Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsEmmysToronto Int'l Film FestivalIMDb TIFF Portrait StudioHispanic Heritage MonthSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayMost popular celebsCelebrity news
    Help centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
Episode guide
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • FAQ
IMDbPro

The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police

  • TV Series
  • 1997–1998
  • TV-Y
  • 22m
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
787
YOUR RATING
The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police (1997)
Home Video Trailer from Shout! Factory
Play trailer1:06
20 Videos
99+ Photos
ParodyAdventureAnimationComedyCrimeFamily

The continuing adventures of Sam the Bogart-like dog and Max the hyper-kinetic bunny.The continuing adventures of Sam the Bogart-like dog and Max the hyper-kinetic bunny.The continuing adventures of Sam the Bogart-like dog and Max the hyper-kinetic bunny.

  • Creators
    • J.D. Smith
    • Steve Purcell
  • Stars
    • Harvey Atkin
    • Rob Tinkler
    • Jayne Eastwood
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.7/10
    787
    YOUR RATING
    • Creators
      • J.D. Smith
      • Steve Purcell
    • Stars
      • Harvey Atkin
      • Rob Tinkler
      • Jayne Eastwood
    • 10User reviews
    • 6Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win total

    Episodes13

    Browse episodes
    TopTop-rated1 season

    Videos20

    The Adventures of Sam And Max: Freelance Police
    Trailer 1:06
    The Adventures of Sam And Max: Freelance Police
    Sam & Max: The Final Episode
    Trailer 1:16
    Sam & Max: The Final Episode
    Sam & Max: The Final Episode
    Trailer 1:16
    Sam & Max: The Final Episode
    Sam & Max: The Trouble With Gary
    Trailer 1:52
    Sam & Max: The Trouble With Gary
    Sam & Max: Little Bigfoot
    Trailer 1:34
    Sam & Max: Little Bigfoot
    Sam & Max: Tonight We Love
    Trailer 1:31
    Sam & Max: Tonight We Love
    Sam & Max: Sam & Max Vs. The Uglions
    Trailer 2:02
    Sam & Max: Sam & Max Vs. The Uglions

    Photos193

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    + 186
    View Poster

    Top cast28

    Edit
    Harvey Atkin
    Harvey Atkin
    • Sam
    • 1997–1998
    Rob Tinkler
    Rob Tinkler
    • Max
    • 1997–1998
    Jayne Eastwood
    Jayne Eastwood
    • 1997–1998
    Catherine Disher
    Catherine Disher
    • 1997–1998
    Ellen-Ray Hennessy
    Ellen-Ray Hennessy
    • 1997–1998
    Linda Sorensen
    Linda Sorensen
    • 1997–1998
    Tony Rosato
    Tony Rosato
    • 1997–1998
    Dan Hennessey
    • Commissioner
    • 1997–1998
    Tony Daniels
    Tony Daniels
    • 1997–1998
    Robin Duke
    Robin Duke
    • 1997–1998
    Rick Jones
    • 1997–1998
    Aron Tager
    Aron Tager
    • 1997–1998
    Pam Hyatt
    Pam Hyatt
    • Grandma
    • 1997–1998
    John Stocker
    • 1997–1998
    Ron Rubin
    Ron Rubin
    • 1997–1998
    Tracey Moore
    • Geek
    • 1997–1998
    Stephen Ouimette
    Stephen Ouimette
    • 1997–1998
    Stacey DePass
    Stacey DePass
    • 1997–1998
    • Creators
      • J.D. Smith
      • Steve Purcell
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews10

    7.7787
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Featured reviews

    8roughraff

    An Underrated Cartoon from an Underrated Franchise

    Sam and Max is one of those multimedia franchises that not too many people are familiar with, but those who are familiar with the franchise tend really adore and appreciate the stuff that comes out of it.

    The cartoon, much like the rest of the franchise, is one of those cartoons that people tend to not really know about, but those who have seen it generally consider it to be an underrated cartoon from an age that seemingly had a lot of underrated cartoon.

    This cartoon takes the over-the-top wackiness and meta-humor of standard nineties cartoons and cranks it up to an 11. The sheer insanity of the cartoon alone, for me at least, is able to outclass similar over-the-top cartoons like Freakazoid or Animaniacs. This isn't even talking about the plethora of adult and meta humor. The writing of each episode is very close the the rest of the franchise, just with no profanities and a significantly less gratuitous violence as the show needed to appeal to a child audience. Despite this slight "watering down" from their standard formula, I would say about 85% to 90% of what makes Sam and Max so charming is kept in tact. The writing is filled to the brim with witty banter, clever jokes, and sometimes just plain good ol' silliness all meshing together with completely nonsensical, yet coherent story for each episode. The animation and style of each episode is also well done with each background being extremely well detailed and very reminiscent of the comic books the two originated from. The animation itself also does a great job of expressing the titular characters with a great variety of subtle and expressive animation. The musical score just kind of exists with nothing being truly exceptional or bad except the somewhat catchy theme song, and I know no one in their right mind would just a background composition for a cartoon, but I feel it is at least something to point out for everything. If there is one big problem with the show is that it is very much for a niche audience. The writing is constructed in a very complex and off way that tends to go against a majority of standard storytelling rules while still being a great product. The characters over-explain everything they do and also tend to lose focus on life-threatening situations which to a lot of people can seem very foreign, but the way it is executed here is actually brilliant. This even goes into the very hypocrisy of the cartoon as one second they are talking in an extremely sophisticated manner using language that I've had to look up on a few occasions or having situations that made me bust out laughing, while other times the humor is a plain and simple as the nose on my head. This strange execution of the cartoon may set off quite a few people and thus, I can't say this cartoon is for everyone. However, if you are already fans of the Sam and Max franchise or want to see a cartoon that is both extremely silly as it is intelligent, then this may just be the show for you.
    8B-L-A-K-E-D

    A Real Treat!

    The writing in this show was phenomenal, and they jam-packed nearly every episode with some of the best jokes out there. Doesn't matter how many times you watch the series, you'll always find something new you didn't notice before.

    Coming from playing just the 1993 "Sam & Max Hit The Road", I was SO pleased to find out the show was just as entertaining as the game was. As the game did, it pushes the limits of what can be possible on a show like this. To have great writing, great animation, and be entertaining at the same time? Few can nail it like Sam & Max: Freelance Police can!

    I want the media I watch to keep me engaged, and be interesting to watch. This series more than accomplished that for me. This show is definitely one of my favorites ever, and I highly recommend you give it a watch!
    TopRacer2000

    an opportunity wasted

    I got into Sam & Max through the videogame by lucasarts which although 8 or 9 years old now is still one of the funniest things i have ever seen. So i was pretty excited to hear a t.v. show was going to be made. After a few episodes though you start to realise that although somewhat interesting this series isn't half as funny as the game or the few sam and max comics ive read. It has it's moments though, although most jokes will produce wry smiles at best rather than the rolling on the floor laughing state that the game frequently put you into. I think the cartoon was heavily censored to prevent sam & max getting too sadistic or p**s-taking in their humour, unfortunately this makes the whole show feel watered-down. Sam & Max would've worked out better as a show aimed towards adults with no censorship then this censored version aimed at kids. Also the voices aren't as good in the cartoon as in the game,sam's is o.k. but Max's is pretty poor in comparison and his voice grates on the ear a lot, overall though there are worse ways to waste a 1/2 hour , the show is ok it just couldve been a lot better,if you want an example of how good it should have been go buy the game.which had lines like.

    Sam: (after throwing a bomb he discovered out the window) I hope there was no-one on that bus. Max: No-one we knew at least.

    One of the most disappointing aspects of the show is how none of the characters from the game (except obviously Sam & Max) reappear
    10root73

    HOOOO YEAHH!!!!

    Oh baby! If you like funny dog and funny lagomorph or if you have more than 2 brain cells (sorry amoebas) then you should watch this it's quite good.
    10tommypezmaster

    Classic that kick House of Mouse's you know what.

    This is an awesome show with only 1 season, it starts out light hearted in tone like The Wacky World of Tex Avery, but later it takes a darker approach like in Regular Show.

    for the characters, you Have Sam and Max, a cop duo, than you have a orange haired girl nick-named Geek, a boss that the duo works with, and you have a Squidward Tennicals-espied stalker in a nerd get up named Lorne (Roger Bumpass would be perfect for him ^^), .

    as I said, This series is based on a series comics, but this awesome show made it better.

    And Nicktoons needs to Claim this, because they already ruined enough fake educational shows already like CatDog, Yakkity Yak and The Might B!. Becareful Fans, because Spongbob could be NN's next said Victim @_@ So if you like the comics, Check this out ^^ *starts Singing*

    Sam and Max, Exploding on to your computer screens with laughs, Makes a humor any size, and he's yours to customize, oh Yeah! they're the awesome S and M! Cross, Explode, the star of there very own show, The Hige Hige Bandits Causing Trouble, Shout Helps Freelance Police on the Double

    Look out, there there the original freelance police!

    More like this

    Sonic X
    6.4
    Sonic X
    Tiny Toon Adventures
    7.5
    Tiny Toon Adventures
    Animaniacs
    7.8
    Animaniacs
    Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends
    7.1
    Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends
    The Adventures of Blinky Bill
    6.3
    The Adventures of Blinky Bill
    Count Duckula
    7.4
    Count Duckula
    Danger Mouse
    7.4
    Danger Mouse
    Stitch!
    4.6
    Stitch!
    Animaniacs
    7.7
    Animaniacs
    Handy Manny
    5.6
    Handy Manny
    Fraggle Rock
    7.9
    Fraggle Rock
    Nature Cat
    7.3
    Nature Cat

    Related interests

    Bill Pullman, John Candy, Joan Rivers, Daphne Zuniga, and Lorene Yarnell Jansson in Spaceballs (1987)
    Parody
    Still frame
    Adventure
    Daveigh Chase, Rumi Hiiragi, and Mari Natsuki in Spirited Away (2001)
    Animation
    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy
    James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Sharon Angela, Max Casella, Dan Grimaldi, Joe Perrino, Donna Pescow, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Tony Sirico, and Michael Drayer in The Sopranos (1999)
    Crime
    Drew Barrymore and Pat Welsh in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
    Family

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Quotes

      Max: I know, grab me by the ears!

      Sam: You are aware that there are children watching.

      Max: Just do it!

    • Connections
      Featured in Familiar Faces: Familiar Faces #9: Sam & Max's Top 11 Observations, Revelations and Spiffy One-Liners! (2009)

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    FAQ18

    • How many seasons does The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police have?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 4, 1997 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • Canada
    • Official site
      • Official Site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Пригоди Сема і Макса: Позаштатна поліція
    • Production company
      • Nelvana
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 22m
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
      • Stereo
      • Dolby Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1
      • 4:3

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit pageAdd episode

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb App
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.