History of The Naked Gun in Timeline

By Popular Timelines Editorial Team · Updated: July 29, 2025

The Naked Gun is a crime spoof-comedy franchise created by Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker, encompassing a TV series, four movies, and a video game. Leslie Nielsen stars as Detective Sergeant Frank Drebin, a well-meaning but accident-prone detective, in the TV series and first three films. Liam Neeson is set to star as Frank Drebin Jr. in a fourth film scheduled for 2025. The franchise received mixed to positive reviews and achieved box office success.

1982: Police Squad! Broadcast on ABC

In 1982, Police Squad!, an American crime parody television series starring Leslie Nielsen, was broadcast on ABC.

2010: Death of Leslie Nielsen

Due to Leslie Nielsen's death in 2010, voice actor A.J. LoCascio voiced Frank Drebin Jr. in The Naked Gun: ICUP game.

2012: Release of The Naked Gun: ICUP Game

In 2012, The Naked Gun: ICUP, a point-and-click adventure game, was released by Gamecentric Media and Paramount for iOS, Android, and Windows. The game received an average score of 60 on Metacritic.

2013: TV Guide Ranks Police Squad! as "Cancelled Too Soon"

In 2013, TV Guide ranked Police Squad! #7 on its list of 60 shows that were "Cancelled Too Soon".

2022: Naked Gun Sequel Greenlit

In 2022, after years of stalled attempts, a new Naked Gun sequel was greenlit. The film is directed by Akiva Schaffer, written by Schaffer, Dan Gregor, and Doug Mand, and stars Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr.