Set in 1950s Manhattan, the A&E Network production stars Maury Chaykin as the heavyweight detective genius Nero Wolfe, and Timothy Hutton as Wolfe's assistant, Archie Goodwin, narrator of the Nero Wolfe stories. Veteran screenwriter Paul Monash adapted the 1953 novel by Rex Stout; Bill Duke directed. When it first aired on the A&E Network March 5, 2000, The Golden Spiders was seen in 3.2 million homes, making it the fourth most-watched A&E original movie ever.