Ohara is an American police procedural television series that first aired on the ABC television network from January 17, 1987, until August 6, 1988, starring Pat Morita in the title role of Lt. Ohara. Morita also co-created the series along with Michael Braveman and John A. Kuri. Kevin Conroy, Jon Polito, Rachel Ticotin, and Robert Clohessy also starred in supporting roles. The series was notable for being one of the first television series to have a Japanese-American actor in the leading role.
The series focuses on an unconventional Los Angeles-based Japanese-American police lieutenant named Ohara (Pat Morita) who uses spirituality methods such as meditation in his home shrine to solve crimes without the use of a gun or a partner, although he would use martial arts if necessary. He often talked in the form of epigrams.
A change in format left Ohara as the only returning character in the fall of 1987. He was paired with a partner named Lt. George Shaver (Robert Clohessy) who was a more conventional cop, and they worked as part of a task force headed by Teresa Storm.
In February 1988, after a friend was murdered, Ohara and Shaver became frustrated with the law-enforcement establishment. They resigned and became private detectives.
Season 1
Season 2
Following its premiere, the show was not attracting the audience ABC had hoped for. They put it through several format changes to increase the ratings. The first major change was to change title character Ohara from a lieutenant to a federal police officer; he was also paired with a partner. Later on in the season Ohara became a more conventional cop using a gun to assist him in his investigations. The second season had a final format change in which Ohara and his partner were turned into private investigators. These changes failed to improve the show's declining ratings and the show was cancelled after the second season.