The series centered on a two-man troubleshooting team working for multi-national secret intelligence agency U.N.C.L.E. Originally, Solo was the focus of the series, but Russian agent Illya Kuryakin drew so much enthusiasm from fans, the agents became a team. Author Michael Avallone, who wrote the first original novelization based upon the series (see below), is sometimes incorrectly cited as the show's creator. Robert Towne, Sherman Yellen, and Harlan Ellison later wrote scripts for the series. The original name for the show was Ian Fleming's Solo.
According to the book The James Bond Films Fleming proposed two characters, Napoleon Solo and April Dancer (later appearing on the spin-off series The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.). Ian Fleming contributed to the concepts after being approached by the show's co-creator, Norman Felton. The first episode was broadcast on September 22, 1964, as part of the Tuesday night NBC lineup, but moved to Monday nights, a half hour earlier, the following January. The first season was produced in black and white, the remainder in color. The series consists of 105 episodes originally broadcast between 19, produced by Metro-Goldwyn-MayerĪnd Arena productions. Each episode had an "acknowledgement" to the U.N.C.L.E. was an acronym for the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement. : 14 Concerns by the MGM legal department about using "U.N." for commercial purposes resulted in the producers' clarification that U.N.C.L.E. ambiguous so it could refer to either " Uncle Sam" or the United Nations.
Originally, co-creator Sam Rolfe wanted to leave the meaning of U.N.C.L.E.
The series won the Golden Globe Award for Best TV Show in 1966. Props from the series are exhibited at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum and at the museums of the Central Intelligence Agency and other US intelligence agencies. With few recurring characters, the series attracted many high-profile guest stars. There was also a spin-off series, The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., novel and comic book series, and merchandising. Several episodes were successfully released to theaters as B movies or double features. The program led the spy-fiction craze on television, and by 1966 there were nearly a dozen imitators. The series premiered on September 22, 1964, completing its run on January 15, 1968. The series follows secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a secret international counterespionage and law-enforcement agency called U.N.C.L.E. is an American spy fiction television series produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television and first broadcast on NBC. For the 2015 film adaptation, see The Man from U.N.C.L.E.