightclub singer who was constantly trying to encourage him to "settle down" and marry her, but to no avail during the brief run of this series. Banyon's police connection in the LAPD was the cynical Lieutenant Pete McNeil (Richard Jaeckel).

Banyon was unable to find an adequate audience and lost in the Nielsen ratings to Love, American Style on ABC and movies on CBS and was cancelled at midseason.

It is one of the few Quinn Martin shows not currently owned by CBS/Republic Pictures, the series rights remain with Warner Bros.

References

Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows