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The Best Episodes of The First 48

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

Binge this in 16d 21h•Peaking at 10.0/10

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

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    The First 48 Season 18 Episode 2 - The Grudge
    10.0/10(1 votes)

    #1 - The Grudge

    S18:E2

    In Mobile, Alabama, a man who turned his life around is gunned down in cold blood. Detectives need to know if his troubled past came back to haunt him.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. The First 48 Season 16 Episode 3 - Killer Contact
    7.2/10(2 votes)

    #2 - Killer Contact

    S16:E3

    When a young man is found shot dead in his van, Tulsa Homicide retraces his final hours and gets caught up in a web of lies.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. The First 48 Season 16 Episode 2 - Taken for a Ride
    5.0/10(1 votes)

    #3 - Taken for a Ride

    S16:E2

    In Atlanta, a brash murder in front of an elementary school turns up a familiar name.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. The First 48 Season 3 Episode 1 - House of Blood / Last Man Standing
    1.0/10(1 votes)

    #4 - House of Blood / Last Man Standing

    S3:E1

    A brutal stabbing in Little Havana has Detective Carlos Castellanos following a trail of bloody footprints the killer left as he fled the scene. It will take bloodhounds and a frantic pace to track down the killer in this whodunit; Sergeant Confessor Gonzalez has a mystery on his hands.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. The First 48 Season 20 Episode 9 - The Dark Trail
    1.0/10(1 votes)

    #5 - The Dark Trail

    S20:E9

    In Tulsa, a homeless man is ambushed by two men on a dark trail, and his wife may hold the key to finding the killers.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. The First 48 Season 4 Episode 2 - Inner Demons / Kids with Guns
    0.5/10(1 votes)

    #6 - Inner Demons / Kids with Guns

    S4:E2

    Detectives find a man murdered outside his own apartment. While hunting for the killer, they uncover the victim's inner life, revealing a man torn between who he is and what he believes; a tragic triple shooting leaves two young men dead and a third fighting for his life in the hospital. Detectives soon find out that the deadly shooter and his partner may be kids, too.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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    7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 WORST Episodes of The First 48

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  7. The First 48 Season 1 Episode 1 - Gangs of Little Havana/Execution in Coconut Grove
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #7 - Gangs of Little Havana/Execution in Coconut Grove

    S1:E1

    A wall of silence from a frightened community hampers efforts to solve a brutal murder; and a mother of two is shot execution-style in her kitchen in an affluent neighborhood. In a visual style more like drama than reality show, we tail Miami homicide investigators as they race time to solve these murders. Who're the suspects? Are the detectives right? With cliffhangers at each break, both cases in this gritty episode will keep viewers guessing until the end.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. The First 48 Season 1 Episode 2 - Overkill/Left for Dead
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #8 - Overkill/Left for Dead

    S1:E2

    Miami homicide detectives race against time in the critical first hours of investigation to find the evidence necessary to charge two suspects in a brutal murder case; & police find a man who's been shot and left for dead, but with no evidence, witnesses, or even a name for their victim, the detectives have got their work cut out for them. Find out if these driven detectives can make their cases.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. The First 48 Season 1 Episode 3 - Blood in the Snow/Swope Park Killing
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #9 - Blood in the Snow/Swope Park Killing

    S1:E3

    In Kansas City, an ambitious captain and two veteran detectives face their first homicide of the year and must make deals with wanted drug kingpins to find the killer of a young woman; and a female homicide sergeant and her all-male team get a tip that leads their murder investigation into a dark subculture of drugs, guns, and buried safes.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. The First 48 Season 1 Episode 4 - Double Shooting on Haskell; Back Alley Revenge
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #10 - Double Shooting on Haskell; Back Alley Revenge

    S1:E4

    In Kansas City, detectives investigate a shooting death and must convince a son to give up his father; and investigate a murder in an area known for its drug problems.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. The First 48 Season 1 Episode 5 - Body in the Park / Ruby Street Shooting
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #11 - Body in the Park / Ruby Street Shooting

    S1:E5

    Sergeant Irma Labrice and Detectives Leon Lubiejewski and Michael Gross don't have much time to find a murder suspect and they don't have much to go on either, as the victim's body was burned beyond recognition; witnesses to the murder refuse to talk to police.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. The First 48 Season 1 Episode 6 - Killing Spree
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #12 - Killing Spree

    S1:E6

    Police try to convince the frightened residents of a housing project known as the "Pork and Beans" to help them track down the man who's been terrorizing the community, but after the third murder in a month, no one even calls 911.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. The First 48 Season 1 Episode 7 - On Ice/Body in the Canal
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #13 - On Ice/Body in the Canal

    S1:E7

    Employees of an ice rink arrives at work only to find the door ajar and blood all over the floor. When the police arrive the overnight employee is found beaten beyond recognition and the facility robbed. Since who ever did this seemed to have knowledge detectives turn to former employees to start the investigation. In another case a woman walking by a river in Phoenix she's what she believes in a body wrapped in plastic in the water. Detectives don't have an identity, or crime scene making this a difficult investigation.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. The First 48 Season 1 Episode 8 - Fire in the Rain/Family Feud
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #14 - Fire in the Rain/Family Feud

    S1:E8

    A motorist discovers a man's body alongside the highway with his genitals on fire. The investigation propels detectives on an odyssey through a rowdy world of Texas prostitutes and drugs; when a hard working Mexican migrant supporting his young family is found dead in a parking lot, detectives can't find a motive. As their investigation deepens, they must navigate a complex web of family ties and loyalties to identify the killer and catch him before he flees the country.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. The First 48 Season 1 Episode 9 - Desert Bones/Party's Over
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #15 - Desert Bones/Party's Over

    S1:E9

    Detectives Sallie Dillian and Cliff Jewell investigate a female skeleton found in the desert. Along with forensic anthropologist Laura Fulginiti, they work to determine who the mystery woman is. At first, they don't even know if she was murdered. But they use the scattered forensic and physical evidence to determine her identity and crack the case; an 18-year-old is shot in the head as a party of hundreds of high school students is breaking up. Because the teen is not expected to survive, homicide detectives Sandy Rodriguez and Tom Kulesa are called to the scene. Witnesses describe the shooter as a black male in a ski mask. In an intriguing development, there is a report of another non-fatal shooting that took place nearby, where the victim also described the shooter as a black male in a ski mask. Rodriguez and Kulesa must determine if the two events are related, who would have been after the victim and why.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. The First 48 Season 1 Episode 10 - Wrong Side of the Tracks / At Death's Door
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #16 - Wrong Side of the Tracks / At Death's Door

    S1:E10

    Homicide detective Mayree Morin and her team of investigators are on their way to work on a sunny morning when they are called to a brutal murder scene. A man, shot at least a dozen times assassination-style, straddles a doorway in one of the city's roughest areas. No one in the vicinity saw anything, but detectives quickly learn that an ongoing war over drug turf has recently paralyzed the neighborhood. With just hours to work with, Morin's team must move fast to land a suspect before the killer slips away; the son of a celebrated neurosurgeon is discovered near dawn, shot to death along the railroad tracks in the Overtown neighborhood. The investigation leads straight-talking veteran detective Ervens Ford and his wise-ass rookie partner Kevin Ruggiero down a shady path of halfway houses, strip clubs, and misguided wealth. The pressure is on as the detectives meticulously backtrack the victim's last steps, trying to nail down a solid lead before their trail runs cold.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. The First 48 Season 1 Episode 11 - Stripper's Revenge/Dead on Arrival
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #17 - Stripper's Revenge/Dead on Arrival

    S1:E11

    Hours after a jealous stripper vows revenge, her two-timing boyfriend is shot and killed. But the girlfriend is not the shooter, and it's up to Detective Tom Kulesa of Phoenix PD to unravel the mystery. And when a young father is dragged screaming from his bed in the middle of the night and gunned down in his doorway, Detective Mike Polk must figure out fact from fiction in witnesses' stories before the killers' trail grows cold.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. The First 48 Season 1 Episode 12 - At Close Range/Murder in Motor City
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #18 - At Close Range/Murder in Motor City

    S1:E12

    When Phoenix homicide Detective Tom Kulesa realizes a potential witness to a double murder has gone missing, he must race against time to stop another vicious killing; and in Detroit, Sergeant Jo Ann Kinney must turn to forensics to solve the murder of a man found dead in a brand new Cadillac Escalade.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. The First 48 Season 1 Episode 13 - Silent Witness/Halley Street Slayings
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #19 - Silent Witness/Halley Street Slayings

    S1:E13

    When a hard-working store worker is cut down in a hail of gunfire, veteran Sergeant Pepi Granado and his team must turn to a silent witness-- the store's video surveillance system, which caught the entire murder on tape; Sergeant Jo Ann Kinney and Detective Ed Williams tackle the case of a young couple found brutally killed in their house and learn that the victims knew their killer. They must track down reluctant witnesses deep in the narcotics game before their killer has a chance to get away.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. The First 48 Season 2 Episode 1 - A Serial Killer Calls
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #20 - A Serial Killer Calls

    S2:E1

    A serial killer is on the loose and Sergeant Doug Niemeier has the unenviable task of hunting him down. The question is, will he manage to find the killer before more people lose their lives?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. The First 48 Season 2 Episode 2 - Murder on the Interstate/House of Santeria
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #21 - Murder on the Interstate/House of Santeria

    S2:E2

    Homicide Sergeant Joe Schillaci and his squad must solve a murder of an innocent college student during a hectic Memorial Day weekend; Sergeant Carlos De Los Santos and his team tackle the murder of a doctor found hogtied in his house and learn that the key to the case may lie with the voodoo-like Santeria shrines found at the crime scene.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. The First 48 Season 2 Episode 3 - Hostile Takeover/Shot in the Back
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #22 - Hostile Takeover/Shot in the Back

    S2:E3

    Sergeant Altarr Williams goes on an adrenaline-charged hunt for a mysterious van seen leaving the scene of a brutal murder; Detective Emiliano Tamayo and his team must identify a nameless victim gunned down in Little Havana; the case takes a shocking turn when they discover the victim's background.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. The First 48 Season 2 Episode 4 - Hunt for Teeth/Coyote Blue
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #23 - Hunt for Teeth/Coyote Blue

    S2:E4

    In Kansas City, KS, Capt. John Cosgrove and his team of homicide detectives must track down a man suspected of beating his best friend to death with a cinder block--before he can flee the country; Dets. Greg Lawson and Mike York are hot on the trail of their murder suspect they know only as "Teeth.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. The First 48 Season 2 Episode 5 - Downstream Drifter/Murder in Room 162
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #24 - Downstream Drifter/Murder in Room 162

    S2:E5

    Detective Mike Polk and his team painstakingly reconstruct the final hours of a man found dead hogtied in a hotel room; Detective 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.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. The First 48 Season 2 Episode 6 - Deadly Betrayal
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #25 - Deadly Betrayal

    S2:E6

    With Hurricane Jeanne threatening, Sergeant Joe Schillaci and Detective Olga Rome must solve the murder of the owner of a popular strip club. The club's surveillance video reveals three men ambushing the victim. Schillaci and Rome soon realize this was an inside job-- the victim was betrayed by one of his workers.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Best Episodes Summary

"The Grudge" is the best rated episode of "The First 48". It scored 10/10 based on 1 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 1/17/2019. This episode scored 2.8 points higher than the second highest rated, "Killer Contact".