After the First 48 backdrop
DocumentaryDrama
After the First 48 poster

The Best Episodes of After the First 48

Every episode of After the First 48 ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of After the First 48!

The Best Episodes of After the First 48

After the First 48 is an American documentary television series on A&E. It is the companion series to The First 48. While the original series...
Binge this in 3d 10hPeaking at 8.6/10

Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Click to reveal
    After the First 48 Season 1 Episode 1 - Murder on the Interstate/At Close Range: Update
    8.6/10(13 votes)

    #1 - Murder on the Interstate/At Close Range: Update

    S1:E1

    As the First 48 ran out on Phoenix detectives, 16-year-old Lonny Bassett stood accused of brutally killing his two friends with a shotgun. Would his claim to self-defense hold water or would the evidence detectives collected in the first 48 be enough to convince jurors of his guilt? In Miami, a minor altercation on the highway ended with a shooting that took the life of an innocent young man. The offender was facing a minimum 25-year sentence with the charge of second-degree murder. But will his defense team convince the jury that the homicide was an accident.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  2. After the First 48 Season 2 Episode 8 - Loose Ends
    8.4/10(11 votes)

    #2 - Loose Ends

    S2:E8

    Detectives link Martin Seay to several killings–but he only goes on trial for one. The state’s key witness is his former girlfriend, Kandi Hawkins. Hawkins was paralyzed from the neck down when Seay ordered a hit on her. Will her testimony be enough to convict the ruthless killer?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  3. After the First 48 Season 4 Episode 1 - Into the Woods
    8.2/10(9 votes)

    #3 - Into the Woods

    S4:E1

    After a 17-year-old girl is found with a bullet through the back of her head in the woods of Katy, Texas, a young man comes forward who claims to be an eyewitness. Investigators are shocked by the unusual deal he’s made with the DA. Is the eyewitness telling the truth — or is he involved in the murder? And will the prosecution convince the jury that the defendant is the real killer?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  4. After the First 48 Season 4 Episode 2 - John Doe
    8.2/10(11 votes)

    #4 - John Doe

    S4:E2

    An unexpected tip helps police crack the case involving an unidentified shooting victim in Louisville, Ky.; three scared co-defendants are asked to testify against the killer.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  5. After the First 48 Season 4 Episode 9 - House of Rage (Follow-Up)
    8.2/10(8 votes)

    #5 - House of Rage (Follow-Up)

    S4:E9

    A mother of five young boys is found shot to death in her Cleveland, Ohio apartment. A witness emerges, guiding detectives to a critical piece of evidence–and ultimately, a suspect. Going into trial, prosecutors think their case is airtight, but when their key witness falters on the stand, the veteran defense team is poised and ready to dismantle the prosecution’s case.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  6. After the First 48 Season 5 Episode 6 - Love Thy Neighbor
    8.0/10(7 votes)

    #6 - Love Thy Neighbor

    S5:E6

    A residential Houston neighbourhood is rocked by an armed robbery and a vicious murder; four years pass before justice can be served.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 WORST Episodes of After the First 48

    READ
  8. After the First 48 Season 1 Episode 2 - Fool for Love/Crash
    7.8/10(6 votes)

    #7 - Fool for Love/Crash

    S1:E2

    In Dallas, Detective Rick Duggan arrested two suspects for the murder of Leonel Valle. Now the justice system needed to determine which of them was most responsible - the girlfriend, Marsela Cortez, whose fingerprints were found on his empty safe, or her jealous ex-boyfriend, Gerardo Hernandez?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  9. After the First 48 Season 1 Episode 9 - Disappeared/Red Handed
    7.8/10(6 votes)

    #8 - Disappeared/Red Handed

    S1:E9

    In Dallas, detectives investigated the disappearance of a 20-year old woman who suddenly went missing. After a six-day search, detectives arrested Douglas Edwards who confessed to the murder of his ex-girlfriend, found strangled and burned in a remote field. Two years later, in the hope of begging the court for mercy, Edwards opts to have his sentenced determined by a jury.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  10. After the First 48 Season 5 Episode 1 - Trail of Evidence
    7.8/10(9 votes)

    #9 - Trail of Evidence

    S5:E1

    In Harris County Texas, a 38-year-old man is stabbed to death in his own home leaving behind two children and his wife. Investigators track down the suspect thanks to surveillance video and some good old fashion detective work. But when the defendant claims self defense, the state must put together a case that will convince the jury the dead man was in fact the victim and not a predator.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  11. After the First 48 Season 7 Episode 8 - Devil's Trail
    7.8/10(10 votes)

    #10 - Devil's Trail

    S7:E8

    When a homeless woman is raped and murdered, Tulsa detectives team up with prosecutors and the suspect’s previous victim, hoping to stop him before he strikes again.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  12. After the First 48 Season 1 Episode 5 - Blackout
    7.7/10(9 votes)

    #11 - Blackout

    S1:E5

    Detective Robert Arredondo and his team find themselves involved in a cross country manhunt for suspects in the brutal shootings of three young men.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  13. After the First 48 Season 4 Episode 10 - The Ring/House of Pain
    7.7/10(9 votes)

    #12 - The Ring/House of Pain

    S4:E10

    In Birmingham Alabama a mother of a two-year-old boy is found stabbed to death in her own bedroom. Investigators have a mystery on their hands when they learn the killer opened the victim’s front door with a key and stole her diamond ring. In Cleveland Ohio, two 19 year-old men are shot and killed during a party at an abandoned house. All signs point to a good friend of the victims’ as the shooter but no one actually saw him pull the trigger. With no DNA or murder weapon found, the state needs to convince a jury the defendant is a cold-blooded killer.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  14. After the First 48 Season 7 Episode 9 - Trap House
    7.7/10(7 votes)

    #13 - Trap House

    S7:E9

    Just before Christmas, a man is killed during an armed robbery gone wrong. Tulsa detectives and the District Attorney’s Office will try and convince a jury to convict one of the armed men for murder, even if he didn’t fire the fatal shot.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  15. After the First 48 Season 8 Episode 2 - Out of the Darkness
    7.6/10(8 votes)

    #14 - Out of the Darkness

    S8:E2

    Detectives in Tulsa, Okla., have only one witness -- a 12-year-old girl -- to a domestic dispute that has escalated to a double homicide; at trial, their case hangs on whether or not she will be able to testify.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  16. After the First 48 Season 5 Episode 4 - Burning Rage
    7.5/10(10 votes)

    #15 - Burning Rage

    S5:E4

    In Birmingham, AL, a woman, her son and her young niece are stabbed more than 75 times then set on fire inside their apartment. Investigators zero in on the victims’ relative. But at trial, the defense claims the suspect’s IQ is too low to qualify for the death penalty. It would be up to the prosecution to paint a gruesome, vivid picture of this brutal crime to secure a capital murder conviction and the ultimate punishment.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  17. After the First 48 Season 1 Episode 8 - Burden of Proof/Last Ride
    7.4/10(7 votes)

    #16 - Burden of Proof/Last Ride

    S1:E8

    A father of five found stabbed over 50 times shocks friends and family. Cleveland Homicide follows a bizarre trail of evidence that takes the case someplace they least expected.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  18. After the First 48 Season 2 Episode 6 - Hale Storm
    7.4/10(7 votes)

    #17 - Hale Storm

    S2:E6

    A Louisville, Kentucky family awakes before dawn as a barrage of gunfire rips through their home. When the smoke clears, three teenage boys are bleeding from bullet wounds. One would not survive. The lives of two others would be forever altered. Now, a family friend with violent tendencies stands trial for the shooting, but a lack of eyewitnesses threatens to derail the whole case. Will a jury find him guilty or will the angry suspect walk free?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  19. After the First 48 Season 7 Episode 2 - Chain of Death
    7.3/10(7 votes)

    #18 - Chain of Death

    S7:E2

    A young mother and her friend are murdered in a parking lot, sending Tulsa detectives and prosecutors on a mission to put the shooter behind bars.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  20. After the First 48 Season 7 Episode 7 - Old Wounds
    7.3/10(8 votes)

    #19 - Old Wounds

    S7:E7

    In Tulsa, a 19-yr-old woman is killed in a drive-by shooting, but the bullet was meant for someone else. At trial, justice hinges on a witness with close ties to both the victim and the suspect.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  21. After the First 48 Season 8 Episode 10 - One Good Deed
    7.3/10(7 votes)

    #20 - One Good Deed

    S8:E10

    Tulsa detectives believe the victim of a shooting was a good Samaritan who'd been robbed; at trial, the jury must decide if his killer actually acted in fear of his own life.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  22. After the First 48 Season 1 Episode 3 - Blindsided/Killing Spree
    7.2/10(6 votes)

    #21 - Blindsided/Killing Spree

    S1:E3

    In Dallas, Detective Eddie Ibarra used surveillance video to track down Jose Castro who was accused of brutally murdering a fifty-one year-old woman in the lobby of her office building. Castro now faced the death penalty, but his defense team would come up with an unexpected counter argument that could change the outcome of the case.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  23. After the First 48 Season 1 Episode 4 - Silenced/Downstream Drifter
    7.2/10(6 votes)

    #22 - Silenced/Downstream Drifter

    S1:E4

    In San Antonio, TX, Det. Tim Angell and his partners find a nameless man beaten to death floating in a creek. They must race to identify the victim and find anyone who may have known him. And in Phoenix, Det. Mike Polk and his team painstakingly reconstruct the final hours of a man found dead hogtied in a hotel room.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  24. After the First 48 Season 1 Episode 7 - Bait and Switch
    7.2/10(8 votes)

    #23 - Bait and Switch

    S1:E7

    On a Sunday night in June 2007, Christian Marton and his girlfriend Monica Stafford drove two hours from Axtell, Texas to Dallas where Christian had arranged to buy a 1995 Chevrolet Caprice. By the end of the evening, Christian was dead - shot in a robbery attempt.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  25. After the First 48 Season 8 Episode 6 - Mother of Two
    7.2/10(6 votes)

    #24 - Mother of Two

    S8:E6

    When two boys find their mother in the back of her car, Tulsa detectives turn to her family for help catching her killer. But at the defendant's trial, his explosive testimony leaves the prosecution's case hanging on one key piece of evidence.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  26. After the First 48 Season 8 Episode 11 - Among Friends
    7.2/10(6 votes)

    #25 - Among Friends

    S8:E11

    Evidence at the crime scene leads detectives in Mobile, Ind., to believe a young victim was murdered by two gunmen; a high-stakes trial leaves the jury wrestling with the question of whether one of the suspects could be found not guilty.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

Best Episodes Summary

"Murder on the Interstate/At Close Range: Update" is the best rated episode of "After the First 48". It scored 8.6/10 based on 13 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 10/7/2008. This episode scored 0.2 points higher than the second highest rated, "Loose Ends".