The Sweeney

John Thaw starred as Jack Regan in The Sweeney, one of the early British police dramas that aired in the UK on ITV1 from January 1975 through December 1978 and consisted of 53 episodes over 4 seasons. The pilot for the series aired in June 1974. (John Thaw went on to start in the Kavanagh QC and Inspector Morse television series.)

The Sweeney is based on an elite team of Metropolitan Polices officers specializing in violent crime called the Flying Squad; the name comes from Cockney rhyming slang (Sweeney Todd and Flying Squad).

Two theatrical movies based on the series were released in 1977 (Sweeney!) and 1978 (Sweeney 2). Another movie (The Sweeney) is currently in pre-production with no set release date.