Sam Saturday

{{Short description|Television series}}

{{Use British English|date=December 2013}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}

{{Infobox television

| image =

| caption =

| genre = Police procedural

| creator = Alvin Rakoff

| developer =

| writer = Stanley Price
Stuart Hepburn
Arthur McKenzie
John Milne

| director = Alan Dossor
Alvin Rakoff

| creative_director =

| starring = Ivan Kaye
Peter Armitage
Doreen Mantle
Dennis Victory
Michael Elwyn
David Fleeshman
Simon Slater

| theme_music_composer =

| composer = Rick Wentworth

| country = United Kingdom

| language = English

| num_series = 1

| num_episodes = 6

| list_episodes =

| executive_producer = Verity Lambert
Nick Elliott

| producer = Sharon Bloom

| editor = Jake Bernard

| location = London, England

| cinematography =

| camera =

| runtime = 50 minutes

| company = Cinema Verity
LWT

| channel = ITV

| first_aired = {{Start date|1992|06|27|df=yes}}

| last_aired = {{End date|1992|08|08|df=yes}}

}}

Sam Saturday is a British television police procedural series, broadcast between 27 June and 8 August 1992. The six-part series produced by Cinema Verity in association with LWT, broadcast on ITV, follows the work of DI Sam Sterne (Ivan Kaye), a Jewish police detective, as he struggles to balance the demands of the job with his private life.{{cite web | url=https://itvstudios.com/programmes/sam-saturday | title=Itvstudios }} The series was created by writer and director Alvin Rakoff, and was produced by the production company of executive producer Verity Lambert.{{Cite web | url=http://www.memorabletv.com/tv/sam-saturday-itv-1992/ | title=Sam Saturday (ITV 1992, Ivan Kaye, Doreen Mantle)| date=2 November 2016}} The series was just one of a number of commissions made by LWT controller of drama Nick Elliott in 1991, following the announcement that both The Ruth Rendell Mysteries and Inspector Morse were to cease production.{{Cite web | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/media-someones-stealing-your-ratings-call-in-the-police-john-dugdale-investigates-the-case-of-1533356.html | title=Media: Someone's stealing your ratings? Call in the police: John| website=Independent.co.uk| date=14 July 1992}}

The first episode of the series finds Sterne moving back in with his mother, Rita (Doreen Mantle), after a messy divorce. Three episodes of the series were written by Stanley Price.{{Cite web | url=http://theagency.co.uk/the-clients/stanley-price/ | title=Stanley Price}} Despite good reception, in the light of both Inspector Morse and The Ruth Rendell Mysteries returning to the ITV schedules, a second series was never commissioned. In 2013, Kaye stated in an interview that he was grateful to have "his own series at 30", and explained how the series allowed him to break through into other television roles, as well as securing a leading West End role within six months of the programme's broadcast.{{Cite web | url=http://www.thetimewarriors.co.uk/blog/?p=17088 | title=Thetimewarriors.co.uk}}