Series synopsis
The First is an American documentary drama crime television series that premiered on Hulu on September 14, 2018. It ended on September 14, 2018. It was created by Beau Willimon. It stars Sean Penn, Natascha McElhone, Oded Fehr and Anna Jacoby-Heron.
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 with unprecedented access to crime scenes, autopsies, forensic processing, and interrogations.
Premise
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 with unprecedented access to crime scenes, autopsies, forensic processing, and interrogations.
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- Sean Penn as Tom Haggerty
- Natascha McElhone as Laz Ingram
- Oded Fehr as Eitan Hafri
- Anna Jacoby-Heron as Denise Hagerty
- Hannah Ware as Sadie Hewitt
- LisaGay Hamilton as Kayla Price
- Keiko Agena as Aiko Hakari
- James Ransone as Nick Fletcher
Supporting cast
- Rey Lucas as Matteo Vega
- Brian Lee Franklin as Lawrence
- Melissa George as Diane Hagerty
- Fernanda Andrade as Camila Rodriguez
- Franco Gonzalez as Luis Castillo
- Galen Lee as Aiko's Son #1
- Kitty Harris as Young Woman Shooting Up
- Chase Stokes as Finn
- Aaron Mitchell as Vista Worker (uncredited)
Guest cast
- Melissa George as Diane Hagerty
- Fernanda Andrade as Camila Rodriguez
- Franco Gonzalez as Luis Castillo
- Galen Lee as Aiko's Son #1
- Kitty Harris as Young Woman Shooting Up
- Chase Stokes as Finn
- Aaron Mitchell as Vista Worker (uncredited)
Episodes
This series spans 20 seasons with 499 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 0 | 31 | May 11, 2011 | January 6, 2022 |
| Season 1 | 8 | September 14, 2018 | September 14, 2018 |
| Season 2 | 13 | January 6, 2005 | August 11, 2005 |
| Season 3 | 12 | October 5, 2005 | March 2, 2006 |
| Season 4 | 19 | June 14, 2006 | December 28, 2006 |
| Season 5 | 13 | January 18, 2007 | June 21, 2007 |
| Season 6 | 17 | July 11, 2007 | December 6, 2007 |
| Season 7 | 32 | January 9, 2008 | January 15, 2009 |
| Season 8 | 15 | January 1, 2009 | April 23, 2009 |
| Season 9 | 13 | June 16, 2009 | April 8, 2010 |
| Season 10 | 29 | January 14, 2010 | August 26, 2010 |
| Season 11 | 39 | September 30, 2010 | December 15, 2011 |
| Season 12 | 32 | December 8, 2011 | December 20, 2012 |
| Season 13 | 36 | March 6, 2013 | May 29, 2014 |
| Season 14 | 39 | June 17, 2014 | May 21, 2015 |
| Season 15 | 29 | November 5, 2015 | October 28, 2016 |
| Season 16 | 22 | December 1, 2016 | September 14, 2017 |
| Season 17 | 28 | October 19, 2017 | November 26, 2018 |
| Season 18 | 18 | January 10, 2019 | May 16, 2019 |
| Season 19 | 54 | January 1, 2020 | August 26, 2021 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 20 |
The Killer Speaks In one of the most-watched episodes of A&E's long-running hit series "The First 48," a psychopathic serial killer phones the Kansas City Police Department with the location of his victims' bodies. Now, convicted serial killer Terry Blair is serving a life sentence at Potosi Correctional Center in Missouri for six counts of first-degree murder. In a candid jailhouse interview, Blair discusses the horrific case that terrorized a community. A chilling confession reveals the stunning truth about his past and sheds new light on the brutal serial killings. |
October 3, 2012 |
| 21 |
After The First 48: 21 - Last Yard University of Memphis football star Taylor Bradford was killed in his beloved Lincoln Town Car. At first police thought the motive was robbery. Then as they investigated, a love triangle emerged. Finally four men were charged with Bradford's murder. The first to go on trial wasn't even at the crime scene. Could prosecutors convince a jury to find him guilty of murder? |
June 23, 2011 |
| 22 |
After The First 48: Lester Street An update on a past case in Memphis involving the murder of four adults and two children. |
August 11, 2011 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Separation On launch day, Vista CEO Laz Ingram and the Providence crew count down to the first manned mission to Mars. Former mission commander Tom Hagerty watches from home. After an intense day he is confronted by an unexpected visitor. |
September 14, 2018 |
| 2 |
What's Needed With the mission in danger of being shut down, the Vista team travels to Washington to testify before Congress. Meanwhile, the Castillo family pursues their lawsuit against Vista. Tom and his daughter Denise work to repair their relationship. |
September 14, 2018 |
| 3 |
Cycles Kayla and Tom find themselves at odds when faced with a difficult decision. A problem arises with the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) that may jeopardize the crew's safety. Aiko hosts a dinner party to celebrate Sadie and Ollie's wedding anniversary. |
September 14, 2018 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
A Serial Killer Calls 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? |
January 6, 2005 |
| 2 |
Murder on the Interstate/House of Santeria 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. |
January 13, 2005 |
| 3 |
Hostile Takeover/Shot in the Back 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. |
January 20, 2005 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
House of Blood / Last Man Standing 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. |
October 6, 2005 |
| 2 |
Duct Tape Murder / Custody of the Devil In Memphis, Sgts. Tony Mullins and Doreen Shelton get caught in the rumor mill and must separate truth from lies as they struggle to identify the two men who robbed and killed a neighborhood drug dealer. And in Miami, when a daughter discovers her mother's body, Detectives Tamayo and Ruggerio search for the elusive killer and learn that sometimes the harshest punishment happens outside the law. |
October 13, 2005 |
| 3 |
Fish out of Water / Good Samaritan In Miami, FL, homicide detective Fernando Bosch is faced with what appears to be the murder of an innocent tourist from Ohio. But the discovery of thousands of counterfeit dollars under the victim's bed leads him to believe the phony bills may have cost him his life. And when a homeless man is brutally stabbed defending a local restaurant owner, Sgt. Alttar Williams and Detective Emiliano Tamayo must track the hero's ruthless killer before he disappears into the underbelly of Miami's homeless community. |
October 20, 2005 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Loved to Death / Unmasked In Memphis, Sergeant Caroline Mason and her team respond to a convenience store shooting, where surveillance cameras captured the last few moments of a man's life. Investigators must sift through the footage for clues that will point them to the killer. And in Miami, Detectives Fernando Bosch and Ricky Martinez are called to a wealthy high-rise condo, where the crime scene blood-covered bathroom. To track down the killer, investigators follow a blood trail that leads them out of the building and into a hair-raising manhunt. |
June 15, 2006 |
| 2 |
Inner Demons / Kids with Guns 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. |
June 22, 2006 |
| 3 |
The Witness / The Trunk Detectives Ricky Martinez and Fernando Bosch investigate the double homicide of a husband and wife. As they race against the clock to find the killer, they discover that their best witness in the case tragically also has the most at stake; Sergeant Ron Collins and his team must solve the mystery behind a car discovered on the edge of town. |
July 6, 2006 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Fatal Pickup / Bad Neighbor In Detroit, a double shooting in a vacant lot leads Lieutenant John Morell and Sergeant LaNesha Jones to an unlikely suspect—a 61 year old man. And in Dallas, Detective Eddie Ibarra must unravel the complex life of a victim riddled with bullets and dumped in a downtown park. |
January 18, 2007 |
| 2 |
Up in Smoke / Shot in the Dark In Memphis, a truck fire brings Sgt. William Ashton and the homicide team to the scene of a double murder. When the smoke clears, Ashton must track down a series of suspects in pursuit of the killer. In Kansas City, Kansas, Det. Bill Michael works the murder of a woman found dead in the street. With few leads to go on, he's wondering how to find the killer when anyone could be a suspect. |
January 25, 2007 |
| 3 |
Blood Trail / 50G Murder In Memphis, Tennessee, a woman is brutally stabbed and left for dead in the street. When a witness comes forward with the license plate number of a van she saw driving from the scene, the homicide team must employ unique tactics to lure the suspect in. In Dallas, Texas, Detective Rick Duggan investigates the murder of an elderly man, shot inside his dental clinic. Investigators have little to work with until a woman comes into headquarters with information that seems too good to be true. |
February 1, 2007 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Blindsided In Dallas, Detective Eddie Ibarra discovers a woman shot dead in the lobby of her workplace. When he uncovers video surveillance of the murder he is given an unusual piece of evidence: an image of the killer. Ibarra takes on the difficult job of putting a name to the face. |
July 12, 2007 |
| 2 |
20 Bucks / Family Friends In Cincinnati, a teenager watching a street fight is killed by a stray bullet. With little to go on, veteran homicide Detective Bob Randolph must piece together the truth behind who pulled the trigger. In Dallas, Texas Detective Rick Duggan and his team find a victim shot and left behind a vacant house. With no leads, Detective Duggan must turn to the victim's best friend for help. |
July 19, 2007 |
| 3 |
Bicycle Bandits / First Sho In Miami, a recent high-school graduate is gunned down and left to die in his father's arms. It's up to Sergeant Eunice Cooper and her team to track down the suspects, two teens who fled the scene on bicycles. And in Cincinnati, Detective Jenny Luke is on the trail of a man who may have taken revenge on a childhood friend he thought snitched on him. |
July 26, 2007 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Inked in Blood 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. |
January 10, 2008 |
| 2 |
Double Time The detectives are called to the scene of a shooting at a café. The witnesses on scene say it was a robbery gone wrong. While working one case, the team gets a second case. The are working against the clock on both cases. |
January 17, 2008 |
| 3 |
Dead Sleep / Tag Team A body is found brutally beaten. Detectives have to identify the victim and search for a killer. A local teenager is killed. Detectives enlist the help of some eyes in the sky for help tracking their killer. |
January 24, 2008 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Gone 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. |
January 1, 2009 |
| 2 |
Return to Sender; Death Camp A young man lays dead in the backseat of his friend's car. Detectives start looking around the scene and find some mail. Could this be the clue that breaks the case? The streets of Minneapolis are 'home' to the homeless. The brutal beating death of a homeless man sets detectives on a hunt for a killer. |
January 8, 2009 |
| 3 |
Obstruction; Flight Risk Detectives are called to a shooting that has left a man dead. When a woman shows up to retrieve something from the scene detectives wonder if she knows more than she lets on. A man guns down a mother of two, a witness comes forward to tell detectives the man is headed for Mexico. With the help of the SWAT team, they attempt to cut him off before he can flee. |
January 15, 2009 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Last Wish After celebrating his birthday with friends and family, the man is found dead on a sidewalk. Twists and turns lead detectives down a crazy path. Finally appealing to the public, they get a lead. |
June 16, 2009 |
| 2 |
Signs of Violence; Live By the Gun A deaf man is stabbed to death in the doorway of his home. Detectives are on the trail of their suspects, who might be linked to an unsolved murder. A street party is interrupted when shots ring out, leaving a young man dead. Witnesses are few but when found their information may lead detectives to a killer. |
June 23, 2009 |
| 3 |
Cold as Ice The body of a man is found in the snow. Detectives work to find a killer, but first they have to get the friend to tell what she knows. |
June 23, 2009 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Twist of Fate | January 14, 2010 |
| 2 | Body of Evidence | January 21, 2010 |
| 3 |
Lost Highway; Out for Murda A homeless man is found stabbed to death along a highway in Harris County, Texas; and a Louisville detective investigates the murder of a young man who was the prime suspect in a double-homicide case. |
January 28, 2010 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Carjacked; Roll of the Dice In Harris County, Deputy Russell Gonzales races the clock to track down the killer of an unidentified man found dead in a desolate field on the side of the road. It's an uphill battle for the team until a couple appears on scene and breaks the case wide open. In Miami, Detective Rolando Garcia and his team investigates the murder of an innocent bystander caught in a hail of gunfire. As detectives delve deeper, they discover that the killer's motives may not be what they think. |
September 30, 2010 |
| 2 |
Marked for Death In Harris County, Dep. Abraham Alanis and his team investigate the murder of a man, married with four young children, who was found robbed and shot to death outside an abandoned house. With no other leads to go on, investigators discover that their victim held a secret that could lead to his killer. |
October 7, 2010 |
| 3 |
Winter Games In Detroit, Sergeant Matthew Gnatek and Officer Nancy Foster are investigating the murder of a soon-to-be father, found shot to death in a deserted field during a snowstorm. With no witnesses and potential evidence disappearing under the blanketing snow, the Crime Scene Unit works quickly with metal detectors, to uncover an item that will put Gnatek and Foster on the trail to meet three young women who each hold a piece of the homicide puzzle. |
October 14, 2010 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Pointless/Set Up In Birmingham, Detective Chris Anderson investigates the gruesome murder of a woman who is shot to death and then set on fire. Anderson hunts down his suspects, but it's the victim's family that reveals a final, disturbing twist in the case. In DeKalb County, Detective Joe Renaud is working the homicide of a father of four, gunned down outside an apartment complex on the east side of town. Without little to go on, Renaud and his team must put the pieces of this puzzle together to track down the killer. |
December 8, 2011 |
| 2 | Love Kills/Justified | December 15, 2011 |
| 3 |
Ultimate Price In Miami, a good Samaritan is shot dead while intervening in a robbery. Det. TC Cepero is forced to resort to a needle-in-a-haystack search for the getaway car, and for the homeless woman who may have seen the killer. |
January 5, 2012 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Birthday Girl A 14-year-old Cleveland girl dies at her own birthday party when gunmen fire on a crowd; homicide detectives race to track down multiple shooters in the crime. |
March 7, 2013 |
| 2 |
Deadly Obsession/The Killer You Know Police detectives conduct a three-state manhunt as they investigate the slaying of a young Dallas couple; a Cleveland man is found shot to death in his own backyard. |
March 14, 2013 |
| 3 |
Hot Ride/Debt Collector A violent carjacking leads to the murder of a young father; a Miami musician is shot down in the street. |
March 21, 2013 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Safe House 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. |
June 19, 2014 |
| 2 |
Deadly Secret/Behind Closed Doors In Dallas, when a young father is gunned down in front of his house, Detective Steve David discovers that the victim had a secret that may have led to his murder. Then, in Cleveland, a mother is found strangled and burned in her kitchen, but Detectives Nate Sowa and Ray Diaz have no witnesses and little evidence to track down her killer. |
June 26, 2014 |
| 3 |
Cold Embrace 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? |
July 3, 2014 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The House on Madrona Street In the season premiere, an Atlanta woman is strangled and the investigation unearths more potential crimes. |
November 5, 2015 |
| 2 |
Blood on Bourbon Investigating a mass shooting in New Orleans. |
November 12, 2015 |
| 3 |
Blood Lust A killer terrorizes Atlanta and investigators try to track him down. |
November 19, 2015 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Deadly Premonition After a young woman has a deadly premonition, the New Orleans homicide team discovers her killer may have killed before. |
December 1, 2016 |
| 2 |
Taken for a Ride In Atlanta, a brash murder in front of an elementary school turns up a familiar name. |
December 8, 2016 |
| 3 |
Killer Contact 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. |
December 15, 2016 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Honor Code In Atlanta, a decorated veteran and grandfather is ambushed when he checks on a rental property. |
October 19, 2017 |
| 2 |
Runner Runner In Mobile, when a quick money scam ends in a double murder, a rookie homicide detective takes it personally. |
October 26, 2017 |
| 3 |
Monster A Tulsa, Oklahoma, police detective tracks a sadistic killer who murdered the brother of a man who stole his truck. |
November 30, 2017 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Spree Killer When a potential spree killer targets the most vulnerable in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Detective Max Ryden must stop the murderer before he kills again. |
January 10, 2019 |
| 2 |
The Grudge 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. |
January 17, 2019 |
| 3 |
A Bad Run-In / Inferno In Tulsa, Oklahoma, a barrage of gunfire kills a man while he's sitting in his car, with his 2-year-old daughter in the back seat. An elderly Atlanta man is burned alive in a building fire suspected to be arson. |
January 24, 2019 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Chain of Death A young mother and her best friend gunned down in broad daylight sets offa chain of events that Tulsa Homicide never could have imagined. |
January 1, 2020 |
| 2 |
Taken When a young man and his pregnant fiancée are executed after a failed ransom attempt, Atlanta Homicide will stop at nothing to identify the elusive suspect. |
January 2, 2020 |
| 3 |
Down a Dark Hallway In Tulsa, detectives struggle to find a lead when a beloved grandfather is gunned down in his own home. The suspect shocks prosecutors when he goes against his lawyer's advice in court. |
January 2, 2020 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | Hulu |
|---|---|
| First aired | September 14, 2018 |
| Last aired | September 14, 2018 |
| Runtime | 46 minutes |
| Status | canceled |