McBride

McBride movies in order

Every film is a standalone case, so any order works. Release order simply tracks how McBride and Phil's working partnership settles in over the run.

1. 1
   

   McBride: The Chameleon Murder(2005)

   The 2005 debut, and the highest-rated film at 7.0. McBride takes the pro bono defense of a kind-hearted hospital orderly accused of robbing and killing the woman who gave him a ride, only to learn she had been living three separate lives with three different husbands. Twisty, confident, and the best possible introduction to McBride and Phil.

2. 2
   

   McBride: Tune in for Murder(2005)

   McBride defends a popular radio host accused of killing his shock-jock partner, with a 911 recording placing him at the scene, except McBride is convinced the audio is a forgery. The case turns on manipulated evidence and a station full of blackmail. A clever entry built around the question of whether you can trust your own ears.

3. 3
   

   McBride: Murder Past Midnight(2005)

   An unusual setup, even for this series. McBride is a juror who causes a mistrial as the lone holdout, then takes over the defendant's case after the comatose husband is murdered in his hospital bed. Greedy heirs and a suspicious household follow. A tidy classic whodunit with a great procedural wrinkle at its center.

4. 4
   

   McBride: The Doctor Is Out... Really Out(2005)

   Directed by Larroquette himself. McBride agrees to help his own accountant through a bitter custody battle, and then everything tilts when the man is accused of murdering his therapist and the body promptly vanishes. The disappearing-corpse hook makes this a knottier, more unsettling case than the courtroom setup first suggests.

5. 5
   

   McBride: It's Murder, Madam(2005)

   The grittiest of the bunch, and noticeably darker for Hallmark. A naive Nebraska newcomer is accused of killing a notorious Hollywood madam, and McBride pulls on a blackmail ring that reaches mayors, actors, and athletes. Linda Gray guests. More noir than the rest of the franchise, with a blackmail ledger at the heart of it.

6. 6
   

   McBride: Anybody Here Murder Marty?(2005)

   After a humiliating on-air breakup, a man is accused of murdering the shock-talk host who set him up, and McBride immediately reads it as a frame. A missing monogrammed shirt and an old grudge anchor a TV-studio mystery thick with suspects in the host's inner circle. Plot-forward and satisfying.

7. 7
   

   McBride: Fallen Idol(2006)

   Also directed by Larroquette, and the most emotional entry. McBride defends a teenager accused of murder during a botched robbery, made personal because the victim was his own mentor. The case forces him to weigh professional duty against his own grief, which gives this one more weight than the lighter outings.

8. 8
   

   McBride: Requiem(2006)

   A classical violinist is murdered, and McBride sets out to clear the accused, certain the real killer was someone the musician knew well. A music-world mystery that runs on the franchise's usual instinct: the case the police closed too fast almost always has another door. Compact and well-clued.

9. 9
   

   McBride: Dogged(2007)

   Larroquette directs again, this time at the LA Kennel Club Dog Show. A backstage murder incriminates the winning dog's handler, and McBride works to exonerate her. Lighter and more colorful than the rest, with the show-ring setting putting his own dog Jesse to good use. A fun change of pace near the end of the run.

10. 10
    

    McBride: Semper Fi(2007)

    The tenth and final film. McBride defends a man found gravely wounded beside the same kitchen knife that killed his wife. Barbara Niven guests, and Roberta steps further forward. A solid, familiar-ground closer that sends McBride and his team out on the kind of case the franchise built its name on.