Columbo (1971)
Oh, just one more thing...
Columbo is a friendly, verbose, disheveled-looking police detective who is consistently underestimated by his suspects. Despite his unprepossessing appearance and apparent absentmindedness, he shrewdly solves all of his cases and secures all evidence needed for indictment. His formidable eye for detail and meticulously dedicated approach often become clear to the killer only late in the storyline.
| Type | TV series |
|---|---|
| First aired | 15 September 1971 |
| Status | Ended, last episode 30 January 2003 |
| Genre | Crime, Drama, Mystery |
| Created by | William Link and Richard Levinson |
| Starring | Peter Falk |
| Seasons | 10 seasons, 67 episodes |
| Episode length | about 76 min |
| Time to watch it all | about 85 hours |
| Rated | TV-PG |
| Scores | TMDB users 8.1/10 |
Where to watch Columbo
Columbo is streaming on Prime Video ($13.98 a month) in the US. It is also on Peacock ($16.99 a month) and Tubi. At ten hours a week, all of the series takes about 2 months of Prime Video, or $27.96 at list price.
We check availability daily. Page last updated 30 October 2026. Prices are standard monthly plans and change often, so check with the service before you sign up.
Where to watch Columbo in 54 other countries
| Country | Streaming on (price a month) |
|---|---|
| Albania | SkyShowtime about |
| Andorra | Prime Video, SkyShowtime |
| Belgium | Prime Video €4.99 |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | SkyShowtime about |
| Bulgaria | SkyShowtime €6.99 |
| Burkina Faso | Prime Video |
| Cameroon | Prime Video |
| Cape Verde | Prime Video |
| Congo - Kinshasa | Prime Video |
| Croatia | SkyShowtime €8.99 |
| Czechia | SkyShowtime 259 Kč |
| Côte d’Ivoire | Prime Video |
| Denmark | Prime Video 69 kr DKK, SkyShowtime 109 kr DKK |
| Equatorial Guinea | Prime Video |
| Finland | Prime Video €6.99, Ruutu, SkyShowtime €9.99 |
| France | Prime Video €6.99 |
| French Guiana | Prime Video |
| French Polynesia | Prime Video |
| Ghana | Prime Video |
| Hungary | SkyShowtime 2590 Ft |
| Iceland | Prime Video 880 kr ISK |
| Ireland | Skygo |
| Italy | Prime Video €4.99 |
| Japan | Hulu |
| Kenya | Prime Video KSh560 |
| Luxembourg | Prime Video €8.99 |
| Madagascar | Prime Video |
| Malawi | Prime Video |
| Mali | Prime Video |
| Monaco | Prime Video |
| Mozambique | Prime Video |
| Netherlands | Prime Video €4.99, SkyShowtime €9.99 |
| Niger | Prime Video |
| Nigeria | Prime Video ₦2300 |
| North Macedonia | SkyShowtime about |
| Norway | Prime Video 79 kr NOK, SkyShowtime 109 kr NOK |
| Poland | Prime Video 25.99 zł, SkyShowtime 34.99 zł |
| Portugal | SkyShowtime €8.99 |
| Romania | SkyShowtime about 37.45 lei |
| San Marino | Prime Video |
| Senegal | Prime Video |
| Serbia | SkyShowtime about 1058 din |
| Seychelles | Prime Video |
| Slovakia | SkyShowtime €8.99 |
| Slovenia | SkyShowtime €8.99 |
| South Africa | Prime Video R79 ZAR |
| Spain | Prime Video €4.99, SkyShowtime €8.99 |
| Sweden | Prime Video 69 kr SEK, SkyShowtime 109 kr SEK |
| Tanzania | Prime Video |
| Uganda | Prime Video |
| United Kingdom | Skygo |
| Vatican City | Prime Video |
| Zambia | Prime Video |
| Zimbabwe | Prime Video |
Subscription, free and ad-supported services we track; prices where Binge Boss has a price list for the country. "About" marks a price the service bills in another currency, converted at the day's rate. All countries as data.
What kind of watch this is
Columbo runs 85 hours across 10 seasons. That is a long time to watch a man in a rumpled trench coat accidentally dismantle a murderer’s alibi. The hook is the gap between how he looks and how he thinks. He seems distracted, maybe even a bit slow, but he is actually listening to every word you say. You will spend the first hour wondering if he is competent. By the last ten minutes, you will realize he has known the answer since the pilot opened. The killer does the thinking. Columbo just lets them do it, then asks one final question that ruins their evening.
How it did with audiences
Columbo lacks a box office figure, so we lean on the 8.1 TMDB user score. That number suggests viewers respected the show enough to keep watching, even if they never paid a nickel. It is a quiet testament to how well the character aged.
What came next for the cast
Peter Falk had just starred in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and The Great Race. After 1971, he appeared in The Princess Bride, Wings of Desire, and Next. Bruce Kirby came off Catch-22. His later credits include Stand by Me, The Muppet Movie, and Crash. The timeline does not prove the pilot changed their paths. It simply records what followed.
Where it left its mark
Peter Falk’s presence in Wim Wenders’s 1987 film Wings of Desire offers a rare glimpse of the character bleeding into reality. Passersby on the set do not just recognize the actor; they recognize the badge. A group of young men hail him specifically as "Columbo," while a trapeze artist addresses him as "Lieutenant." Even the fictional version of Falk, chatting with the film’s main character, gets chanted at by nearby children.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched Columbo.
Read more: The Mentalist
Sources
- Columbo on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q371207 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “Columbo” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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