The Naked Gun
American crime comedy film series From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Naked Gun, also known as Police Squad!, is a media franchise consisting of American crime spoof-slapstick comedy films, created by the comedy filmmaking trio Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker. It includes one television series, four theatrical films and a video game. The series centers on a bumbling police detective who solves criminal cases in comical fashion. Leslie Nielsen stars in the television series and the first three films as the protagonist Detective Sergeant Frank Drebin; a fourth film starring Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr. was released in 2025. Critics have praised the TV series and the films, all four of which have been financially successful.[1][2][3]
| The Naked Gun | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker |
| Original work | Police Squad! (1982) |
| Owner | Paramount Global |
| Years | 1982–present |
| Films and television | |
| Film(s) | |
| Television series | Police Squad! (1982) |
| Games | |
| Video game(s) | The Naked Gun: ICUP (2012) |
Television
Police Squad! (1982)
Police Squad is an American crime parody television series that was broadcast on ABC in 1982. The series starred Leslie Nielsen as Franklin "Frank" Drebin, and was co-created and written by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker. Parodying police procedurals, the series featured the use of sight gags, wordplay and non sequiturs. Although the show was canceled after six episodes, it was later followed by the successful Naked Gun film series, and in 2013 TV Guide ranked it #7 on its list of 60 shows that were "Cancelled Too Soon".[4]
Film
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| Title | U.S. release date |
Director | Writers | Producer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! | December 2, 1988 | David Zucker | Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams, David Zucker & Pat Proft | Robert K. Weiss |
| The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear | June 28, 1991 | David Zucker & Pat Proft | ||
| Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult | March 18, 1994 | Peter Segal | Pat Proft and David Zucker & Robert LoCash |
Robert K. Weiss and David Zucker |
| The Naked Gun | August 1, 2025 | Akiva Schaffer | Akiva Schaffer and Dan Gregor & Doug Mand |
Seth MacFarlane and Erica Huggins |
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
Detective Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) tries to uncover a plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II, who is on an official visit to the United States. The main suspect is Vincent Ludwig, a rich businessman (Ricardo Montalbán), who uses a hypnotic device to turn others into murderers. On the case, Drebin falls in love with Ludwig's assistant, Jane Spencer (Priscilla Presley). She knows nothing about Ludwig's plot, and after the pair spends the night together, Jane helps with Frank's investigation. As with previous ZAZ spoof comedies, the plot was mostly culled from a more serious film, in this case Telefon.
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991)
Frank discovers that Jane's new boyfriend, Quentin Hapsburg (Robert Goulet), is involved in an evil plan to kidnap Dr. Albert S. Meinheimer (Richard Griffiths), a scientist whom President George H. W. Bush (John Roarke) has chosen to determine a new national energy policy. Hapsburg plans to kidnap the real Dr. Meinheimer and replace him with a lookalike named Earl Hacker (also portrayed by Griffiths) who will endorse an energy policy according to the dictates of the energy lobby.
Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult (1994)
In the third film of the series, Frank is married to Jane, and he has retired from Police Squad. The film introduces the criminal Rocco Dillon (Fred Ward), who is stuck in prison. He is contacted by someone called Papshmir to be given a target for a bombing. Frank is pulled out of retirement. He goes undercover pretending to be a prisoner named "Nick 'the Slasher' McGurk Jr., III" at the jail where Dillon is being held, and they break out of jail. Outside they are escorted by Dillon's gangster mother (Kathleen Freeman) to his country retreat, where Frank also meets Rocco's voluptuous moll (Anna Nicole Smith). The gang plots to blow up the Academy Awards. When Jane arrives looking for Frank, she is taken hostage.
The Naked Gun (2025)
After years of aborted attempts at a new film, a sequel was greenlit in 2022. Directed by Akiva Schaffer and written by Schaffer, Dan Gregor, and Doug Mand, the film stars Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr.[5] Principal photography was originally tentatively scheduled for summer 2023.[6] Principal photography ran from May to June 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia.[7] The film was released on August 1, 2025.[8][9]
Future
In August 2025, producer Erica Huggins said in an interview that discussions about a sequel to the new film were ongoing between the actors, writers and producers.[10]
Video games
The Naked Gun: ICUP (2012)
The Naked Gun: ICUP, a point-and-click adventure game, was released by Gamecentric Media and Paramount for iOS, Android, and Windows in 2012.[11] The story and concept were penned by Robert LoCash, a writer of the Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult.[12] Due to Leslie Nielsen's death in 2010, voice actor A.J. LoCascio took over as Frank Drebin Jr., the son of the original character. The game received an average score of 60 on the review aggregator Metacritic.[13]
Recurring cast and characters
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List indicators
This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in notable roles.
- An empty grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's official presence has not yet been confirmed.
- C indicates a cameo role.
- P indicates an appearance in onscreen photographs.
- U indicates an uncredited appearance.
- V indicates a voice-only role.
| Character | Television | Film | Video game | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Police Squad! | The Naked Gun From the Files of Police Squad! |
The Naked Gun 2½ The Smell of Fear |
Naked Gun
33⅓ The Final Insult |
The Naked Gun | The Naked Gun I.C.U.P. | |
| 1982 | 1988 | 1991 | 1994 | 2025 | 2012 | |
| Det. Lt. Franklin "Frank" Drebin | Leslie Nielsen | Leslie NielsenP | ||||
| Cpt. Ed Hocken | Alan North | George Kennedy | George KennedyP | |||
| Det. Fred Nordberg | Peter Lupus | O. J. Simpson | O. J. SimpsonP | |||
| Ted Olson, Scientist | Ed Williams | |||||
| Al | Ronald "Tiny Ron" Taylor | |||||
| Johnny the Snitch | William Duell | |||||
| Jane Spencer-Drebin | Priscilla Presley | Priscilla PresleyC | ||||
| "Weird Al" Yankovic | HimselfC | Police station thug | Himself | |||
| Papshmir | Raye Birk | Raye Birk | ||||
| Vincent Ludwig | Ricardo Montalbán | |||||
| Mayor Lillian Barkley | Nancy Marchand | |||||
| Dominique | Charlotte Zucker | |||||
| Queen Elizabeth II | Jeannette Charles | Jeanette CharlesP | ||||
| Quentin Hapsburg | Robert Goulet | |||||
| Dr. Albert S. Meinheimer | Richard Griffiths | |||||
| Earl Hacker | ||||||
| Commissioner Anabell Brumford | Jacqueline Brookes | |||||
| Hector Savage | Anthony James | |||||
| Terence Baggett | Lloyd Bochner | |||||
| President George H. W. Bush | John Roarke | |||||
| Rocco Dillon | Fred Ward | |||||
| Muriel Dillon | Kathleen Freeman | |||||
| Tanya Peters | Anna Nicole Smith | |||||
| Louise | Ellen Greene | |||||
| Tyrone | Bruce A. YoungU | |||||
| Franklin "Frank" Drebin Jr. | Adam Hasart | Liam Neeson | A.J. LoCascioV | |||
| Beth Davenport | Pamela Anderson | |||||
| Cpt. Ed Hocken Jr. | Paul Walter Hauser | Matthew FaulknerV | ||||
| Richard Cane | Danny Huston | |||||
| Sig Gustafson | Kevin Durand | |||||
| Chief Davis | CCH Pounder | |||||
| Det. Barnes | Liza Koshy | |||||
| Det. Fred Nordberg Jr. | Moses Jones | Michael SweeneyV | ||||
| Ellen | Alison HaislipV | |||||
| Bella | Michelle JonesV | |||||
| Ken Wong | Andrew BushV | |||||
Additional crew and production details
| Title | Crew/Detail | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composer | Cinematographer | Editor(s) | Production companies |
Distributing company |
Running time | ||
| Police Squad! | Ira Newborn | Sherman Kunkel | Tom Benko, and Malcolm Campbell |
Paramount Television | American Broadcasting Company, CBS Television Distribution |
144 minutes (24 mins/episodes) | |
| The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! |
Robert M. Stevens | Michael Jablow | Paramount Pictures Corp.[14] | Paramount | 85 minutes | ||
| The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear |
Christopher Greenbury & James R. Symons |
Paramount Pictures, Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker Productions[15] |
Paramount Pictures Corporation | ||||
| Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult |
James R. Symons | Paramount Pictures | 83 minutes | ||||
| The Naked Gun | Lorne Balfe | Brandon Trost | Brian Scott Olds | Paramount Pictures, Fuzzy Door Productions |
Paramount Pictures | 85 minutes | |
Reception
Box office performance
| Film | US/Canada gross | International gross | Total gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! | $78,756,177[16] | $73,689,000[17] | $152,445,177 |
| The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear | $86,930,411[18] | $105,310,000[17][19] | $192,240,411 |
| Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult | $51,132,598[20] | $81,273,000[17] | $132,405,598 |
| Total | $216,819,186 | $260,272,000 | $477,091,186 |
Critical and public response
| Title | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore[21] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Police Squad! | 91% (32 reviews)[22] | — | — |
| The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! | 88% (142 reviews)[1] | 76 (13 reviews)[23] | A− |
| The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear | 77% (111 reviews)[2] | 65 (21 reviews)[24] | B+ |
| Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult | 65% (66 reviews)[3] | 63 (21 reviews)[25] | B+ |
| The Naked Gun | 90% (203 reviews)[26] | 75 (47 reviews)[27] | A− |
References
External links
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