Updated: June 18, 2024

Kolchak: The Night Stalker is an American television series that aired on ABC during the 1974â€"1975 season. The series followed wire service reporter Carl Kolchak ( Darren McGavin ) who investigates mysterious crimes with unlikely causes, particularly those involving the supernatural or science fiction, including fantastic creatures. The series was preceded by the two television movies, The Night Stalker ( 1972 ) and The Night Strangler ( 1973 ). Although the series lasted only a single season, it developed cult status in syndication.

Chris Carter cited Kolchak as a "tremendous influence" in creating his franchise The X-Files. In 2005, inspired by that success, The X-Files producer Frank Spotnitz resurrected the series as Night Stalker. The new series was unable to compete with CBS' C.S.I. and was cancelled after only six of the ten episodes that had been produced were aired on ABC. The full ten-episode series was eventually aired on the Sci-Fi Channel in the summer of 2006. Several comics and novels based upon the original series have been published.