The American detective series Remington Steele revolves around private investigator Laura Holt (portrayed by Stephanie Zimbalist), who manages her own detective agency. The talented private investigator is rather unsuccessful due to a decreasing number of assignments, which she, however, also blames on the fact that she is a woman in a male-dominated industry.

The viewer is presented with all this information off-camera. After much thought on how she could potentially lead her small company to success, she gets the idea to give her detective agency a new name and to suggest to potential customers that the owner is a man. She acts in a similar way to Whoopie Goldberg in her movie "The Associate."

With a little bit of thinking a name for the company is quickly found. Her detective agency is to be called Remington Steele. The name Remington Steele definitely makes an impression and Steele expresses toughness. The ones responsible for this name were her typewriter’s manufacturer, Remington, and the Pittsburgh Steelers, an American football team. Thus, her number of commissions was actually significantly increased after renaming the detective agency and giving it a fictious boss.

Suddenly, Laura meets a thief who is being retained in the Reming Steele Detective Agency by one of the clients, thinking that he is actually the detective himself. He spontaneously shows interest in the client and begins talking to him about his affairs. After the client leaves the office, Laura Holt is initially faced with the dilemma of how to explain to her clients that this man is not Remington Steele, and could not even be Remington Steel because, after all, he is just a product of her imagination.

At the end of the first episode, the stranger decides to call himself Remington Steele from now on. After much thought, Laura Holt becomes convinced that the stranger should from now on be made available to the company as Remington Steele (portrayed by Pierce Brosnan). The financial situation of the detective agency vastly improves and detective Laura Holt has a lot on her hands since not much can be expected from Steele in this respect - even if his work gains constant praise from his clients. The search for his real name becomes a common theme throughout the 94 episodes of the series.

Similar to the subsequent TV series NCIS revolving around Leroy Jethro Gibbs and his co-worker NCIS Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, Remington Steele is also a movie buff who loves to quote famous films at every occasion. He sometimes also makes use of techniques that he has seen in movies in order to solve a case, but this approach is not often successful.

The appeal of the show lies in the witty and often self-deprecating dialogue of the protagonists Laura Holt and Remington Steele. An erotic, almost sexual tension, is build up in the course of the episodes, which, howver, does not lead anywhere. Again and again something happens that distracts both of them and then neither of them continue pursuing the temptation. The audience, of course, is always hoping for something to happen, but must wait until the last scene of the last episode. It is only in this episode that the audience may see them fall on Laura's bed.

Mildred Krebs, who previously worked in tax investigation and is now employed as a secretary, is also essential to the well-being of the detective agency, meeting the concerns and needs of their clients and her superiors sometimes in a rough way, and at times with much friendliness and understanding.

Actually, the series was supposed to be discontinued after the fourth season, due to decreased public interest. Then, however, the news that Roger Moore wanted to quit as James Bond and that Pierce Brosnan was being considered as his successor became public. Thus, the ratings rose again, so the producers decided to film a fifth season. This, however, meant that Pierce Brosnan would no longer be available to play James Bond, so that Timothy Dalton was chosen for the role of the British secret agent. Incidentally, Stephanie Zimbalist also had plans for after the show. She also had to cancel her role in the movie Robocop, after a fifth season of Remington Steele was confirmed.

The following actors have made guest star appearences in some of the episodes of the series:

• Sharon Stone – known, among others, for Basic Instinct, Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold, Catwoman and Total Recall, among others
• Geena Davis – known, among others, for Beetlejuice, Stuart Little 1,2 and 3 as well as Thelma and Louise
• G.W. Bailey – known, among others, for Simon & Simon, Short Circuit, Police Academy 4, 5, 6 and 7 as well as the series The Closer
• David Garrison – known, among others, for  the series Married… with Children, Law & Order, Without a Trace, NYPD Blue as well as Murder, She Wrote
• Nana Visitor – known, among others, for  the series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Mac Gyver, Matlock and Knightrider
• Armin Shimerman – known, among others, for  Killing Dreams, Eye for an Eye, Boston Legal and the series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
• Tracy Scoggins – known, among others, for  Dynasty, Babylon 5, Hardcastle & McCormick and Blue Thunder
• Terry O'Quinn – known, among others, for  Rocketeer, Lost, Blind Fury and Earth
• Jennifer Tilly – known, among others, for  Liar Liar, Chucks Baby, Out of Practice, Man with a Gun and Made in America
• Jeffrey Jones – known, among others, for  Howard the Duck, Beetlejuice, Who's Harry Crumb?, The Hunt for Red October, Ed Wood and Ferris Bueller's Day Off

The aforementioned actors are only a small selection of those who played a guest role in the series Remington Steele. You may find all the Remington Steele episodes in the episode guide.