The show premiered on October 3, 1976. The first half of the series' first season was broadcast as 90-minute telefilms as part of the NBC Sunday Mystery Movie rotation in the fall of 1976 alongside the show "Columbo, McCloud and McMillan" (formerly "McMillan & Wife"). The series proved popular enough that midway through the 1976–1977 season, it was spun off into its own weekly one-hour series and "The Mystery Movie" format was discontinued in the spring of 1977. "Quincy M.E." ended on September 4, 1983 after 8 seasons and 148 episodes.