Who’s Still Alive From Vega$? Why the Robert Urich Series Ended

Vega$ was the quintessential ’70s crime drama. Set in Las Vegas, the show featured private-eye mysteries, a cool car, and Robert Urich as Dan Tanna, the detective who worked out of a converted warehouse near the Strip. The ABC series began with a pilot movie on April 25, 1978, before becoming a weekly series that September. It was produced by Aaron Spelling Productions and created by Michael Mann, years before Mann became closely associated with Miami Vice. The show ran for three seasons and aired its final episode on June 3, 1981.

The series was great for Urich, who earned two Golden Globe nominations for playing Dan Tanna, but it did not continue past the 1980-81 season, likely due to declining viewership and the high costs of filming in Las Vegas. Interestingly enough, Las Vegas may soon be back at the center of another glossy TV drama, as Netflix is developing The Roman, a present-day casino-world series starring Oscar Isaac and executive-produced by Martin Scorsese.