Cold Case
Cold Case is an American police procedural crime drama television series. It ran on CBS from September 28, 2003, to May 2, 2010. The series revolved around a fictionalized Philadelphia Police Department division that specializes in investigating cold cases, usually homicides.
For unsolved crimes, see Cold case. For other uses, see Cold Case (disambiguation).Cold Case
Helmut and Franz Vonlichten with intro by Michael A. Levine
Nara
United States
English
7
156 (list of episodes)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
42–45 minutes
- Jerry Bruckheimer Television
- CBS Productions
(2003–2006)
(seasons 1–3) - CBS Paramount Network Television
(2006–2009)
(seasons 4–6) - CBS Television Studios
(2009–2010)
(season 7) - Warner Bros. Television
September 28, 2003 –
May 2, 2010
Premise[edit]
The show is set in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and it follows Detective Lilly Rush (Kathryn Morris), a homicide detective with the Philadelphia Police Department, who specializes in cold cases, or investigations which are no longer being actively pursued by the department. Rush was initially partnered with Detective Chris Lassing (Justin Chambers) in the first five episodes and then with Detective Scotty Valens (Danny Pino) for the remainder of the series. They work under Lieutenant John Stillman (John Finn) and are assisted by other detectives from their squad—Nick Vera (Jeremy Ratchford), Will Jeffries (Thom Barry), and beginning in season three, Kat Miller (Tracie Thoms).
Usually, each episode would focus on a single investigation. All cases involved murders committed (or bodies found) in Philadelphia, although investigations occasionally required travel outside the city. Cases were also spread out over much of the previous century, with some as recent as a year or two old and others dating back to the 1910s. Generally, an investigation would begin when the police received a new lead, or new direction, on a case.
Over the course of the episode, the detectives would interview witnesses associated with the crime and piece together the story of what led the victims to their death. These interviews were accompanied by flashback sequences to the era of the murder, which dramatized the testimony. Through the flashbacks, the show examined many issues related to 20th century history, including racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, abortion, and police brutality.
The show was distinguished by double casting, in which the characters and witnesses would flash back and forth in the scene representing them as they looked at the time of the crime and in the present day. At the end of the episode, when the killer or killers were exposed and confronted, the confession would be in a flashback scene depicting the murder. The police would be shown arresting the killer and walking them into custody. The victims would sometimes also reappear as fading visions to one of the police officers.
Music[edit]
The theme song is an excerpt from "Nara" by E.S. Posthumus, with an introduction by series composer Michael A. Levine that begins with an otherworldly wail from vocalist Elise Morris.[1] Besides Levine's original music, each episode makes extensive use of era-appropriate music for flashbacks to the year in question. Some episodes contain music only from one artist such as Ray Charles, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, The Doors, John Mellencamp, Johnny Cash, Bob Seger, Pink Floyd, Tim McGraw, Bob Dylan, Santana, Frank Sinatra and John Lennon. Pearl Jam's music was used in the two-part season-six finale, the first time one artist's music has been used for two full episodes.[2]
Fictional universe[edit]
Danny Pino appeared as Valens in the CSI: NY episode “Cold Reveal”. This episode connected Cold Case to not only CSI: NY, but also to CSI: Miami, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Cyber, and Without a Trace.[3]
Adaptations[edit]
Japanese adaptation[edit]
A Japanese remake of the series, Cold Case: Shinjitsu no Tobira (コールドケース 〜真実の扉〜), set in Yokohama, was broadcast on cable network WOWOW Prime from October 22, 2016, to December 24, 2016.[4][5] A second season was broadcast from October 13, 2018, to December 15, 2018,[6] and a third season was broadcast from December 5, 2020, to February 13, 2021.[7] The second and third seasons are filmed in 8K and downscaled to 4K for broadcast.[8][7]
Satire[edit]
In 2005, John Finn, Kathryn Morris and Jeremy Ratchford appeared in a satirical promo on the Irish-language television station TG4. The commercial won a gold medal in the "Best Drama Promos" category of the 2007 Sharks International Advertising Awards Festival of Ireland (Sharks Awards).[11] The promotion features John Finn and Kathryn Morris in character interrogating a murder suspect (Peader Cox) from the TG4 soap Ros na Rún who refuses to speak in English; both detectives then begin talking in Gaelic, much to the surprise of Jeremy Ratchford's character. The promo tied in with a murder investigation in Ros na Rún.[12]
Distribution[edit]
Broadcast[edit]
The series aired in syndication on CBS, and also on Ion Television in the U.S. and on Viva in Canada.[22] Sleuth also aired the series occasionally. In 2011, the show aired on MyNetworkTV.[23] The show made its debut on the new over-the-air channel Start TV when it launched on September 3, 2018. It also airs on MBC Action. As of 2022, reruns are often shown on TNT channel.
Home media and streaming[edit]
After the program's debut in 2003, the show was not released on DVD or Blu-ray due to licensing issues related to the use of contemporary music in each episode.
In May 2020, the Roku Channel in the U.S. released all episodes of Cold Case to stream for the first time, in a high-definition digital format, with full subtitles and all contemporary music from the original CBS broadcasts left intact.[24] The streaming ended in December 2020. The show returned to the service in September 2021.[25]
Cold Case was made available for streaming on Max as of June 19, 2023.
All seasons of Cold Case are also available to stream on Amazon Prime in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Latin America and India.
The series also airs on Quest Red in the UK and available for streaming on Discovery+