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The Best Episodes of Moonlighting

Every episode of Moonlighting ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Moonlighting!

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After being duped and going bankrupt, model Maddie is convinced by David to become a partner in a detective agency. Together they solve various cases, while getting comfortable with each other.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    Moonlighting Season 2 Episode 8 - Portrait of Maddie
    10.0/10(335 votes)

    #1 - Portrait of Maddie

    S2:E8

    Maddie becomes obsessed by the portrait done of her by an artist she never knew and who killed himself upon completing it.

    Director:Peter Werner
    Writers:Ali Marie Matheson, Kerry Ehrin

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  2. Moonlighting Season 2 Episode 9 - Atlas Belched
    10.0/10(320 votes)

    #2 - Atlas Belched

    S2:E9

    Dave busies himself finding an important phone index for a hapless young executive while Maddie mulls over an offer to sell the agency to a competitor.

    Director:Christian I. Nyby II
    Writer:Roger Director

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  3. Moonlighting Season 2 Episode 11 - The Bride of Tupperman
    10.0/10(318 votes)

    #3 - The Bride of Tupperman

    S2:E11

    Dave and Maddie compete to fulfill their client's unusual request: find him a possible mate fitting his very specific requirements.

    Directors:Will Mackenzie, Christian I. Nyby II
    Writers:Ron Osborn, Jeff Reno

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  4. Moonlighting Season 2 Episode 12 - North by North Dipesto
    10.0/10(323 votes)

    #4 - North by North Dipesto

    S2:E12

    A restless Ms. Dipesto gets a chance for danger and excitement when she gets a piece of paper from a mysterious man while attending a ball in Dave and Maddie's place.

    Director:Christopher Hibler
    Writers:Debra Frank, Carl Sautter

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  5. Moonlighting Season 2 Episode 13 - In God We Strongly Suspect
    10.0/10(305 votes)

    #5 - In God We Strongly Suspect

    S2:E13

    Dave and Maddie agree to "corpse-sit" for an escape artist's widow, who believes her dead husband's threats to come back and get even with her.

    Director:Will Mackenzie
    Writer:Scott S. Gorden

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  6. Moonlighting Season 2 Episode 14 - Every Daughter's Father Is a Virgin
    10.0/10(311 votes)

    #6 - Every Daughter's Father Is a Virgin

    S2:E14

    Maddie worries about her parents' strange behavior, so Dave tails her father to see if he's having an affair.

    Director:Christopher Hibler
    Writers:Debra Frank, Bruce Franklin Singer

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of Moonlighting

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  7. Moonlighting Season 2 Episode 15 - Witness for the Execution
    10.0/10(315 votes)

    #7 - Witness for the Execution

    S2:E15

    A sick old man asks Dave and Maddie to be the "expert" witnesses at his murder.

    Director:Paul Krasny
    Writers:Ron Osborn, Jeff Reno

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  8. Moonlighting Season 2 Episode 16 - Sleep Talkin' Guy
    10.0/10(305 votes)

    #8 - Sleep Talkin' Guy

    S2:E16

    Dave uses information passed on to him from a prostitute with an important client who talks in his sleep to solve several big cases.

    Director:Christopher Hibler
    Writers:Debra Frank, Carl Sautter

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  9. Moonlighting Season 2 Episode 17 - Funeral for a Door Nail
    10.0/10(292 votes)

    #9 - Funeral for a Door Nail

    S2:E17

    A depressed man hires a hit man to kill him after his wife dies, then desperately seeks Dave and Maddie's help to call him off when he sees his supposedly dead wife alive.

    Director:Allan Arkush
    Writers:Ron Osborn, Charles H. Eglee, Jeff Reno, Jonathan Lemkin

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  10. Moonlighting Season 2 Episode 18 - Camille
    10.0/10(355 votes)

    #10 - Camille

    S2:E18

    Dave hires an unlucky con woman who accidentally became a heroine when she stopped an assassination attempt against a United States senator, but who is still pursued by a determined crooked cop.

    Director:Peter Werner
    Writer:Roger Director

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  11. Moonlighting Season 2 Episode 3 - Money Talks, Maddie Walks
    9.3/10(377 votes)

    #11 - Money Talks, Maddie Walks

    S2:E3

    Maddie learns through the near-suicide of a friend where her embezzling accountant has fled to and immediately flies after him, determined to get her money back.

    Director:Christian I. Nyby II
    Writers:Ali Marie Matheson, Kerry Ehrin

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  12. Moonlighting Season 2 Episode 5 - My Fair David
    9.3/10(378 votes)

    #12 - My Fair David

    S2:E5

    Maddie bets David that he can't act like a mature responsible professional for one full week while they deliver ransom money for the mother of a kidnapped concert pianist.

    Director:Will Mackenzie
    Writer:Bruce Franklin Singer

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  13. Moonlighting Season 2 Episode 6 - Knowing Her
    9.3/10(378 votes)

    #13 - Knowing Her

    S2:E6

    Maddie fears David's old flame is using him when she returns and asks him for help with a bad marriage.

    Director:Peter Werner
    Writers:Ron Osborn, Jeff Reno

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  14. Moonlighting Season 2 Episode 7 - Somewhere Under the Rainbow
    9.3/10(378 votes)

    #14 - Somewhere Under the Rainbow

    S2:E7

    Dave and Maddie argue over whether to help a young woman who claims to be a leprechaun find the pot of gold she insists her father has hidden for her in Los Angeles.

    Director:Peter Crane
    Writers:Debra Frank, Carl Sautter

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  15. Moonlighting Season 5 Episode 2 - Between a Yuk and a Hard Place
    9.3/10(201 votes)

    #15 - Between a Yuk and a Hard Place

    S5:E2

    Maddie takes on several new cases in an effort to bury her sorrow, including one where a woman is convinced that her husband is still in love with someone from his past.

    Director:Dennis Dugan
    Writer:Kerry Ehrin

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  16. Moonlighting Season 5 Episode 4 - Plastic Fantastic Lovers
    9.3/10(200 votes)

    #16 - Plastic Fantastic Lovers

    S5:E4

    Maddie and David are hired by a disfigured man who has become a recluse and needs the detectives' help in proving that a plastic surgeon wantonly caused his disfiguration.

    Director:Allan Arkush
    Writer:Jerry Stahl

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  17. Moonlighting Season 5 Episode 5 - Shirts and Skins
    9.3/10(190 votes)

    #17 - Shirts and Skins

    S5:E5

    The office divides along gender lines when Maddie takes on a case for a woman who shot her boss for sabotaging her career when she refused his sexual advances.

    Director:Artie Mandelberg
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Moonlighting Season 5 Episode 6 - Take My Wife, For Example
    9.3/10(186 votes)

    #18 - Take My Wife, For Example

    S5:E6

    A ruthless divorce lawyer comes to Blue Moon for help in reconciling a couple she helped split up, and Maddie tries to buy David a present.

    Director:Dennis Dugan
    Writer:James Kramer

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  19. Moonlighting Season 5 Episode 13 - Lunar Eclipse
    9.3/10(226 votes)

    #19 - Lunar Eclipse

    S5:E13

    Dave breaks it off with Annie when her husband comes to California, everyone attends the wedding of Burt and Agnes, and the agency closes its doors for a final time as everyone tries to figure out why it all had to end.

    Director:Dennis Dugan
    Writer:Ron Clark

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  20. Moonlighting Season 1 Episode 4 - The Next Murder You Hear
    9.0/10(492 votes)

    #20 - The Next Murder You Hear

    S1:E4

    Maddie becomes infatuated with a radio talk-show host who has apparently been murdered while he was on the air.

    Director:Peter Werner
    Writers:Glenn Gordon Caron, Peter Silverman

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  21. Moonlighting Season 1 Episode 5 - Next Stop Murder
    9.0/10(473 votes)

    #21 - Next Stop Murder

    S1:E5

    Maddie and Dave get trapped on a train filled with mystery buffs when they try to deliver Agnes on time for her big weekend solving a make-believe murder staged by a famous author.

    Director:Kevin Connor
    Writers:Ali Marie Matheson, Kerry Ehrin

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  22. Moonlighting Season 2 Episode 1 - Brother, Can You Spare a Blonde?
    9.0/10(441 votes)

    #22 - Brother, Can You Spare a Blonde?

    S2:E1

    Dave's older brother shows up unexpectedly, flashing a big roll of money and determined to impress a bemused Maddie, unaware that he's pursued by a drug dealer who wants his money back.

    Director:Peter Werner
    Writer:Glenn Gordon Caron

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  23. Moonlighting Season 2 Episode 2 - The Lady in the Iron Mask
    9.0/10(432 votes)

    #23 - The Lady in the Iron Mask

    S2:E2

    A mysterious veiled woman asks Dave and Maddie to find the man who disfigured her twenty years ago on her wedding day-so she can marry him.

    Director:Christopher Leitch
    Writer:Roger Director

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  24. Moonlighting Season 3 Episode 1 - The Son Also Rises
    9.0/10(288 votes)

    #24 - The Son Also Rises

    S3:E1

    David's estranged father makes a surprise visit to announce his upcoming wedding and to introduce his bride-to-be, who comes as a shock to David.

    Director:Allan Arkush
    Writers:Ron Osborn, Jeff Reno

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  25. Moonlighting Season 3 Episode 2 - The Man Who Cried Wife
    9.0/10(278 votes)

    #25 - The Man Who Cried Wife

    S3:E2

    A man hires Dave and Maddie to find his wife, who's been making mysterious late night phone calls to him, the same wife he's sure he killed and buried in the forest.

    Director:Christian I. Nyby II
    Writer:Unknown

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Best Episodes Summary

"Portrait of Maddie" is the best rated episode of "Moonlighting". It scored 10/10 based on 335 votes. Directed by Peter Werner and written by Ali Marie Matheson, Kerry Ehrin, it aired on 11/26/1985. This episode scored 0.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "Atlas Belched".