Kolchak: The Night Stalker is an American television series that aired on ABC in 1974. It featured a newspaper reporter — Carl Kolchak, played by Darren McGavin — who investigates crimes with mysterious and unlikely causes that the proper authorities won't accept or pursue. Each week Kolchak investigated murders involving supernatural and science fictional creatures. The series was light-hearted black comedy and placed Kolchak in an office setting with quirky co-workers.

The series was preceded by two television movies, The Night Stalker (1972) and The Night Strangler (1973). It is often credited as the inspiration for The X-Files and was succeeded by a second television series with a new cast and characters in 2005, as well as several novels and comic books.