As to older examples: The Dukes of Hazzard. (Commercially successful). The Saint? I got the impression that sometimes Simon Templar robbed to get money rather than going after bad guys, but don't think that was canon.

Didn't Charlie do stuff outside of the law to solve his personal stuff?

In Mission Impossible, they were almost certainly breaking the laws of whatever foreign country they were infiltrating.

But that wasn't for them. That I think is readily endorsed. The Winchesters commit credit card fraud to pay their bills. The Sopranos were just a crime family. There's no altruism there (sure, Sam and Dean might be funding an altruistic lifestyle, but it's hardly the only way to do it).

The Dukes of Hazzard

Refresh my memory--what did they do for themselves?

Didn't Charlie do stuff outside of the law to solve his personal stuff?

Hmm. True. I think my mind is creating a separate category in which White Collar, Life, and Burn Notice will go.

I have to say, I really like the Oatmeal guide to Irony.

The Dukes of Hazard were not law-abiding, as celebrated in their theme song, anyway.

That was a thing with Maverick, wasn't it, that he was not a Good Guy? At least, he didn't wear a white hat, that was definitely a thing.

Hustle?

Refresh my memory--what did they do for themselves?

The Dukes of Hazzard made their living running moonshine for their uncle who made it. The only Hazzard not making a living from moonshine was Daisy who worked in a bar.

edit (should not be that absolute. Long time ago so maybe there were others. But at any rate the brothers and the uncle made their living from moonshine.)

The Dukes of Hazzard made their living running moonshine for their uncle who made it. The only Hazzard not making a living from moonshine was Daisy who worked in a bar.

You know, The Dukes of Hazard was one of my favorite shows as a kid. I knew they were outlaws (because the theme song said so) but I don't ever recall the show actually showing them running moonshine. They were always helping people and shit.

But they sure broke a lot of traffic laws....

Hustle?

Definitely Hustle. They only hustled bad guys, but it was all for their own benefit (which is why I hate when people call Leverage a copy of it).

Wikipedia describes Maverick thusly:

He frequently flimflammed adversaries, but only criminals who actually deserved it. Otherwise he was scrupulously honest almost to a fault

From skimming the Dukes of Hazzard wikipedia entry it looks like they are former criminals, but not that they're doing anything ongoingly illegal. (eta: the previous crime being moonshine trafficking)

The Dukes of Hazzard made their living running moonshine for their uncle who made it. The only Hazzard not making a living from moonshine was Daisy who worked in a bar.

edit (should not be that absolute. Long time ago so maybe there were others. But at any rate the brothers and the uncle made their living from moonshine.)

Uh ... no. They were charged for it prior to the pilot, but Uncle Jesse promised not to make it anymore so they weren't jailed, IIRC.

They didn't so much commit crime, as be accused of it by Boss Hogg and the Sheriff every week. Those guys were forever trying to get Bo and Luke to leave Hazzard County, which was against their sentencing deal. And also why they didn't use guns.

Daisy did work in a bar, though.