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Season guide

Columbo: Season 4

6 episodes Premiered Sep 15, 1974 Updated Sep 20, 2026

Columbo Season 4 continues the overarching saga across 6 episodes. The American crime drama television series stars Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a friendly, verbose, disheveled-looking police detective and homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link, the series originally aired on NBC after two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971. Lieutenant Columbo investi

Previously on Columbo

Season 4 Lore Primer

Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.

  • Lieutenant Columbo is a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department.
  • The series is an American crime drama created by Richard Levinson and William Link.
  • Peter Falk stars as Lieutenant Columbo, a friendly, verbose, and disheveled-looking police detective.
  • The show originally aired on NBC following two pilot episodes released in 1968 and 1971.

Season overview

Columbo Season 4 continues the overarching saga across 6 episodes. The American crime drama television series stars Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a friendly, verbose, disheveled-looking police detective and homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link, the series originally aired on NBC after two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971. Lieutenant Columbo investigates crimes and solves mysteries within the Los Angeles setting, utilizing his distinctive demeanor and investigative approach. The fourth season spans six distinct television episodes, maintaining the established narrative structure and character dynamics of the ongoing crime drama.

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Season 4 Episodes

Episode Guide

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Season 4 Progress Shield

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Binge Efficiency Engine

Season 4: Filler vs. Essential Canon

Filter episodes by narrative weight. Focus on essential mytharc and skip standalone side quests.

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Mytharc (3): Crucial lore & season climaxes
Core (3): Character development & subplots
Side Quest (0): Standalone / filler
S4·E1 Mytharc

An Exercise in Fatality

Sep 15, 1974

A health club owner kills his partner who is about to uncover a fraud and makes it look like an accident

S4·E2 Core

Negative Reaction

Oct 15, 1974

Brilliant photographer Paul Galesko plans to murder his domineering wife, Frances, and pin the crime on an ex-convict named Alvin Deschler. His plan is to make it look as if Alvin

S4·E3 Core

By Dawn's Early Light

Oct 27, 1974

The head of a military school kills one of the governors by sabotaging the gun which is used on founders day.

S4·E4 Core

Troubled Waters

Feb 9, 1975

While holidaying on board a cruise liner, Columbo helps capture the killer of the singer with the ship's band.

S4·E5 Mytharc

Playback

Mar 2, 1975

An inventor video tapes his mother-in-law's death, and then replays it back to the security guard, to give himself an alibi.

S4·E6 Mytharc

A Deadly State of Mind

Apr 27, 1975

A doctor kills the husband of the woman he is having an affair with but is seen leaving the house by a witness who is happens to be blind.