The most popular programs on television today relate to crime scene investigation—CSI, NCIS, etc. To compete, Hollywood is looking back at what has worked in the past, this time for our benefit. Lately, the most popular new programs relate to cons and grifting.

I watched television growing up. WGN and TBS did not have their own programs so they would show reruns of older programs. One of the early programs I enjoyed was “Maverick.” Bret Maverick (played by James Garner), Bart Maverick (Jack Kelly), and Beauregarde Maverick (Roger Moore) were gamblers who always had a one hundred dollar bill pinned to their card sharp jacket and always spun philosophy such as “As my old pappy used to say, work is fine for killin' time, but it's a shaky way to make a living.” Actors including Clint Eastwood, Buddy Ebsen, Adam West and Mike Conners all appeared in the series.

The Mavericks would con to help those around them. Bret won a bet of one hundred dollars based upon his knowledge of the number of rows of kernels on a corncob. In this series we learned that to be a successful con-man one has to know everything about everything and about people.

Another early program about cons was “Mission Impossible” (1966-1973). That program included regular characters played by actors such as Peter Graves, Greg Morris, Martin Landau, Sam Elliott, Barbara Bain, Lesley Ann Warren, Leonard Nimoy and Lee Meriwether. Each week, instructions were given after the salutation “Good morning Mr. Phelps” but before “As always, should you or any of your IM force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. Good luck, Jim. This tape will self-destruct in five seconds.” The IM teams would, through disguise and misdirection, execute the impossible mission. In other words, the IM team would grift to achieve it mission. Again, the team had to have knowledge of everything.

In the 1980’s Stephen J. Cannell and Frank Lupo brought us a more modern con team in “The A Team.” This series had two great actors, George Peppard and Dwight Schultz, one pop icon, Mr. T and Faceman—Dirk Benedict. The A Team was a group of Robin Hood con artists. Who can forget B.A. Baracus and his famous expression “I pity the fool.”After succeeding, Hannibal would say “I love it when a plan comes together.” The A Team, in retrospect, takes a lot of heat but it was nominated for three Emmys and won two.

Television has come back around to appreciating the value of grifters, but the con programs of today are much more stylish, funny and do a much better job of character development. The internet and technology has also made the grift much more interesting.

In 2008, CBS introduced us to “The Mentalist,” starring Simon Baker as Patrick Jane. Clad in a three-piece suit with no tie, Jane demonstrates incredible knowledge of everything and of the human psyche to solve and con, con and solve. Jane’s character is exceptionally developed in many ways including his monomaniacal hunt for Red John. Jane’s character is so cynical that any thought of spirits, ESP or magic is mistrusted, although Jane regularly uses those to achieve his goals. This is a tightly written show, well worth watching.

Also in 2008, TBS gave us “Leverage” starring Timothy Hutton as a discredited insurance investigator who brings together a team of criminals to do good – a grafter, a hitter, a thief, and a hacker. One thing so interesting about this series is it discusses classic cons from a historic perspective. While any show of this type risks feeling contrived, this does a good job of minimizing the feeling. The chemistry of the actors is fantastic and the interchange witty. “Leverage” has better sophistication and humor than “The Mentalist”.

In 2009, USA brought us “White Collar” a clever series about a hat-wearing thief and con named Neal Caffrey (Matthew Bonner) and his FBI keeper named Peter Burke (played by Tim DeKay from “Carnivale”). This series also has a Tiffani Thieson (no “Amber”) sighting as Burke’s wife. The most interesting character is the Zen and anarchist Mozzie played by Willie Garson. In this series, it’s Caffrey and Mozzie who use their knowledge of everything to solve crimes—including entertaining philosophical and historical discussions.

If you’re a fan of crime scene investigation programs and courtroom dramas, you’ll enjoy these programs. And that’s most of us. After all, who doesn’t like a “Who done it?”