Cold Case backdrop
Crime•Drama•Mystery

The Best Episodes of Cold Case

Every episode of Cold Case ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Cold Case!

Binge this in 4d 19h•Peaking at 8.7/10

The Philadelphia homicide squad's lone female detective finds her calling when she is assigned cases that have never been solved. Detective Lilly Rush combines her natural instincts with the updated technology available today to bring

Airs on
CBS
BestEpisodes
WorstEpisodes
BestSeasons
AllEpisodes

Seasons7

All1234567

Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Click to reveal
    Cold Case Season 3 Episode 9 - A Perfect Day
    8.7/10(805 votes)

    S3:E9

    When a fisherman finds evidence of a young girl's death washed up on a shore in New Jersey, Lilly re-opens the 1965 case of 4-year-old child who had a seemingly abusive mother.

    Director:Roxann Dawson
    Writer:Veena Sud

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  2. Cold Case Season 2 Episode 9 - Mind Hunters
    8.6/10(804 votes)

    S2:E9

    The headless torso of a woman who disappeared in 1985, on the same day she filed domestic-abuse charges against her husband, is found by hikers in a wildlife preserve. The investigation quickly leads to the grisly discovery of 8 more decapitated bodies, the victims of a serial killer.

    Director:Kevin Bray
    Writer:Veena Sud

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  3. Cold Case Season 3 Episode 20 - Death Penalty: Final Appeal
    8.6/10(622 votes)

    S3:E20

    The 1994 case of a raped and murdered 16-year-old girl is re-opened when Det. Jeffries gets a call from a prisoner on death-row -- scheduled to be executed in just three days.

    Director:Alex Zakrzewski
    Writer:Sean Whitesell

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  4. Cold Case Season 4 Episode 1 - Rampage
    8.6/10(888 votes)

    S4:E1

    Lilly investigates a 1995 shooting spree at a mall in which two teen boys killed 15 people before committing suicide. The case is reopened when a video of the crimes is found and it suggests that a third shooter was involved. Elsewhere, Stillman asks Valens to investigate whether Valens' brother may have been molested by a boxing coach in the 1980s.

    Director:Mark Pellington
    Writer:Veena Sud

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  5. Cold Case Season 4 Episode 10 - Forever Blue
    8.6/10(984 votes)

    S4:E10

    The team re-investigates the 1968 death of a policeman who was shot in his patrol car. The case was then ruled as a drug bust gone bad, but new evidence now reveals the victim may have been romantically involved with his partner.

    Director:Jeannot Szwarc
    Writer:Tom Pettit

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  6. Cold Case Season 2 Episode 19 - Strange Fruit
    8.5/10(683 votes)

    S2:E19

    The unsolved 1963 murder of a black teenager, whose body was discovered by the then-young Will Jeffries, is reopened.

    Director:Paris Barclay
    Writer:Veena Sud

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 WORST Episodes of Cold Case

    READ
  7. Cold Case Season 2 Episode 22 - Best Friends
    8.5/10(927 votes)

    S2:E22

    When an old truck containing human bones is pulled from the Delaware River, the team re-opens the case of a missing and possibly murdered girl who disappeared unexpectedly in 1932.

    Director:Mark Pellington
    Writer:Liz W. Garcia

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  8. Cold Case Season 2 Episode 23 - The Woods
    8.5/10(672 votes)

    S2:E23

    The discovery of nine human skulls leads Rush (Kathryn Morris) back to George Marks, the serial killer she was unable to incriminate months earlier, and who walked away a free man. As the detectives reinvestigate his mother's murder from 1972, George is forced to emerge from hiding to face Rush again. This time, their very lives are at stake in their final showdown.

    Director:Nelson McCormick
    Writer:Veena Sud

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  9. Cold Case Season 4 Episode 8 - Fireflies
    8.5/10(666 votes)

    S4:E8

    The 1975 disappearance of an 8-year-old girl who was never found is reinvestigated after a note written by the girl shortly before she vanished turns up. Their friendship rattled many in the predominantly white neighborhood and the girls quickly became targets of hatred.

    Director:Marcos Siega
    Writer:Erica Shelton Kodish

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  10. Cold Case Season 4 Episode 17 - Shuffle, Ball Change
    8.5/10(735 votes)

    S4:E17

    When a body is found in a dumpster, the team re-opens the 1984 case of a murdered teenage boy who wanted to become a dancer against his father's wishes.

    Director:Mark Pellington
    Writer:Liz W. Garcia

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  11. Cold Case Season 1 Episode 7 - A Time to Hate
    8.4/10(961 votes)

    S1:E7

    Lilly investigates the case of Daniel Holtz, a college baseball player who was found beaten to death in an alley behind a gay bar in 1964. Daniel's mother comes to Lilly in the hopes that his killer can be brought to justice before she dies. Lilly discovers the maltreatment gay victims received in the 60's, when her investigation discloses that it may have been a policeman's nightstick that made the lethal blows.

    Director:Deran Sarafian
    Writer:Jan Oxenberg

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  12. Cold Case Season 2 Episode 3 - Daniela
    8.4/10(873 votes)

    S2:E3

    Lilly and Valens reopen a presumed homicide from 1979 in which an unidentified victim's blood-drenched shoes, underwear and sheets were found in a trash bag, but no body. The investigation begins when a battered wife accuses her husband of murdering a girl in 1979 and brings in an amateur film from the time that supposedly shows him committing the crime.

    Director:David Barrett
    Writer:Veena Sud

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  13. Cold Case Season 2 Episode 6 - The Sleepover
    8.4/10(805 votes)

    S2:E6

    Lilly reopens a 1990 murder case, in which a prep-school girl was found dead in a local swimming hole, after a present-day victim with similar markings is discovered at the same place. The investigation reveals that the victim of the earlier crime was routinely tormented by a trio of classmates who invited her to a sleepover the night she was killed.

    Director:Emilio Estevez
    Writer:Liz W. Garcia

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  14. Cold Case Season 5 Episode 9 - Boy Crazy
    8.4/10(648 votes)

    S5:E9

    The team re-opens the 1963 case of teenage girl who was then thought to have committed suicide. Now, new evidence leads them to believe the girl might have been murdered for acting and dressing like a boy.

    Director:Holly Dale
    Writer:Joanna Lovinger

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  15. Cold Case Season 5 Episode 15 - The Road
    8.4/10(509 votes)

    S5:E15

    The team re-investigates the suspected 2007 murder of a bride-to-be who was kidnapped on the day of her engagement party. Lilly and Scotty travel to West Virginia to escort the prime suspect to Philly, and on their way back, they hear his side of the story.

    Director:Holly Dale
    Writer:Jennifer M. Johnson

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  16. Cold Case Season 7 Episode 17 - Flashover
    8.4/10(379 votes)

    S7:E17

    Realizing that the missing Vera has finally hit rock bottom, his worried team members hope that a new twist to a 2006 arson case, which he was secretly obsessing about in recent weeks, might supply leads to his whereabouts.

    Director:Jeannot Szwarc
    Writer:Greg Plageman

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  17. Cold Case Season 1 Episode 13 - The Letter
    8.3/10(785 votes)

    S1:E13

    Rush and Valens re-open the case of a 25-year-old black woman, who was murdered in 1939, after the woman's granddaughter comes forward with new information. The woman was assumed to be a prostitute murdered by a client, but letters written by the victim indicate that she was afraid of a milkman.

    Director:Tim Hunter
    Writer:Veena Sud

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  18. Cold Case Season 2 Episode 15 - Wishing
    8.3/10(775 votes)

    S2:E15

    Lilly investigates the 1993 death of a mentally challenged teen who was hit by a train, after drawings appear on his grave that indicate foul play might have been involved.

    Director:Emilio Estevez
    Writer:Karin Lewicki

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  19. Cold Case Season 4 Episode 24 - Stalker
    8.3/10(539 votes)

    S4:E24

    In the fourth season finale, a hostage situation arises when the entire team is held captive while they're investigating the 2006 killings of a family who had just moved into a new house.

    Director:Alex Zakrzewski
    Writer:Veena Sud

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  20. Cold Case Season 6 Episode 17 - Officer Down
    8.3/10(422 votes)

    S6:E17

    The team has to cope with their own emotions as they search for the shooter responsible for Jeffries' shooting.

    Director:Alex Zakrzewski
    Writer:Christopher Silber

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  21. Cold Case Season 7 Episode 19 - Bullet (2)
    8.3/10(353 votes)

    S7:E19

    After determining the serial killer's identity - and some of his likely future targets - the team and the FBI work together to apprehend him while trying to locate and protect the people he's preparing to kill.

    Director:John F. Showalter
    Writer:Christopher Silber

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  22. Cold Case Season 7 Episode 22 - Shattered
    8.3/10(383 votes)

    S7:E22

    Valens partners with Rush to locate her abducted, drug-addicted sister, while Jeffries tries to bring justice to the case of a murdered teenaged girl that has haunted him for 17 years.

    Director:Jeannot Szwarc
    Writers:Elwood Reid, Greg Plageman

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  23. Cold Case Season 1 Episode 8 - Fly Away
    8.2/10(875 votes)

    S1:E8

    When a young woman, Rosie, wakes up from a coma, Lilly re-opens the fall in which her 6-year-old daughter Toya died. Things get complicated when the mother remembers very little of that night, and Lilly feels especially motivated to find the killer.

    Director:James Whitmore Jr.
    Writer:Veena Sud

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  24. Cold Case Season 1 Episode 14 - Boy in the Box
    8.2/10(804 votes)

    S1:E14

    The 1958 death of an unknown 6-year-old boy found in a field inside a cardboard box is reinvestigated after a small suitcase with the child's picture and his old cowboy hat is left in front of a church. The new probe reveals that the rowdy boy lived at a Catholic-run orphanage and was adopted two days before his suspicious demise.

    Director:Karen Gaviola
    Writer:Meredith Stiehm

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  25. Cold Case Season 4 Episode 5 - Saving Sammy
    8.2/10(597 votes)

    S4:E5

    Lilly re-opens a 2003 case in which an autistic boy's parents were shot in their car when Joseph brings her information that the boy might have seen the killer.

    Director:Paris Barclay
    Writer:Tyler Bensinger

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

Best Episodes Summary

"A Perfect Day" is the best rated episode of "Cold Case". It scored 8.7/10 based on 805 votes. Directed by Roxann Dawson and written by Veena Sud, it aired on 11/27/2005. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "Mind Hunters".