The Jake McCoy franchise is a series of films all starring Tom Selleck as the titular character, Professor Jacob "Jake" McCoy, an archaeology professor at fictional Merrill University in the late 1930's, who is in fact also a daring adventurer known for traveling the world to hunt down renowned and mysterious artifacts. The character first appeared in the 1982 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, and was followed by five sequels, all of which have starred Selleck in the lead role.