The show became a success as Ironside depended on brains and initiative in handling cases. Although Ironside was good-hearted and honest, he often maintained a somewhat gruff persona. The series enjoyed a seven and a half-season run on NBC, drawing respectable, if not always high, ratings. As the shortened eighth and final season began (only 16 of 19 episodes produced were aired by NBC), Universal released a syndicated rerun package of episodes from earlier seasons under the title "The Raymond Burr Show," reflecting the practice of that time to differentiate original network episodes from syndicated reruns whenever possible. After NBC's mid-season cancellation, however, the syndicated episodes reverted to the "Ironside" title.