About Quincy, M.E.
Quincy, M.E. follows Dr. Quincy, a medical examiner in the Los Angeles County coroner's office who refuses to treat a body as just another case file. Where colleagues see a routine cause of death, Quincy sees inconsistencies, and his autopsies repeatedly become the opening move in a full investigation that puts him at odds with police detectives, prosecutors, bureaucrats, and his own supervisor.
The series began as part of the rotating NBC Sunday Mystery Movie wheel before graduating to a weekly hour-long format, where it settled into a reliable formula: a death that looks accidental or natural turns out to conceal foul play, negligence, or a larger societal problem. Over its run the show increasingly used these mysteries as a platform for issue-driven storytelling, tackling subjects such as drunk driving, child safety, toxic exposure, and gaps in public health long before such topics were common on prime-time television.
Anchored by Jack Klugman's intense, often combative performance, Quincy, M.E. blended whodunit suspense with a crusading social conscience and a workplace ensemble centered on the coroner's lab. It is widely regarded as a forerunner of the modern forensic procedural, helping popularize the idea that scientific examination of the dead could drive a dramatic investigation.