Don Adams and Barbara Feldon co-starred on which 1960s TV spy comedy?

Get Smart is the correct answer. Don Adams and Barbara Feldon starred together on Get Smart, the 1960s television comedy that turned the spy craze of the decade into one of TV’s most memorable spoofs. The series premiered on NBC in 1965, at a time when spy stories were everywhere in popular culture. James Bond movies were packing theaters, and television had its own serious espionage hits, including The Man from U.N.C.L.E., I Spy, and later Mission: Impossible. Get Smart took that same world of secret agents, gadgets, coded doors, enemy organizations, and international plots, then played it for laughs.

Don Adams played Maxwell Smart, also known as Agent 86. Max was a secret agent for CONTROL, a fictional U.S. intelligence agency locked in a running battle with KAOS, its equally fictional enemy organization. Smart dressed the part, carried himself with great confidence, and often spoke as though he were the most capable agent in the room. The joke was that he was usually clumsy, distracted, or only accidentally successful. Adams gave the character a clipped, deadpan delivery that became central to the show’s humor. His famous lines, including “Would you believe?” and “Missed it by that much,” became catchphrases associated with the series.

Barbara Feldon played Agent 99, Smart’s partner and later his wife. Agent 99 was often calmer, sharper, and more competent than Max, which made their pairing work so well. Feldon brought style and warmth to the role without making 99 seem like a sidekick. She frequently helped Max out of trouble while letting him keep his dignity, at least as much as the joke allowed. That balance was part of the charm. Viewers could laugh at Max’s mistakes without feeling the show was mean-spirited, because 99 clearly cared about him and was usually right there keeping the mission from falling apart.

The series was created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, two writers with a strong instinct for parody. Brooks was already known for sharp comedy, and Henry helped shape the show’s dry, absurd rhythm. Get Smart was built around a simple idea that kept working: take the sleek, dangerous world of spy fiction and run it through everyday foolishness. The show had hidden doors that didn’t work smoothly, elaborate security routines, ridiculous disguises, and the famous shoe phone, one of the best remembered gadgets in television comedy. Long before mobile phones became ordinary, Max Smart answering a call from his shoe was the perfect visual joke.

Get Smart ran from 1965 to 1970, first on NBC and then on CBS for its final season. It won multiple Emmy Awards and remained popular in reruns, which helped introduce it to viewers who missed its original run. Part of its lasting appeal comes from how clearly it belongs to the 1960s. The fashion, the spy-movie influence, the Cold War backdrop, and the fast-moving network sitcom style all place it firmly in that era. At the same time, the core comedy is easy to understand. A man who thinks he is smoother than he really is, paired with a smarter partner who quietly saves the day, still works.