Maverick
"Maverick" is a pioneering television Western that debuted on ABC in September 1957, starring James Garner as Bret Maverick, a charming and witty professional card player who roams the American West. Unlike typical Western heroes, Bret Maverick was characterized as an antihero who preferred clever dialogue and cunning over violence, often opting to talk his way out of trouble rather than resorting to gunfights. This refreshing take contributed to the show's appeal, allowing it to stand out in a genre filled with more traditional portrayals of lawmen and outlaws. The show sometimes ventured into satire, famously parodying other Westerns, such as in the episode "Gun Shy," which humorously questioned the conventions of the genre.
Due to production demands, a second character, Bart Maverick, played by Jack Kelly, was introduced, leading to alternating episodes featuring the two brothers. After Garner's departure in 1960, the series struggled to maintain its original charm, though it continued until 1962. Garner later recaptured the essence of his role in the series "The Rockford Files," while attempts to revive "Maverick" through spin-offs in the late 1970s and early 1980s were not as successful. Overall, "Maverick" is recognized for its innovative approach to storytelling in television, paving the way for more creative programming in the 1960s.
On this Page
Maverick
Identification Western television series
Creator Roy Huggins
Date Aired from 1957 to 1962
Making its debut on television at a time when Westerns dominated network programming, Maverick brought something new to the genre: adult humor and an ability to laugh at the Western form itself.
Key Figures
Roy Huggins (1914-2002), television program creator
When ABC introduced Maverick on Sunday evenings in September, 1957, the program was merely the latest of scores of Western series that television offered during the 1950’s. The show was conceived as a relatively standard Western, starring James Garner as Bret Maverick, a professional card player who wanders the West. However, it soon became evident that Garner, a newcomer to television, brought an easy, wry sense of humor to the role that should be exploited. Scripts were then written to emphasize humorous situations, and Bret Maverick soon emerged as the first television Western antihero—a character who preferred talking his way out of trouble to fighting and who was not above running. Meanwhile, he charmed both leading ladies and audiences with his winning smile, glib talking, and folksy wisdom he had learned from his “pappy.” Maverick developed into a Western in which comparatively little shooting or fighting occurred.
As the show developed, it occasionally verged into deliberate satire by taking on other, established Westerns. One of its most famous episodes, titled “Gun Shy,” was a parody of the popular Gunsmoke series, in which James Arness played a rugged frontier marshal who opened every episode by drawing his gun to shoot an outlaw. In a takeoff from Gunsmoke’s opening scene, Maverick appears in the role of the outlaw involved in a shootout with a tough lawman. The lawman draws and shoots at Maverick but misses. Afterward, Maverick explains that he stood too far away to be hit by a pistol shot; the point he makes is valid, but it surprised audiences of the 1950’s who were not accustomed to questioning the conventions of television Westerns.
Several months into Maverick’s first season, its producers realized that the show’s production schedule could not keep up with its broadcast schedule, so they introduced a second actor, Jack Kelly, to play Bret’s brother Bart in episodes that would be separately produced. Thereafter, episodes tended to alternate between Bret and Bart, with both characters appearing together in occasional episodes. In 1960, Garner left the show in a contract dispute and British actor Roger Moore was introduced as cousin Beau Maverick
Impact
By challenging the conventions of the standard Western program, Maverick helped to pave the way toward more creative television programming during the 1960’s. Maverick itself remained on the air until July, 1962, but was never quite the same after the departure of Garner, who went on to a distinguished career in both television and films.
Subsequent Events
In 1974, Garner recaptured the flavor of the original Maverick in an unrelated series, The Rockford Files (1974-1980), in which he played a contemporary private investigator whose attitude and behavior were similar to those of Bret Maverick. While his new show was still running, an attempt was made to re-create Maverick itself in a new series called Young Maverick, whose title character was supposed to be a cousin of Bret Maverick. That show was launched in late 1979 but lasted only a few months. Two years later, after he was finished with The Rockford Files, Garner himself returned as the title character in another series called Bret Maverick. That show lasted a full year but failed to match the charm and novelty of the original show.
Bibliography
Aaker, Everett. Television Western Players of the Fifties: A Biographical Encyclopedia of All Regular Cast Members in Western Series, 1949-1959. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1997. Contains brief biographies of about three hundred actors who had regular parts in 1950’s Western series, including Maverick.
Bianculli, David. Dictionary of Teleliteracy: Television’s Five Hundred Biggest Hits, Misses, and Events. New York: Continuum Publishing, 1996.
Robertson, Ed. Maverick: Legend of the West. Los Angeles: Pomegranate Press, 1994. History of the television series—including its later revivals—that includes detailed cast lists and plot summaries of every episode.
Strait, Raymond. James Garner. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1985. Full-length biography of Garner through the early 1980’s that focuses on his television and film work.
Yoggy, Gary A. Riding the Video Range: The Rise and Fall of the Western on Television. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1995. Seven-hundred-page survey of the history of television Westerns, with attention to more than 150 individual programs, including Maverick.