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Series and Franchises

The Naked Gun

Comedy franchise

The Naked Gun is an American crime spoof comedy franchise created by the filmmaking trio of Jim Abrahams and David and Jerry Zucker, built on slapstick parody of police procedurals. It began in 1982 with the ABC television series Police Squad!, starring Leslie Nielsen as bumbling Detective Frank Drebin, which was canceled after six episodes but was revived in 1988 as a feature film. Nielsen reprised Drebin across the original television run and the first three films, and the franchise has since grown to four theatrical films, including a 2025 continuation starring Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr., plus a video game tie in. Despite the short life of the original show, both the television series and every film in the series have been commercially successful, sustaining the property across more than four decades.

Facts
Country
United States 1
Franchise Status
Ongoing 1
Connections

Created By

David Zucker, Figures
Source David Zucker (Wikipedia)
Jerry Zucker, Figures
Source Jerry Zucker (Wikipedia)
Jim Abrahams, Figures
Source Jim Abrahams (Wikipedia)

In Medium

Film, Media Forms
Source The Naked Gun (Wikipedia)
Source The Naked Gun (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. The Naked Gun (Wikipedia)
  • Lead
    The Naked Gun is a media franchise based on the TV show Police Squad!, consisting of American crime spoof-slapstick comedy films, created by the comedy filmmaking trio Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker.
  • Infobox: years
    1982-present
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Jerry Zucker (Wikipedia)
Created By: Jerry Zucker, Lead
Quote, Created By: Jerry Zucker, Lead
He is best known for his role in writing and directing comedy spoof films like Airplane! (1980) and Top Secret! (1984), and for co-creating the television series Police Squad!, which was later adapted into The Naked Gun film series.
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David Zucker (Wikipedia)
Created By: David Zucker, Lead
Quote, Created By: David Zucker, Lead
Associated mostly with parody comedies, Zucker is recognized for collaborating with Jim Abrahams and his brother Jerry as part of Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker, with whom he wrote and directed the 1980 film Airplane! and created The Naked Gun franchise.
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Jim Abrahams (Wikipedia)
Created By: Jim Abrahams, Article text
Quote, Created By: Jim Abrahams, Article text
== Career == He is best known for the spoof movies that he co-wrote and produced with brothers Jerry Zucker and David Zucker, such as Airplane! (for which he was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay) and The Naked Gun series.
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