
Houston Knights is an American crime drama set in Houston, Texas. The show ran on CBS from 1987 to 1988 and had 31 episodes. The core of the show was the partnership between two very different cops from two different cultures. Chicago cop Joey LaFiamma, played by Michael Paré, is transferred to Houston after he kills a mobster from a powerful Mafia family and a contract is put out on him. Once there, he is partnered with Levon Lundy, played by Michael Beck, the grandson of a Texas Ranger. Although as different as night and day, and after a rocky beginning they form a successful partnership and become friends. This is aided to a certain extent by an event where a hitman from Chicago who holds the contract to shoot La Fiamma arrives in Houston and is ultimately killed by Lundy. During the series, it is revealed that both La Fiamma and Lundy have their own personal demons; La Fiamma's Chicago police partner had been killed when he went ahead while La Fiamma had waited for backup to arrive. Lundy's wife had been killed by an explosion that was intended to kill him.
An off-duty officer is killed doing some private investigation. It is soon learned that he was working on a stolen car ring. The Knights spot a daylight heist of an Excaliber and follow it to a warehouse. As the Knights moved around inside the warehouse, Joe discovers HIS car, a Shelby Cobra, stolen in Chicago months ago. Two suspects escape in Joe's car! Later the car is ditched and one of the men runs into a blind woman as he escapes. Using Joey as a guide she gives a detailed description of the man. In the end, Joe's car is taken in evidence, but he does it get back. In this episode, Jamie Kincaid is introduced. She is the wife of the off-duty officer.
The show has two separate storylines. One deals with date rape, the other with a prison breakout. In the date rape, a man at a fitness center feels women are coming on to him because of how they dress when they exercise. This storyline gives us the impression that Joe is a women's rights activist. In the prison breakout, the Knights get involved with a retired Texas Ranger who feels the justice system has failed. He hinders their investigation. It is discovered that a recent armor truck heist was not for the money but for the prison breakout. Levon uses an 18-wheeler to stop the truck.