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  • CBS
  • Sep 28, 2003
  • CBS
  • Sep 28, 2003
Cold Case

Summary Cold Case stars Kathryn Morris (Minority Report, Mindhunters) as Lilly Rush, the lone female detective in the Philadelphia homicide squad who finds her calling when she's assigned to "cold cases" -- crimes that have never been solved. Previously, she used her instinctive understanding of the criminal mind on current murders. Now, she's i...

Created By: Meredith Stiehm

  • CBS
  • Sep 28, 2003
  • CBS
  • Sep 28, 2003
Cold Case
Season 1
7 Seasons
Season Premiere: Sep 28, 2003
Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 25 Critic Reviews
66
User Score Generally Favorable Based on 17 User Ratings
7.4
My Score
Hover and click to give a rating Saved

Summary Cold Case stars Kathryn Morris (Minority Report, Mindhunters) as Lilly Rush, the lone female detective in the Philadelphia homicide squad who finds her calling when she's assigned to "cold cases" -- crimes that have never been solved. Previously, she used her instinctive understanding of the criminal mind on current murders. Now, she's i...

Created By: Meredith Stiehm

Season Episodes

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Episode 1 • Sep 28, 2003 • 44 m
Look Again
Detective Lilly Rush interviews a maid who says she witnessed the beating death of a teenage girl during a party on a luxurious estate more than 25 years ago.
Episode 2 • Oct 5, 2003 • 44 m
Gleen
Lily re-investigates a 1980's murder where a young housewife was blown up by a bomb in her backyard. Meanwhile, the victim's now-grown daughter is bothering a pervert whom she believes is the killer, but is he?
Episode 3 • Oct 12, 2003 • 44 m
Our Boy Is Back
When a serial rapist sends a letter to the squad announcing his return to Philadelphia after five years, the team re-investigates the 1998 murder of a college student who was believed to be one of his victims.
Episode 4 • Oct 19, 2003 • 44 m
Churchgoing People
Lily looks into a man's murder that led to the dissolution of a religiously-involved family, but she finds something fishy about every member of the former household.
Episode 5 • Oct 26, 2003 • 44 m
The Runner
The team reopen an unsolved case about a young policeman was murdered in 1973, Joe Washington, who was involved in a drug case at dangerous zone.
Episode 6 • Nov 9, 2003 • 44 m
Love Conquers Al
A petty thief, hoping for a reduced prison sentence, relays information pertaining to the night in 1981 when a high school track runner was fatally shot, placing doubt on the guilt of the man now serving a life sentence for the crime.
Episode 7 • Nov 16, 2003 • 44 m
A Time to Hate
The team investigates a 1964 case when a young college student was killed outside a gay bar.
Episode 8 • Nov 30, 2003 • 44 m
Fly Away
After two years in a coma, a mother wakes in the hospital. Rosie hardly remembers the night she and her daughter were thrown out of a window, killing her daughter. Lily and Scotty look into the case and find a whole nest of bad secrets.
Episode 9 • Dec 7, 2003 • 44 m
Sherry Darlin'
A man calls Detective Lilly Rush to confess that he murdered his grandmother in 1989 and buried her in the basement of his old house.
Episode 10 • Dec 21, 2003 • 44 m
Hitchhiker
The team is searching for a suspected serial killer. The murders started with a young man who was hitchhiking home from the casino after winning $3000. They have little to go on other than a boot print.
Episode 11 • Jan 11, 2004 • 44 m
Hubris
A young college girl had been killed several years earlier and laid out in a pond. The college professor, with whom the girl was having an affair, was always suspected but there was nothing solid to go on. Another girl is killed the same way.
Episode 12 • Jan 18, 2004 • 44 m
Glued
Lilly looks into one of Lt. Stillman's old cases, involving the death of an 8 year old boy killed on his way home from the corner store.
Episode 13 • Jan 25, 2004 • 44 m
The Letter
The 1939 case of a young lady living in a boarding house for "women of color" is reopened and Rush tries to solve it for Sadie's daughter, who has been ashamed of her own heritage since the murder.
Episode 14 • Feb 15, 2004 • 44 m
The Boy in the Box
The 1950's notorious cold case of the "boy in the box" is reopened and it's discovered that he resided in a Catholic orphanage with his sister until his sudden adoption before his death.
Episode 15 • Feb 22, 2004 • 44 m
Disco Inferno
The team investigates a 1978 case where 22 people were killed in a fire at a popular disco after new evidence shows that one of the victims was shot before the fire.
Episode 16 • Mar 7, 2004 • 44 m
Volunteers
Two decaying skeletons are discovered in an old building. Rush and the team learn that they were two hippies working for an underground group who were murdered in 1969.
Episode 17 • Mar 14, 2004 • 44 m
The Lost Soul of Herman Lester
An up and coming basketball player on the way to making it big is found dead on a street playground. Was it a street robbery gone bad, an overly competitive player who wanted his slot or something else?
Episode 18 • Mar 28, 2004 • 44 m
Resolutions
An alcoholic comes in and tells a tale of a hit and run. She is sure that she killed him when she drove drunk on New Years eve.
Episode 19 • Apr 4, 2004 • 44 m
Late Returns
A man is found shot to death in his driveway. The team re-open a 1992 murder of a young woman, a Democratic worker, who went missing after leaving a political event on Election night.
Episode 20 • Apr 18, 2004 • 44 m
Greed
The team reopen the 1980's case of a wealthy corporate stockbroker who set up a Ponzi scheme and left many colleagues broke when it crashed, after which he was murdered in an apparent carjacking.
Episode 21 • Apr 25, 2004 • 44 m
Maternal Instincts
A young man arrested for robbing a little old lady reluctantly gets the team to reopen the case of his mother, who was stabbed to death in 1989 when he was three years old. They discover the story goes much deeper than just her murder.
Episode 22 • May 2, 2004 • 44 m
The Plan
The Team gets an anonymous letter saying the 1999 accidental death of a swim coach at a military academy was the result of a carefully orchestrated plot.
Episode 23 • May 23, 2004 • 44 m
Lover's Lane
The team reopens the case of Eve, a fifteen-year-old raped and murdered in 1986 after getting involved with a sleazy adult man who promised to make her a famous pop star if she'd run away with him.
7 Seasons

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 25 Critic Reviews
66
64% Positive
16 Reviews
24% Mixed
6 Reviews
12% Negative
3 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 25 Critic Reviews
66
64% Positive
16 Reviews
24% Mixed
6 Reviews
12% Negative
3 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
100
Feb 26, 2013
An outstanding crime drama. It has all the trappings of a good show and then, of course, one staple of a great one: An absolutely terrific star in the lead role. Kathryn Morris can go through my files anytime. [27 Sept 2003, p.C01]
By Tom Shales FULL REVIEW
90
Feb 26, 2013
What a pleasure to find a woman who doesn't need to karate chop some no-neck to prove she's in charge. [27 Sept 2003]
By Aaron Barnhart FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

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User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 17 User Ratings
7.4
65% Positive
11 Ratings
29% Mixed
5 Ratings
6% Negative
1 Rating

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 17 User Ratings
7.4
65% Positive
11 Ratings
29% Mixed
5 Ratings
6% Negative
1 Rating

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
9
JessicaRobyn
Sep 13, 2015
Cold Case had that rare combination of both quality and quantity in an episodic show. Some of the episodes were put together so well that it felt like I was watching a short film. The flashbacks often had amazing actors, interesting set designs, and perfectly period costumes. I watched all seven seasons and although not every single episode was a winner there are plenty that I still think back on as truly outstanding television. My personal favourite episode was season 2, episode 22 "Best Friends".
Report
SEASON 1
9
greekstar93
Aug 29, 2012
This is my favourite crime show on tv. it is different to all the rest with how you get to see all of the flashbacks of old cases which have been reopened. Wish it had more seasons to come.
Report
SEASON 1
75
Feb 26, 2013
Has a solid premise and a lavish look. The show's signature visual gimmick features characters morphing into their younger selves. Then there's the appealing Rush, who makes a very strong first impression. [27 Sept 2003, p.D01]
By Chuck Barney FULL REVIEW
75
Feb 26, 2013
The mysteries may not be all that mysterious and the music all but clubs you at times, but there's something about Morris' performance that holds the thing together. [26 Sept 2003, p.53]
By Phil Rosenthal FULL REVIEW
60
Feb 26, 2013
Cold Case doesn't know Philly. Too often the few authentic exteriors - Boathouse Row, for instance - give way to some generic Los Angeles location. The show itself is full of references to nonexistent places and situations. [28 Sept 2003, p.H01]
By Jonathan Storm FULL REVIEW
40
Feb 26, 2013
Plays to an older crowd with its by-the-numbers approach. [29 Sept 2003, p.F01]
By Joanne Ostrow FULL REVIEW
30
Feb 26, 2013
Someone must believe the allure of "CSI" lies in its "look" - Cold Case also offers time-tripping flashbacks blending the past incident into present time - along with the behavioral "cool" of its central character. But even when William Petersen plays reserved, his "CSI" cop seems to be seething at his core. That suppressed fire makes him worth watching. Morris is barely an ember.
By Diane Werts FULL REVIEW
See All 25 Critic Reviews
8
Emmsly
Jun 25, 2012
Good show. It has good acting, decent story line, and lots of suspense to keep you guessing to the very end. As it neared toward the end of the series though, it kind of lost a little bit of spunk but I love it anyways
Report
SEASON 1
7
drlowdon
Aug 18, 2023
Detective Lilly Rush (Kathryn Morris), a homicide detective with the Philadelphia Police Department, specializes in cold cases, or investigations which are no longer being actively pursued by the department. Cold Case was certainly one of the better police procedurals of the early 2000’s, and this first season in particular did a good job of conveying the emotions of the family/friends of the victims and showing that Detective Rush really cared about solving these cases.
Report
SEASON 1
See All 4 User Reviews

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