Switch was inspired by the 1973 movieThe Sting and was similar to The Rockford Files, which had debuted a year earlier. It was created by Glen A. Larson; in his memoir, The Garner Files, Rockford Files star James Garner accuses Larson of essentially rewriting Rockford scripts without authorization for use on this show. Donald P. Bellisario was also one of the writers. The series focused on two main characters, Frank MacBride and Pete Ryan. MacBride was a retired bunco cop who once arrested Ryan, a con man. After Ryan's release from prison, the two men opened a detective agency in Los Angeles. Their speciality involves the use of confidence tricks to trap criminals into revealing evidence of their guilt. Assisting them is another reformed con man, restaurant owner Malcolm Argos, and Maggie Philbin, Mac and Pete's naive-but-competent receptionist and assistant. The series pilot for CBS aired on March 21, 1975, as a 90-minute made-for-television movie. During the second season, the series became more serious in tone and more of a traditional crime drama. William Bryant joined the cast as Lt. Shilton in season two, and Mindi Miller and James Hong joined the cast in season three. In the third season, Pete moves into an apartment above Malcolm's bar. The modestly successful show was put on hiatus in early 1978, its time slot taken by The Incredible Hulk. The remaining 10 unaired episodes were broadcast the following summer before the series was canceled in August due to low ratings.
Mindi Miller - Revel, a waitress who works at Malcolm's restaurant
Eddie Albert and Robert Wagner are the only actors to appear in every episode. Sharon Gless appeared in all but three episodes, and Charlie Callas did not appear in four episodes during the run. In addition, Anne Archer recurrined in the first season as Laurie, a grifter who helps Mac and Pete with their sting operations.
Legacy
The short-lived 1976–1977 ABC crime drama The Feather and Father Gang was seen as an unsuccessful attempt to imitate Switch. Coincidentally, Wagner would later costar with one of the stars of The Feather and Father Gang, Stefanie Powers, in another crime drama Hart to Hart which ran for 5 seasons beginning in 1979.
