Columbo is an American crime fiction

Crime fiction

Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...

 television film series, which starred Peter Falk

Peter Falk

Peter Michael Falk was an American actor, best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the television series Columbo...

 as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective

Detective

A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...

 with the Los Angeles Police Department

Los Angeles Police Department

The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...

. It was created by William Link

William Link

William Theodore Link is an American film and television writer and producer who often worked in collaboration with Richard Levinson.-Life and career:...

 and Richard Levinson

Richard Levinson

Richard Levinson was an American writer and producer who often worked in collaboration with William Link. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Economics in 1956. He served in the United States Army from...

. The show popularized the inverted detective story

Inverted detective story

An inverted detective story, also known as a "howdhecatchem", is a murder mystery fiction structure in which the commission of the crime is shown or described at the beginning, usually including the identity of the perpetrator. The story then describes the detective's attempt to solve the mystery...

 format. With the exception of a couple of special episodes with added twists, almost every episode began by showing the commission of the crime and its perpetrator. Therefore, there is no "whodunit

Whodunit

A whodunit or whodunnit is a complex, plot-driven variety of the detective story in which the puzzle is the main feature of interest. The reader or viewer is provided with clues from which the identity of the perpetrator of the crime may be deduced before the solution is revealed in the final...

" element.