9.8/1012 votesLoading...#1 - Safe House
Season 14 Episode 1 - Aired 6/19/2014
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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 9.4/1045 votesLoading...
#2 - Unspeakable Part 2
Season 17 Episode 28 - Aired 11/26/2018
Tulsa Ok. Detective Jason White continues to investigate Courtney Palmers disappearance. The missing persons case turns into a detective's worst nightmare
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 9.2/1018 votesLoading...
#3 - Gone
Season 8 Episode 1 - Aired 1/1/2009
Detectives are called to the scene at an apartment, blood covers the apartment. There is no possible way the victim survived this brutal attack. No body is found at the scene and detectives start the search for the killer...and their victim.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 9.0/1023 votesLoading...
#4 - Mother of Two
Season 15 Episode 22 - Aired 6/23/2016
When a young mother is found naked and strangled in her car, Tulsa Detective John Brown uncovers a dark obsession that may have turned deadly.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 9.0/1011 votesLoading...
#5 - Bullets Have No Names
Season 16 Episode 14 - Aired 5/25/2017
A retired pre-school teacher is killed and detectives rely on a witness to crack the case.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.9/1016 votesLoading...
#6 - Crossfire / School Ties
Season 4 Episode 8 - Aired 8/31/2006
In Miami, Detectives Emiliano Tamayo and Ervens Ford find a young woman shot dead in a convenience store. The store's surveillance footage reveals she may have been an innocent victim. Another man was the target. They need to find him before it's too late. Across town, fellow Miami Detectives Fernando Bosch and Rick Martinez are investigating the murder of a man shot dead on the street in the middle of the day. The victim's girlfriend was there and may know the identity of the killer.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.9/1012 votesLoading...
#7 - Last Words; Nowhere to Hide
Season 11 Episode 33 - Aired 8/18/2011
In Birmingham, a 49-year-old man is beaten and shot in the middle of a housing complex in broad daylight. In a community where no one wants to be seen as "snitching," finding someone to come forward with information will be Detective Chris Anderson's biggest challenge. Then, in DeKalb County, lead detective Chris Franklin investigates the murder of an 18-year-old male, gunned down in an apartment complex. The case takes a turn when Franklin learns the killer's intended target was actually the victim's friend.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.9/1031 votesLoading...
#8 - Dark Waters
Season 14 Episode 18 - Aired 11/17/2014
New Orleans Detective Ryan Vaught takes on his most challenging case yet when a young married couple goes missing and one of them is found floating in a river, drowned to death.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.8/1010 votesLoading...
#9 - Down in Overtown/Breaking Point
Season 12 Episode 8 - Aired 3/22/2012
In Miami, a young father is gunned down after a night of gambling. Detective Emiliano Tamayo has to figure out who would have killed him over twenty dollars. Then in Dallas, a child's birthday party turns deadly. The investigation becomes even more urgent when Detective Leo Gonzalez discovers the killer may be on the way to Mexico.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.8/1033 votesLoading...
#10 - Young Guns
Season 18 Episode 15 - Aired 4/18/2019
When an innocent bystander protecting a young woman is gunned down, detectives scramble to learn who fired the fatal shots before anyone else gets hurt.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.8/1017 votesLoading...
#11 - Triggered
Season 19 Episode 12 - Aired 2/27/2020
Detective Ronnie Leatherman returns to Tulsa homicide to investigate the death of a man who crashed his car in a shopping center.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.7/1044 votesLoading...
#12 - Buried Secrets
Season 18 Episode 6 - Aired 2/14/2019
In Mobile, Ala., a 68-year-old woman goes missing after checking into a casino where she had lost millions.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.7/1039 votesLoading...#13 - Chain of Death
Season 19 Episode 1 - Aired 1/1/2020
A young mother and her best friend gunned down in broad daylight sets off a chain of events that Tulsa Homicide never could have imagined.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.6/1026 votesLoading...
#14 - Blame Game; Chasing Shadows
Season 8 Episode 9 - Aired 2/19/2009
Two brothers are suspects in the murder of 30-year-old man, in what looks like a robbery gone wrong. Detectives try to get the brothers to turn on each other to see who the killer is. A man is found gunned down in a local parking lot. The clues are few and far between. Detectives get the break they need when the run across surveillance footage.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.6/1023 votesLoading...
#15 - Schoolyard Revenge
Season 10 Episode 18 - Aired 5/27/2010
A fight between two teenagers leads to the murder of a 29-year-old man and his paralyzed mother.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.6/1012 votesLoading...
#16 - Killer Connection; Bloody Birthday
Season 13 Episode 34 - Aired 5/1/2014
Dallas detectives hope that video footage can identify the person who murdered a young father; a Cleveland mother of six is shot and killed on her birthday.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.5/1016 votesLoading...
#17 - The Wrong Man / Five Points Payback
Season 4 Episode 10 - Aired 9/21/2006
On a rain-soaked Memphis morning, Sgts. Tony Mullins and Mitch Oliver respond to a drive-by shooting, and learn that the victim is an innocent bystander. The man who says he was the intended target lead Mullins and Oliver on a manhunt for two brothers alleged to be the driver and the shooter. And in Dallas, when a man is shot to death in a van, Det. Dale Lundberg must untangle a web of conflicting stories about the man's identity to try to find his killer.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.5/1025 votesLoading...
#18 - Motel Massacre / Pure Innocent
Season 4 Episode 13 - Aired 10/12/2006
A Memphis motel turns into a war zone when a gunfight leaves two men dead and another critically injured. Sgt. WD Merritt and the homicide team spring into action to find their shooter. In Kansas City, homicide Det. Everett Babcock leads the investigation into the shooting death of a two-year-old baby. To Babcock's surprise, an eight-year-old witness leads police on a nationwide manhunt.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.5/1028 votesLoading...
#19 - Inked in Blood
Season 7 Episode 1 - Aired 1/10/2008
In Memphis, Sergeant Connie Justice investigates the murder of a 32-year-old tattoo artist shot to death during a robbery. The victim’s husband, who survived the robbery, only knows the suspects’ nicknames. Armed with stencils of tattoos the customers received before the robbery, Justice must identify and track down the multiple suspects.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.5/1051 votesLoading...
#20 - Out of the Past; Fued
Season 8 Episode 6 - Aired 1/29/2009
A man is gunned down in front of his wife and children. Detectives look for clues to determine if the murder has a deeper meaning or if it was a robbery gone wrong. A young man is killed in the middle of the day in the prime of his life, in a hail of gunfire. In order to track this killer the surviving victim must be located to get details of the shootout and why it happened.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.5/1011 votesLoading...
#21 - Love Her Madly; Off Track
Season 11 Episode 36 - Aired 9/8/2011
In Miami, the Homicide Unit responds to a scene to find the 911 caller covered in blood and a 35-year-old woman brutally stabbed. And in DeKalb County, Det. Joe Renaud and his team are working the shooting murder of a 22-year-old man.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.5/1013 votesLoading...
#22 - Bad Attitude/Collateral Damage
Season 12 Episode 11 - Aired 4/12/2012
Mike Smith and Walley Everett investigate the murder of a 23-year-old mother found burned in the backyard of an abandoned house.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.5/1022 votesLoading...
#23 - Murder Rap
Season 13 Episode 28 - Aired 12/27/2013
Cleveland detectives uncover a shocking motive in the case of a bullied teen who was shot and killed outside a public library.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.5/1012 votesLoading...
#24 - Murder in Treme
Season 14 Episode 15 - Aired 10/16/2014
In New Orleans, when a woman is slashed to death, the investigation into her murder leads Detectives Chuck Ward and Rob Barrere to a house of horrors, and they discover the killer may be someone they least expected.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.5/1024 votesLoading...
#25 - 1000 Cuts / Draw
Season 15 Episode 24 - Aired 7/7/2016
In Tulsa, an innocent mother is viciously murdered with a butcher knife. While in Atlanta, a beloved patriarch is gunned down when a game of dominoes turns deadly.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
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!
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...
Genres:DocumentaryDramaCrime
Network:A&E
Best Episodes Summary
"Safe House" is the best rated episode of "The First 48". It scored 9.8/10 based on 12 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 6/19/2014. This episode scored 0.4 points higher than the second highest rated, "Unspeakable Part 2".