Following a trend begun by the radio series
Dragnet,
The Lineup strove to portray realism in a police drama. The title indicated the show's focus, as each story began and ended with a
lineup of suspects in a police station in San Francisco.
Sergeant Matt Grebb, who was heard giving instructions to participants in each lineup, was "quick-tempered and often bored", while his boss, Lieutenant Ben Guthrie, was "soft-spoken and calm." The program portrayed most activities of the police as part of the job with "few heroics".
[1] Episodes were "fast, furious, and realistic."
Each episode began with the announcer saying:Ladies a