Father Dowling Mysteries

An amiable, inquisitive Chicago priest moonlights as a detective and is assisted by a rather worldly, lock-picking nun.

Cast:Tom Bosley , Tracy Nelson , Mary Wickes , James Stephens , Regina Krueger , Dick O'Neill , Louis Guss , Michael C. Gwynne , John Aprea , Lindsay Frost , Martin Hewitt , S.A. Griffin , Andreas Katsulas , Deborah Wakeham , Jack Bannon , Pat Mahoney , J.W. Smith , Rich Beall

1Season 1

S1.E1 ∙ The Missing Body Mystery. Part 1

Fri, Jan 20, 1989

A mysterious man dies in Frank's confessional. Frank calls the police, but when they arrive the body is gone.

2Season 1

S1.E2 ∙ The Missing Body Mystery. Part 2

Fri, Jan 20, 1989

A mysterious man dies in Frank's confessional. Frank calls the police, but when they arrive the body is gone.

3Season 1

S1.E3 ∙ What Do You Call a Call Girl Mystery

Fri, Jan 27, 1989

A woman of the parish tells her fiancé of her call girl past and is promptly murdered. It's up to Father Frank and Sister Steve to discover if it was the fiancé, or perhaps a former client who killed her.

4Season 1

S1.E4 ∙ The Man Who Came to Dinner Mystery

Fri, Feb 10, 1989

Sister Steve's ex-boyfriend, Jack, witnesses a murder, but when the cops arrive the victim is alive and well. Jack seeks out Sister Steve for help.

5Season 1

S1.E5 ∙ The Mafia Priest Mystery: Part 1

Fri, Feb 17, 1989

St. Michael's hosts a priest in training, John, who's from a notorious mafia family. Trouble ensues when John is arrested for murder.

6Season 1

S1.E6 ∙ The Mafia Priest Mystery: Part 2

Fri, Feb 24, 1989

Father Dowling sets out to solve the mystery.

7Season 1

S1.E7 ∙ The Face in the Mirror Mystery

Fri, Mar 3, 1989

Someone is impersonating Father Dowling.

8Season 1

S1.E8 ∙ The Pretty Baby Mystery

Fri, Mar 10, 1989

A distraught woman leaves her baby at the church. Father Frank and Sister Steve track her down, but things don't add up when they find the woman and she claims she never had a baby.

1Season 2

S2.E1 ∙ The Visiting Priest Mystery

Thu, Jan 4, 1990

A very charming priest visits the parish, but right away Father Frank and Sister Steve suspect that something is fishy.

2Season 2

S2.E2 ∙ The Exotic Dancer Mystery

Thu, Jan 11, 1990

An exotic dancer confesses to Father Frank that she saw something that she shouldn't have and is murdered. Sister Steve poses as a card dealer to get clues.

3Season 2

S2.E3 ∙ The Sanctuary Mystery

Thu, Jan 18, 1990

Steve's brother, Mark, has run into a spot of trouble when he witnesses a murder! But can't tell the police for fear of implicating himself.

4Season 2

S2.E4 ∙ The Stone Killer Mystery

Thu, Jan 25, 1990

Someone is taking shots at everyone associated with the Gallagher trial from 8 years ago where Father Frank was a principal witness. But Father Frank isn't convinced it's Gallagher.

5Season 2

S2.E5 ∙ The Woman Scorned Mystery

Thu, Feb 1, 1990

Father Frank's twin is at it again. Frank gets involved when the woman his brother has conned turns up dead.

6Season 2

S2.E6 ∙ The Ghost of a Chance Mystery

Thu, Feb 8, 1990

A parishioner is being haunted by the ghost of her dead father. Frank, Steve and even Father Prestwick get involved in trying to find out who is terrorizing the poor woman and why.

7Season 2

S2.E7 ∙ The Blind Man's Bluff Mystery

Thu, Feb 15, 1990

After knocking down a blind man, Sister Stephanie feels guilty and opens her heart to him as he seems to be in need of assistance. But she soon discovers that she has become an unwitting accomplice in a scheme to blackmail a prominent parishioner.

8Season 2

S2.E8 ∙ The Falling Angel Mystery

Thu, Feb 22, 1990

A special visitor to the church is sure someone is going to be taken before their time, and it's up to Father Frank to prevent it. Frank thinks it has to do with a parishioner who owes a favor to a crime boss.

9Season 2

S2.E9 ∙ The Perfect Couple Mystery

Thu, Mar 8, 1990

A young couple's marriage is on the rocks, when the wife is sure her husband is cheating. She turns to Frank for help. But the husband swears to Frank that he isn't having an affair, but can't say what he has been up to.

10Season 2

S2.E10 ∙ The Confidence Mystery

Thu, Mar 15, 1990

Father Phil is over the moon about returning the Chalice of St. Sophia to Bucharest. Unfortunately, he falls victim to a confidence scam.

11Season 2

S2.E11 ∙ The Solid Gold Headache Mystery

Thu, Mar 29, 1990

Sister Stephanie is entrusted six million dollars in the will of a deceased parishioner. Everyone, including the man's family, wants the money and may be willing to do anything to get it.

12Season 2

S2.E12 ∙ The Legacy Mystery

Tue, Dec 4, 1990

Father Dowling has always enjoyed fine art, but someone is going overboard in their role as freelance art critic. A mystery thief is methodically stealing the art treasures that once belonged to the wealthy Cabot family. And Father Dowling has an inkling the thief might be the surviving son, Jonathan. The only question is why would a rich businessman take the risk of stealing the paintings when he could easily afford to buy them outright? And Cabot has perfect alibis for each theft. It looks like it's time for some of Father Dowling's old-fashioned digging for clues.

13Season 2

S2.E13 ∙ The Passionate Painter Mystery

Thu, Apr 26, 1990

The church has hired an eccentric painter to retouch the frescoes. He turns out to be an abusive drunk and Sister Stephanie has no patience or pity for him. But she and Father Frank must come to his aid when his studio blows up.

1Season 3

S3.E1 ∙ The Royal Mystery

Thu, Sep 20, 1990

It's princess and the pauper, when Sister Stephanie changes places with visiting royalty.

2Season 3

S3.E2 ∙ The Medical Mystery

Thu, Sep 27, 1990

While Father Dowling is in the hospital for tonsil surgery he becomes convinced that the patient in the next bed was murdered overnight. While investigating, he and Stephanie uncover a larger conspiracy.

3Season 3

S3.E3 ∙ The Devil & the Deep Blue Sea Mystery

Thu, Oct 4, 1990

Sister Steve's brother is a target by a man who wants him to do something illegal. Her brother is run over by 2 men to teach him a lesson.

4Season 3

S3.E4 ∙ The Showgirl Mystery

Thu, Oct 18, 1990

Sister Steve's friend is stood up at the altar and it's discovered that her fiancé died on their wedding day. It is only then that she begins to discover who her fiancé really was. Meanwhile, Father Phil has hit on the perfect fundraiser.

5Season 3

S3.E5 ∙ The Movie Mystery

Thu, Oct 25, 1990

Hollywood is shooting a new TV show at the church, in which a priest and nun solve crimes.

6Season 3

S3.E6 ∙ The Undercover Nun Mystery

Thu, Nov 1, 1990

A nun is murdered after Sister Stephanie returns to see her Mother Superior in celebration of the latter's Silver Jubilee. Could it be something to do with the nun she saw carrying a gun?

7Season 3

S3.E7 ∙ The Murder Weekend Mystery

Thu, Nov 8, 1990

Father Dowling is invited to a murder mystery weekend at the home of a famous mystery writer. Father Dowling's skills are put to the test, when their host is murdered.

8Season 3

S3.E8 ∙ The Reasonable Doubt Mystery

Thu, Nov 15, 1990

Father Dowling is serving as a juror, but has serious doubts about the testimony of a witness.

9Season 3

S3.E9 ∙ The Vanishing Victim Mystery

Thu, Nov 29, 1990

Father Dowling befriends a woman on a flight home to Chicago. After a mix up with their luggage, he visits the old family mansion she's staying at but is told she's unwell. He smells a rat and is sure she's being kept in the house against her will. Sister Steve goes in undercover as a maid to investigate.

10Season 3

S3.E10 ∙ The Christmas Mystery

Thu, Dec 13, 1990

After leaving her son with Father Dowling and Sister Stephanie at St. Michael's Parish, a woman is shot and wounded badly. The trail leads Father Dowling and the police to a department store on Christmas Eve. Will it lead to a Christmas miracle?

11Season 3

S3.E11 ∙ The Fugitive Priest Mystery

Thu, Jan 3, 1991

Father Dowling's brother Blaine is back in town and once again causing him havoc. Frank is framed for a bank robbery that happened at the exact same moment that Blaine was being arrested for overdue parking tickets, giving him a perfect alibi. Frank's only hope to clear his name is to pretend to be Blaine to infiltrate his brothers associates and prove that Blaine was the mastermind behind the robbery.

12Season 3

S3.E12 ∙ The Substitute Sister Mystery

Thu, Jan 10, 1991

When warring exterminators fight for franchise rights, Frank and Steve are caught in the middle. Confusion ensues when they discover a phony nun, a dangerous hit man, and a gangster who will stop at nothing to save his daughter's life.

13Season 3

S3.E13 ∙ The Missing Witness Mystery

Thu, Jan 17, 1991

When a witness who can clear a young man of murder goes missing, Sister Steve goes undercover as a working girl to find her. But is the young man as innocent as he makes out? Father Dowling is not so sure.

14Season 3

S3.E14 ∙ The Prodigal Son Mystery

Thu, Jan 31, 1991

Father Dowling has received the shock of his life. A young man has shown up at St. Michael's Parish claiming to be his son. Before Frank can get to know his son, he vanishes, then is charged with murder. Can Father Dowling save his son from the murder charge?

15Season 3

S3.E15 ∙ The Moving Target Mystery

Thu, Feb 7, 1991

When a hitman hired to kill Frank realises he is a Catholic priest, his Catholic faith won't allow him to go through with it, and he warns Frank that someone will takeover the hit and carry it out. Father Dowling must figure out why someone would want him dead and who is behind it.

16Season 3

S3.E16 ∙ The Priest Killer Mystery

Thu, Feb 14, 1991

When a man on a rooftop shoots at Frank, almost killing him, Sister Steve goes undercover as a Taxi driver to catch the man who is targeting priests.

17Season 3

S3.E17 ∙ The Mummy's Curse Mystery

Thu, Feb 21, 1991

When Father Dowling and Sister Steve discover an ancient Egyptian curse while visiting a Pharaoh's burial chamber at the Chicago museum they attempt to uncover the mystery surrounding the statue given to Frank from the murdered man. Father Prestwick also visits the tomb with almost deadly consequences!

18Season 3

S3.E18 ∙ The Monkey Business Mystery

Thu, Mar 7, 1991

When a chimp Sister Steve has known and loved since childhood is accused of murdering a zoo keeper, she steals him from the zoo to prevent his execution. Sister Steve and Father Dowling then go about finding the real killer and clearing the chimps name.

19Season 3

S3.E19 ∙ The Hardboiled Mystery

Thu, Mar 28, 1991

A mystery writer, who is writing a new novel starring Frank and Steve as characters, dies before completing the book. It is up to Frank and Steve to investigate his murder, thus writing the last chapter.

20Season 3

S3.E20 ∙ The Malibu Mystery

Thu, Apr 4, 1991

When a runaway teenager takes a walk on the wild side of L.A.'s night life, it is up to Father Dowling to intervene and stop impending danger.

21Season 3

S3.E21 ∙ The Consulting Detective Mystery

Thu, Apr 25, 1991

A man is murdered in his house as he is hiding a paper in a candlestick holder.

22Season 3

S3.E22 ∙ The Joyful Noise Mystery

Thu, Jan 24, 1991

Father Dowling helps a friend's grandson when the young man is accused of murder.