The First 48 — 2004-present · 25 seasons · 493 eps

★ 8.2

The First 48 poster

The First 48

2004-present 25 seasons 493 episodes

★ 8.2 (4,674 votes) Top 21%

The First 48 follows detectives from around the country during these first critical hours as they race against time to find the suspect. Gritty and fast-paced, it takes viewers behind the scenes of real-life investigations with unprecedented access to crime scenes, autopsies, forensic processing, and interrogations.

Episode Ratings Grid

Every episode at a glance, color-coded by rating. Rows are episode numbers within each season, columns are seasons.

Size: M

S1

S2

S3

S4

S5

S6

S7

S8

S9

S10

S11 1-30

S11 31-39

S12 1-30

S12 31-60

S12 61-90

S12 91-120

S12 121-150

S12 151-180

S12 181-210

S12 211-236

S13 1-30

S13 31-54

S14 0-29

S14 30-40

S15 1-30

S15 31-32

S16

S17

S18

S19 1-30

S19 31-34

S21

S22 1-30

S22 31-60

S22 61-90

S22 91-99

S23

S24

S25

S28

E1

7.9

8.1

8.3

8.1

8.4

7.4

8.4

8.7

8.1

8.1

8.3

7.8

7.3

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

7.8

—

7.3

7.7

8.2

7.9

8.1

7.8

?

8.7

8.1

7.2

7.1

—

—

—

7.9

7.1

7.0

7.3

E2

7.4

8.5

8.1

8.3

7.9

8.0

7.4

7.8

7.0

7.9

7.1

7.8

—

?

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

9.8

8.0

7.2

?

7.5

7.6

7.8

8.1

8.4

—

8.1

—

—

—

7.7

7.3

7.7

7.0

E3

7.7

7.5

8.0

8.3

7.6

7.4

8.1

8.2

7.9

8.0

—

8.9

8.5

8.0

—

—

—

—

—

—

7.6

7.5

7.6

—

7.8

8.0

8.2

8.0

7.6

7.2

—

7.3

—

—

—

7.2

?

7.2

7.2

E4

7.6

8.0

7.8

8.2

7.7

7.6

8.4

7.9

8.0

7.9

7.9

8.6

8.1

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

7.5

8.5

8.6

7.7

7.7

7.9

7.8

8.1

7.2

7.9

—

7.3

—

—

—

7.2

?

7.0

7.0

E5

7.6

7.9

7.9

8.2

8.0

8.1

8.1

—

7.6

7.4

7.4

7.8

7.4

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

9.0

—

7.3

?

7.5

7.9

7.5

8.0

7.8

—

7.5

—

—

—

7.6

?

6.9

?

E6

7.6

8.3

7.9

8.1

8.3

7.6

8.1

8.6

—

—

8.4

8.5

7.8

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

7.9

9.0

7.9

?

8.1

7.7

7.9

7.6

8.3

—

6.7

—

—

—

7.3

7.1

?

?

E7

7.7

—

8.2

8.0

8.2

7.0

7.6

8.1

7.8

7.6

8.2

—

7.7

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

7.9

8.2

?

8.3

7.3

7.2

7.5

8.8

7.2

7.2

7.4

—

—

—

6.6

?

?

E8

7.6

7.9

8.0

9.0

7.5

7.7

7.8

8.0

7.7

7.4

8.2

—

8.8

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

7.8

—

8.1

?

7.5

7.3

7.6

7.8

6.9

7.2

7.4

—

—

—

7.4

?

E9

7.5

7.7

8.1

8.3

7.7

7.5

8.1

8.6

7.9

—

?

7.7

7.4

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

7.2

7.8

7.8

7.8

7.6

7.5

7.5

7.5

7.3

7.4

7.2

—

—

7.6

7.2

E10

7.6

7.3

7.9

8.5

7.8

7.5

8.1

8.1

7.1

8.1

7.7

7.7

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

7.6

7.7

7.5

8.4

7.1

7.4

7.4

8.0

7.7

7.1

7.7

—

—

7.3

E11

8.0

8.5

8.2

8.1

8.2

7.2

7.5

8.2

—

7.1

—

8.5

8.2

—

—

—

—

—

—

7.7

—

7.8

?

7.4

7.7

7.4

7.6

7.5

7.7

8.0

—

—

7.9

E12

8.0

7.9

8.1

8.0

7.4

7.2

7.7

7.2

8.1

8.2

3.2

7.8

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

7.7

—

7.1

—

7.5

7.8

8.3

8.8

7.4

7.5

—

—

E13

7.9

8.0

8.7

7.5

7.5

7.8

7.6

7.8

7.3

7.1

7.6

9.2

—

—

—

—

—

—

7.6

—

?

6.6

7.8

7.7

7.8

8.0

6.9

7.3

—

—

E14

7.5

7.8

7.2

7.5

7.6

7.9

7.3

7.4

8.0

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

7.9

—

8.1

7.9

8.7

7.2

8.2

7.9

7.2

8.0

—

—

E15

8.3

7.6

7.9

7.6

—

6.4

8.3

—

7.1

—

—

—

—

—

—

7.9

—

7.9

8.1

8.2

8.1

7.7

7.1

7.1

7.6

—

—

E16

8.2

7.7

—

8.1

8.2

7.8

8.1

—

?

—

—

—

—

—

—

7.8

—

8.2

7.3

8.1

7.7

8.7

7.8

7.1

7.8

—

—

E17

8.3

7.6

7.8

7.7

7.9

7.5

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

8.2

—

7.8

7.2

7.8

7.8

8.2

8.1

7.1

7.6

—

—

E18

8.3

7.5

—

8.5

7.9

7.6

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

8.8

—

7.9

7.9

7.7

7.8

7.8

7.7

7.4

—

—

E19

8.4

—

—

8.0

7.9

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

8.9

8.3

7.4

7.2

7.2

7.6

7.2

—

—

E20

—

—

7.9

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

8.1

—

—

8.2

6.8

7.2

7.4

7.5

7.8

—

—

E21

—

—

?

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

7.8

8.2

—

8.1

7.9

7.8

8.3

7.7

7.8

8.0

—

—

E22

—

7.4

7.9

7.4

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

8.3

—

7.5

8.8

8.1

7.6

7.3

8.5

—

—

E23

—

?

7.8

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

7.5

7.6

7.6

7.3

8.1

7.6

—

—

E24

8.2

7.4

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

8.2

7.9

7.7

8.2

8.0

7.2

7.1

—

—

—

E25

—

7.8

?

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

7.8

7.7

8.0

7.8

7.1

6.9

—

—

—

E26

7.5

7.7

8.1

—

—

—

—

—

—

7.2

8.0

—

7.6

7.2

8.4

7.3

—

—

—

E27

—

8.6

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

7.9

7.8

7.4

7.5

8.2

—

—

—

E28

—

7.4

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

8.3

—

7.8

9.4

7.2

—

—

—

E29

8.3

7.8

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

7.6

7.8

7.9

7.8

—

—

—

E30

7.7

7.5

—

—

—

—

—

—

7.9

—

—

7.2

—

—

—

Avg

7.7

7.9

8.0

8.3

7.9

7.5

7.9

8.0

7.8

7.7

7.8

7.9

8.0

7.9

7.7

7.7

7.7

8.0

7.7

7.4

7.6

7.4

7.2

7.2

7.1

Peak

Excellent

Great

Good

Mid

Awful

Episode Power Rankings

The best and worst episodes at a glance. Use this to find must-watch episodes or ones you might want to skip.

🏆 Top Episodes

#1 9.8

S14E1 Safe House

Dallas homicide detectives discover nearly $1 million in the home of a man who was shot on his front porch; two violent suspects are tracked.

#2

S17E28 9.4

Unspeakable

Tulsa Ok. Detective Jason White continues to investigate Courtney Palmers disappearance. The missing persons case turns into a detective's worst nightmare

#3

S12E43 9.2

Less Than Zero/Friends for Life

4. S4E8 "Crossfire/School Ties" 9.0
5. S13E5 "Wild Ride" 9.0
6. S13E36 "Dangerous Attraction/Candy Lady" 9.0
7. S11E33 "Mother and Child" 8.9
8. S14E18 "Dark Waters" 8.9
9. S12E8 "Tiny Dancers/Right Hand Man" 8.8
10. S13E48 "The Graveyard Shift" 8.8

📉 Bottom Episodes

#470

S11E12 3.2

Off the Tracks

In Charlotte, rookie Detective Norma McKee gets her first double-murder: a young couple shot in their car by a backseat passenger. Inside the vehicle, detectives find what may be a vital clue, a baseball hat that might contain the suspect’s DNA. Meanwhile, seasoned Miami detective, Emiliano Tamayo has two cases in two days. First he responds to a call reporting a foul smell, only to find a family of three found dead in their home; later that night he is called to the scene of a young man killed over a fifty-dollar bet. With four deaths in forty-eight hours, Tamayo calls on his years of experience to solve the cases.

469. S10E15 "Bad Connection/Heartbreak" 6.4
468. S23E7 "Into Thin Air; Love and Lies" 6.6
467. S15E13 "Killer Verdict" 6.6
466. S22E6 "Through Death's Door" 6.7

The Quality Arc

Each point is an episode, plotted chronologically. The colored bands mark season boundaries. Look for upward or downward trends to see if quality improved or declined over time.

Trend

Episode Engagement

Vote count shows how many people cared enough to rate. High votes + high rating = beloved classic. High votes + low rating = notorious stinker. Low votes + high rating = hidden gem.

Rating threshold:

228 Standouts

35 Infamous

130 Hidden Gems

77 Forgettable

Top Standout: S17E28 Unspeakable

Most Infamous: S11E12 Off the Tracks

Best Hidden Gem: S14E1 Safe House

Episodes plotted by rating vs. vote count. The vertical line marks the rating threshold (7.5). More votes = more engagement. Toggle above to compare against global or show-specific median.

Series Trajectory

A simplified view: one point per season. This smooths out episode-to-episode noise to show the overall arc of the series.

Trend

Season Momentum

Did each season build momentum or fizzle out? Green arrows mean the finale rated higher than the premiere. Red means the opposite. Longer arrows = bigger swings.

Season Consistency

Some seasons are reliable bangers. Others are hit-or-miss. Each dot is an episode. Tightly clustered dots mean consistent quality. Scattered dots mean a mixed bag.

Each dot is an episode. Clustered dots = consistent quality. Scattered dots = variable season. Hover for episode details.