In the early 1980s, television was crowded with detectives who drank too much milk or drove fast Ferraris. Then came a guy in a three-piece suit who didn't actually exist. Or rather, he existed as a figment of Laura Holt’s imagination until a nameless con man walked through her office door and stole the identity.
That’s the basic setup of the Pierce Brosnan TV show Remington Steele, a series that arguably changed the trajectory of Hollywood history. Most fans remember it as the "Bond audition," but looking back, that label is kinda reductive. The show was a sophisticated, self-aware blend of screwball comedy and noir that flipped 1970s gender tropes on their head.
The Fraud Who Became a Legend
The premise was genius because it was born out of a very real problem: sexism. Laura Holt (played by the incredible Stephanie Zimbalist) was a brilliant private investigator, but nobody would hire a woman in 1982. Her solution? Invent a masculine, authoritative boss named Remington Steele.
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It worked perfectly. Too perfectly.
When Pierce Brosnan’s character—a mysterious thief whose real name we never truly find out—stumbles into the role, the show finds its pulse. He wasn’t a detective. He was a guy who watched too many old movies. He literally solved crimes by referencing plot points from The Maltese Falcon or North by Northwest.
Honestly, the chemistry between Zimbalist and Brosnan was the real engine. It wasn't just "will they or won't they"; it was a constant power struggle. She had the brains; he had the face. He took the bows; she did the work.
Why the 1986 "Bond Blunder" Still Hurts
You can't talk about the Pierce Brosnan TV show Remington Steele without mentioning the 1986 contract disaster. It’s one of those "what if" moments that keeps film buffs up at night.
By 1986, NBC had cancelled the show due to sagging ratings. This freed up Brosnan, and Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli immediately pounced, offering him the role of James Bond to replace Roger Moore. The news hit the trades like a lightning bolt.
Then, the irony kicked in.
The massive publicity surrounding Brosnan becoming the new 007 caused a sudden spike in interest for Remington Steele. NBC, seeing a marketing goldmine, used a 60-day clause in Brosnan's contract to "un-cancel" the show for a shortened fifth season.
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- The Result: Brosnan was legally bound to the TV show.
- The Fallout: The Bond producers, who refused to have their leading man moonlighting on a sitcom-detective hybrid, pulled the offer.
- The Replacement: Timothy Dalton was cast for The Living Daylights.
Brosnan was devastated. He had to go back to a show he thought was dead, while the role of a lifetime slipped through his fingers for nearly another decade.
It Wasn't Just "The Pierce Brosnan Show"
While history loves to focus on the man who would be Bond, Stephanie Zimbalist was the actual lead. She did her own stunts, often "backwards and in high heels" as the saying goes. She was the professional; Steele was the chaotic element.
The show featured a rotating door of talent. Doris Roberts joined later as Mildred Krebs, adding a much-needed grounded comedy element. Even guest stars like a young Geena Davis or Paul Reiser popped up before they were household names.
Interestingly, the show’s creator, Robert Butler, originally envisioned a series where "Remington Steele" would be played by different actors—a revolving door of con men. Thankfully, Michael Gleason steered it toward the two-lead dynamic we know.
The Legacy of the Trench Coat
Does it hold up? Mostly, yeah.
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The "will they or won't they" trope that Moonlighting and The X-Files eventually mastered really found its footing here. It was a show that loved cinema. Every episode title was a pun on the word "Steele," like Steele Waters Run Deep or License to Steele.
The series ended in 1987 with a weirdly abbreviated final season filmed largely in Ireland and the UK. By then, the magic was thinning, but the impact was permanent. It proved that American audiences were ready for a male lead who was vulnerable, slightly fraudulent, and undeniably charming—even if he was just pretending to be the boss.
Next Steps for the Remington Steele Fan:
- Track Down the DVDs: Streaming rights for the show have been notoriously messy over the last few years, but the DVD sets include great commentary from Gleason and Zimbalist.
- Watch "License to Steele": If you haven't seen the pilot in years, go back and watch how Brosnan's character is introduced. He's much more of a dangerous rogue in the first few episodes than the polished "Steele" he eventually becomes.
- Compare the "Bond" DNA: Watch the episode Thou Shalt Not Steele (Season 1, Episode 5), which guest stars Brosnan’s late wife Cassandra Harris. You can see the early flashes of the 007 persona he’d eventually bring to GoldenEye in 1995.