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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 17h•Peaking at 9.8/10

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 14 Episode 1 - Safe House
    9.8/10(12 votes)

    #1 - Safe House

    S14:E1

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. The First 48 Season 17 Episode 28 - Unspeakable Part 2
    9.4/10(46 votes)

    #2 - Unspeakable Part 2

    S17:E28

    Tulsa Ok. Detective Jason White continues to investigate Courtney Palmers disappearance. The missing persons case turns into a detective's worst nightmare

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. The First 48 Season 4 Episode 8 - Crossfire / School Ties
    9.0/10(17 votes)

    #3 - Crossfire / School Ties

    S4:E8

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. The First 48 Season 13 Episode 5 - Wild Ride
    9.0/10(9 votes)

    #4 - Wild Ride

    S13:E5

    Cleveland homicide detectives follow a bizarre trail of evidence in the case of a father of five who was stabbed over 50 times.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. The First 48 Season 11 Episode 33 - Last Words; Nowhere to Hide
    8.9/10(12 votes)

    #5 - Last Words; Nowhere to Hide

    S11:E33

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. The First 48 Season 14 Episode 18 - Dark Waters
    8.9/10(32 votes)

    #6 - Dark Waters

    S14:E18

    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: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 12 Episode 8 - Down in Overtown/Breaking Point
    8.8/10(10 votes)

    #7 - Down in Overtown/Breaking Point

    S12:E8

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. The First 48 Season 15 Episode 22 - Mother of Two
    8.8/10(25 votes)

    #8 - Mother of Two

    S15:E22

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. The First 48 Season 18 Episode 6 - Buried Secrets
    8.8/10(45 votes)

    #9 - Buried Secrets

    S18:E6

    In Mobile, Alabama, a 68-year-old woman goes missing after checking into a casino where she had lost millions.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. The First 48 Season 19 Episode 12 - Triggered
    8.8/10(17 votes)

    #10 - Triggered

    S19:E12

    Detective Ronnie Leatherman returns to Tulsa homicide to investigate the death of a man who crashed his car in a shopping center.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. The First 48 Season 4 Episode 13 - Motel Massacre / Pure Innocent
    8.7/10(27 votes)

    #11 - Motel Massacre / Pure Innocent

    S4:E13

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. The First 48 Season 8 Episode 1 - Gone
    8.7/10(18 votes)

    #12 - Gone

    S8:E1

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. The First 48 Season 16 Episode 14 - Bullets Have No Names
    8.7/10(12 votes)

    #13 - Bullets Have No Names

    S16:E14

    A retired pre-school teacher is killed and detectives rely on a witness to crack the case.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. The First 48 Season 18 Episode 15 - Young Guns
    8.7/10(35 votes)

    #14 - Young Guns

    S18:E15

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. The First 48 Season 19 Episode 1 - Chain of Death
    8.7/10(42 votes)

    #15 - Chain of Death

    S19:E1

    A young mother and her best friend gunned down in broad daylight sets offa chain of events that Tulsa Homicide never could have imagined.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. The First 48 Season 8 Episode 6 - Out of the Past; Fued
    8.6/10(55 votes)

    #16 - Out of the Past; Fued

    S8:E6

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. The First 48 Season 8 Episode 9 - Blame Game; Chasing Shadows
    8.6/10(27 votes)

    #17 - Blame Game; Chasing Shadows

    S8:E9

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. The First 48 Season 11 Episode 27 - Without a Trace; Street Justice
    8.6/10(14 votes)

    #18 - Without a Trace; Street Justice

    S11:E27

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. The First 48 Season 11 Episode 34 - Hit List; Hand in Hand
    8.6/10(13 votes)

    #19 - Hit List; Hand in Hand

    S11:E34

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. The First 48 Season 14 Episode 3 - Cold Embrace
    8.6/10(9 votes)

    #20 - Cold Embrace

    S14:E3

    In Cleveland, after a man is found dead in his car, the autopsy reveals he was strangled to death. Detectives Nate Sowa and Ray Diaz take the case and uncover a relationship that could lead them to their killer. But with Sowa's retirement right around the corner, can he solve the murder before the case goes cold?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. The First 48 Season 2 Episode 2 - Murder on the Interstate/House of Santeria
    8.5/10(19 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 11 - Fallen / Texas Burning
    8.5/10(35 votes)

    #22 - Fallen / Texas Burning

    S2:E11

    Detectives Randy Loboda and Phil Harding find two bodies, burned up, in the opposite side of town on the same night. Loboda's investigation leads to a motel where they find a bloody room, the possible murder scene, while Harding learns the two victims may have been killed by the same killer; Sergeant Joe Schillaci finds a man's body, a victim of an apparent suicide, but his investigation takes a twist when he discovers signs of a struggle. Schillaci soon learns the man was seen with a mysterious woman only hours before his death, but the woman has disappeared. She may be the killer or yet another victim.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. The First 48 Season 4 Episode 10 - The Wrong Man / Five Points Payback
    8.5/10(18 votes)

    #23 - The Wrong Man / Five Points Payback

    S4:E10

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. The First 48 Season 10 Episode 18 - Schoolyard Revenge
    8.5/10(26 votes)

    #24 - Schoolyard Revenge

    S10:E18

    A fight between two teenagers leads to the murder of a 29-year-old man and his paralyzed mother.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. The First 48 Season 11 Episode 36 - Love Her Madly; Off Track
    8.5/10(11 votes)

    #25 - Love Her Madly; Off Track

    S11:E36

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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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 Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 6/19/2014. This episode scored 0.4 points higher than the second highest rated, "Unspeakable Part 2".