Barnaby Jones is a television detective series which ran on CBS from 1973 to 1980. It starred Buddy Ebsen as a retired private investigator who worked with his widowed daughter-in-law Betty (Lee Meriwether), at first to solve the murder of his son and her husband. The two decided that they worked together so well, that they continued to keep the detective agency open.

Until the cancellation of the series Cannon, the characters of both series moved back and forth between the two shows.

In 1976, the character of J. R., the son of Barnaby's cousin (Mark Shera), joined the cast. He had come to try to solve the murder of his father, but stayed around to help Barnaby and Betty while also attending law school.

During the first year of the series, a common theme would be where Jones would make an astute observation or collect a sample, such as mud on a car's tire. The criminal, in some cases, called his accomplice and had a conversation along the lines of "there's a Mr. Jones and he's asking a lot of questions," after which the criminal was assured that he (Jones) would be "taken care of" (killed). In view of the advanced age of Jones, he could not win a fistfight but used other means, such as slamming a door on the hand of a criminal carrying a gun, after which the episode concluded.

Toward the latter part of the series, as Ebsen aged and expressed an interest in slowing down a bit, Meriwether and Shera's characters became more prominent, allowing Ebsen to reduce his role; during the last two seasons, the episodes were divided evenly among the three actors, with Ebsen, Meriwether and Shera each being the focus of a third of the season's episodes.

During the mid 1990s, Meriwether and Shera expressed interest in a Barnaby Jones reunion TV movie, but could not talk Ebsen into joining the project. However, in 1993, Ebsen reprised the role of Barnaby Jones in the big-screen remake of his most famous TV series, The Beverly Hillbillies. It would be his final theatrical appearance.

Barnaby Jones was the last program produced by Quinn Martin Productions; Martin had actually sold his company in 1979 to outside interests.

Barnaby comes out of retirement to track down his son's murderer with the help of Betty, his son's widow. They continue the detective agency's work in Los Angeles, with the help of Barnaby's home laboratory and homey philosophizing. Written by Ed Stephan

Barnaby Jones was a former private eye who temporarily came out of retirement to track down the killer of his son Hal, who had taken over the family business. After bringing Hal's murderer to justice (with the assistance of fellow CBS gumshoe Frank Cannon), Jones decided retirement just wasn't his bag after all, and rehung his shingle with the assistance of daughter-in-law Betty, who ran the office and Barnaby's personal crime laboratory, and (later) young distant cousin Jedidiah, who did the cases' legwork. Written by Marty McKee

Former private investigator Barnaby Jones comes out of retirement to find the person who killed his son Hal. With the aid of fellow P.I. Frank Cannon, Barnaby eventually finds his son's killers. Barnaby then decides to come out of retirement and resumes his practice with Hal's widow Betty serving as his secretary. A few years later, Barnaby's cousin Jedidiah (a.k.a. J.R.), a law student, seeks Barnaby's help in finding the killers of his father. Just like a few years earlier, the two find the men who killed J.R.'s father and as a result J.R. decides to stay on with Barnaby working as his legman while he is studying law. Their contact on the L.A.P.D. is Lt. John Biddle. Written by Brian Washington