The Paper Chase

TV Series
1978–1986
1h

IMDb RATING

8.1/10

1.1K

YOUR RATING

Trailer for the home video release of the series based on the movie

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1 Video

41 Photos

Drama

The trials of a group of law students under the tutelage of a strict professor.The trials of a group of law students under the tutelage of a strict professor.The trials of a group of law students under the tutelage of a strict professor.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

8.1/10

1.1K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 3 Primetime Emmys
- 4 wins & 20 nominations total

Episodes58

Browse episodes

TopTop-rated4 seasons6 years

Trivia
The show lasted only one season on CBS, from 1978 to 1979, and was canceled because of low ratings. The cable channel Showtime revived the series in 1983, where it ran for three years without commercials and was a great success. John Houseman passed away two years after the series went off the air. The first season was released on DVD in April 2009, with Season 2 scheduled to follow in December.

Goofs
In one show, Professor Charles Kingsfield (John Houseman) is meeting with several law school administrators. One of whom calls Kingsfield "John" rather than "Charles", his character's name during their conversation.

Connections
Featured in The 31st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1979)

Soundtracks
First Years
(Theme Song - 1st season only)
Music by Charles Fox
Lyrics by Norman Gimbel
Sung by Seals & Crofts

User reviews25

Review

Featured review

an intellectual Room 222

I can say this, I am so glad that I never had John Houseman for a professor when I was in college. Whew! the old guy was really intimidating. It was still an enjoyable "thinking mans" show. Houseman was the one who really made it work. He always stood out like a lion in a roomful of kittens. What is so shocking is that before he won his Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for the movie, he had never really acted before. For those of you who are trivia buffs, Houseman was very instrumental in the writing of Citizen Kane. Orson Welles liked to steal all of the credit though. The fact there were different series with different Mister Harts makes it confusing, but still a good show.