Episodes (21)

Pilot
S01E01 · Pilot

Sep 16, 1987

This was the pilot for the hit series. Ken Wahl stars as Vinnie Terranova, a Justice Department agent reassigned to the Organized Crime Bureau (OCB) as a "wiseguy", a specially trained deep undercover agent. To help support his cover, Vinnie has just finished serving 18 months in a New Jersey prison. Vinnie is frustrated that he can't tell his mother that he is a government agent and not the criminal that he is now perceived to be. He wants out of the assignment, but after a friend is killed while investigating the Steelgrave crime family, Vinnie decides to go after ...

New Blood
S01E02 · New Blood

Sep 24, 1987

In an attempt to take over Sonny Steelgrave's business, mob head Paul Patrice frames Sonny for several murder attempts he makes on the life of the special prosecutor investigating Sonny.

The Loose Cannon
S01E03 · The Loose Cannon

Oct 01, 1987

A psychopathic murderer posing as Sonny's nephew double-crosses Sonny and holds Vinnie's girlfriend Gina hostage.

The Birthday Surprise
S01E04 · The Birthday Surprise

Oct 08, 1987

When Vinnie's young cousin, a boxer, is found dead of an apparent drug overdose, Vinnie jeopardizes his cover by going to "legals" -- the coroner, the homicide cops -- to get them moving on what he knows was a murder.

One on One
S01E05 · One on One

Oct 15, 1987

When the local cops put the heat on Sonny Steelgrave and bust up several of his secret deals, he smells a rat in the inner circle and Vinnie finds himself the number one suspect.

Prodigal Son
S01E06 · Prodigal Son

Oct 22, 1987

After his mother is mugged in Brooklyn, an enraged Vinnie sets out to find the punk who did it, but when he visits his mother in the hospital, it breaks his heart that she still won't forgive him for his life of "crime."

A Deal's a Deal
S01E07 · A Deal's a Deal

Oct 29, 1987

Sonny's cruel punishment of a lounge singer who wants out of his contract triggers a cascade of events that leads to Vinnie's being photographed with McPike -- a photo that is to be delivered to Sonny.

The Marriage of Heaven & Hell
S01E08 · The Marriage of Heaven & Hell

Nov 05, 1987

Sonny's impending marriage to a syndicate boss' daughter begins a supposedly businesslike realignment of "families, " but Vinnie learns that the wedding is a pretext for a bloody gang war.

No One Gets Out of Here Alive
S01E09 · No One Gets Out of Here Alive

Nov 12, 1987

An outraged Sonny Steelgrave accuses Vinnie of betraying him to his arch-rival, then realizes the devastating truth -- that his paisan is an undercover Federal agent

Last Rites for Lucci
S01E10 · Last Rites for Lucci

Nov 19, 1987

In the aftermath of the Steelgrave case, Vinnie tries to vindicate himself of his lingering feelings of betrayal and disloyalty by risking his life to save an old friend from the Brooklyn neighborhood who has a contract out on him.

Independent Operator
S01E11 · Independent Operator

Jan 04, 1988

Vinnie's assignment to check out a contract killer leads him into a huge global contraband syndicate -- an operation that far exceeds the scope of the Steelgrave family -- overlorded by brother and sister Mel and Susan Profitt.

Fascination for the Flame
S01E12 · Fascination for the Flame

Jan 11, 1988

Vinnie, now a bodyguard for the Profitts, gets his first trial by fire when Mel Profitt, the brilliant but paranoid overlord of an international crime empire, disrupts the wedding of an associate, who retaliates by kidnapping Susan.

Smokey Mountain Requiem
S01E13 · Smokey Mountain Requiem

Jan 18, 1988

Vinnie tells Mel Profitt he is leaving to go home to New Jersey, but Mel offers him the biggest cocaine distribution network in the country -- a plum that Vinnie feels is too juicy for any undercover cop to turn down.

Player to Be Named Now
S01E14 · Player to Be Named Now

Jan 25, 1988

When Mel's former girlfriend shows up, begging for readmission to the Inner circle, he humiliates her, using her as a sexual pawn in a power game with a rival, but for Vinnie, forced to watch it happen, the worst is yet to come.

The Merchant of Death
S01E15 · The Merchant of Death

Feb 01, 1988

Vinnie retrieves secret records that enable Mel Profitt to blackmail a French official into buying munitions.

Not for Nothing
S01E16 · Not for Nothing

Feb 08, 1988

Small-time hood Aldo Baglia notices a photo of Vinnie in a newspaper, and tracks him down and shoots him for revenge.

Squeeze
S01E17 · Squeeze

Feb 15, 1988

When Mel Profitt's armaments deals go sour, he sends Vinnie back East to set up a narcotics import distribution deal with the mob.

Blood Dance
S01E18 · Blood Dance

Feb 22, 1988

After rejecting an offer to finance a coup d'etat in the Caribbean, Mel Profitt becomes obsessed with a supposed voodoo death curse, and Vinnie, horrified, can only watch as Mel's personality begins to disintegrate.

Phantom Pain
S01E19 · Phantom Pain

Mar 14, 1988

After Susan is arrested for Mel's murder, Vinnie refuses McPike's order to pull out of the Profitt case, because Susan, who has seemingly lost her grip on reality, has told him she is pregnant with his child.

Dirty Little Wars
S01E20 · Dirty Little Wars

Mar 21, 1988

With Mel and Susan Profitt undone, McPike begins dismantling their empire, but Vinnie demands to stay on the case to get to the bottom of Roger Lococco's ties to a rogue CIA operation to stage a Caribbean coup d'etat.

Date with an Angel
S01E21 · Date with an Angel

Mar 28, 1988

Roger Loccoco in effect signs his own death warrant by testifying to a Senate committee about a cabal within the U.S. intelligence community, but to back him up he needs Vinnie to testify as an O.C.B. operative -- testimony that would end Vinnie's career as an undercover agent.

About

Wiseguy Season 1 (1987) is released on Sep 16, 1987 and the latest season 4 of Wiseguy is released in 1990. Watch Wiseguy online - the English Crime TV series from United States. Wiseguy is directed by Bill Corcoran,Robert Iscove,William A. Fraker,Jorge Montesi and created by Stephen J. Cannell with Jonathan Banks and Jim Byrnes. Wiseguy is available online on VUDU Free and Tubi TV.

Vinnie Terranova (Ken Wahl) does time in a New Jersey penitentiary to set up his undercover role as an Agent for the O.C.B. (Organized Crime Bureau) of the United States. His roots in a traditional Italian city neighborhood form the underlying dramatic base throughout the series, bringing him into conflict with his conservative mother Carlotta (Elsa Raven) and other family members while acting undercover as a syndicate enforcer. The segments, which ran several shows each, included in-depth and empathetic characterizations of the players on both sides of the law. Scenarios include the underbelly of the recording industry, protection rackets, international arms dealing, foiling white supremacist plotters, uncovering a government conspiracy to set up a compliant new head of state in a third-world country, and Vinnie's final reconciliation with his Italian mother and her new husband, the purely legendary Mafia figure Don Rudy Aiuppo (George Petrie).

As know as:

El astuto, Kampf gegen die Mafia, Panikos ston ypokosmo, Умник, Büyük Tuzak

Countries:

United States

Language:

English

Stream Service:

CBS

Production Companies:

Stephen J. Cannell Productions

Taglines:

His first wrong move will be his last.

Reviews

Tom Shales
Washington Post
Wiseguy deposits blank-faced lump Ken Wahl onto the screen for a preposterous and desultory crime saga about a sullen undercover cop who infiltrates the mob and will spend each episode almost getting found out, but miraculously squeaking through.
by rottentomatoes, May 29, 2019
Diane Werts
Newsday
It's almost impossible now not to see the show as a precursor of The Sopranos in its emotional dilemmas, raw confrontations and inbred violence (and huge body count), leavened with ironic humor. But Wiseguy is rich in its own right. own right
by rottentomatoes, May 29, 2019
John J. O'Connor
New York Times
Mr. [Ken] Wahl has the kind of brooding good looks that could attract ratings.
by rottentomatoes, May 29, 2019

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