Honestly, most people think of Christopher Plummer and immediately picture him ripping up a Nazi flag in a Salzburg villa or maybe playing that sharp-witted mystery writer in Knives Out. We associate him with the "big" screen. The heavy hitters. But if you look at the actual math of his career, the guy was a massive presence on television for nearly seventy years. Seriously. From live anthologies in the 1950s to high-octane thrillers in the 2020s, Christopher Plummer TV shows are where a lot of his most experimental—and Emmy-winning—work actually happened.
It wasn't just a side hustle for him. While some film stars of his era looked down on "the tube," Plummer used it to flex. He played everything from a one-eyed Klingon (okay, that was a movie, but he did plenty of sci-fi TV too) to a cardinal with a dark secret. He didn't just show up; he dominated.
Why Christopher Plummer TV Shows Were a Secret Weapon
You've got to understand the era he started in. Back in the early 50s, TV was "live." There was no "we’ll fix it in post." Plummer was cut from that theater cloth where you had to be perfect on the first go. He debuted in 1953 on Studio One in an episode called "The Gathering Night." Imagine being a young Canadian actor, fresh-faced and intense, performing live for millions of people.
He didn't just stop there. He became a staple of what we now call the Golden Age of Television. He was in Kraft Television Theatre, Omnibus, and Hallmark Hall of Fame. If a network wanted someone who could deliver Shakespearean gravitas without sounding like a robot, they called Plummer.
The Emmy Wins You Should Know
A lot of fans don't realize he didn't get his first Oscar until he was 82. But the TV Academy? They recognized him way earlier.
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- The Moneychangers (1976): This was a massive four-part miniseries based on an Arthur Hailey novel. Plummer played Roscoe Heyward, a greedy bank executive. He was so good at being bad that he took home the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor.
- Madeline (1994): Yeah, you read that right. He won his second Emmy for being the narrator of the animated Madeline series. He had this voice that could sound like warm honey or a sharp blade, and kids' TV loved him for it.
The Roles That Defined His TV Career
It’s easy to get lost in a list of a hundred credits. But a few specific Christopher Plummer TV shows stand out because they changed how people saw him.
The Thorn Birds (1983)
If you lived through the 80s, you couldn't escape The Thorn Birds. It was a cultural phenomenon. Plummer played Archbishop Vittorio Contini-Verchese. He wasn't the romantic lead (that was Richard Chamberlain), but he was the moral and political weight of the show. He played the "mentor" figure with a level of nuance that most actors would have turned into a caricature.
Counterstrike (1990-1993)
This is the one that surprises people. In the early 90s, Plummer starred in an actual action-adventure series. He played Alexander Addington, a billionaire who forms a secret anti-terrorist team after his wife is kidnapped. It was kinda like The A-Team but with more expensive suits and better dialogue. He did 66 episodes. Think about that. For three years, he was a weekly fixture in a genre most people don't associate with a "serious" actor.
Departure (2019-2021)
This was one of his final projects before he passed away in 2021. In Departure, a series about the investigation into a vanished passenger plane, he played Howard Lawson. Even in his late 80s and early 90s, he had this incredible stillness. He didn't have to shout to own the room. He just sat there, spoke softly, and everyone else in the scene basically disappeared.
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The "Stage-to-Screen" TV Specials
We can't talk about his television work without mentioning the filmed plays. These are essentially the bridge between his legendary stage career and the small screen.
Hamlet at Elsinore (1964) is arguably the gold standard here. They actually filmed it at the real Kronborg Castle in Denmark. It was a BBC production, and it’s haunting. It's black and white, it's moody, and Plummer’s Hamlet is energetic and angry. It’s vastly different from the more "noble" Hamlets of the time.
Then there's The Scarlet and the Black (1983). Technically a TV movie, but it aired as a major event. He played the real-life Nazi Colonel Herbert Kappler opposite Gregory Peck’s Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty. The chemistry between them is electric. Seeing two titans of cinema face off in a TV production from the 80s is something special. Honestly, if you haven't seen it, find a copy. It’s a masterclass in tension.
Why He Kept Coming Back to Television
So, why did a guy who was winning Oscars and Tonys keep doing TV?
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Partly because the roles were better. Television, especially in the miniseries era of the 70s and 80s, allowed for longer character arcs. You couldn't explore a character's descent into greed over two hours like you could in the four nights of The Moneychangers.
Also, the guy just loved to work. He wasn't the type to sit around waiting for a "perfect" movie script. If a Canadian series like Departure or an HBO film like Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight came along, he took it. He treated a TV guest spot on The Cosby Show with the same level of preparation as a lead role at the National Theatre.
A Legacy Beyond the Big Screen
When we look back at the best Christopher Plummer TV shows, the variety is what hits you. He did:
- Westerns (like The Virginian)
- Soap opera-style dramas (Crossings)
- Biographical epics (Nuremberg)
- Voice acting for cartoons (The New Adventures of Madeline)
He was a chameleon. Most actors have a "brand." Plummer’s brand was simply "excellence," regardless of the format. He was one of the few who successfully navigated the transition from the live-TV era to the streaming age without ever losing his relevance.
How to Watch His Best TV Work Today
If you’re looking to binge some of his best television moments, start with the "high-brow" stuff and work your way down.
- The Moneychangers is harder to find but worth the hunt on DVD or specialty streamers.
- Departure is readily available on many global streaming platforms like Peacock or Global TV.
- Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight is a must-watch on Max (formerly HBO Max). He plays Justice John Marshall Harlan II, and it's a subtle, powerful performance.
The best way to appreciate him is to stop thinking of him as just "the guy from The Sound of Music." He was a television pioneer who used the small screen to prove that you don't need a massive cinema screen to be a giant.
Next time you’re scrolling through a streaming service, look for his name in the credits of a series you’ve never heard of. Chances are, even if the show is just "okay," his performance will be the best thing you see all week.