Season 1
The First 48 is an American reality television series produced by Granada Entertainment and based on homicide detective units in various cities across the United States, showing how detectives use forensic evidence, witness interviews and other advanced detective skills to identify suspects.
The series originally premiered in the USA on the A&E Network in 2004. Episodes are an hour in length.
The First 48 airs in South Africa on DStv's Crime and Investigation Network channel.
Synopsis
For homicide detectives, the clock starts ticking the moment they are called. Their chance of solving a case is cut in half if they don't get a lead in The First 48.
Each passing hour gives suspects more time to flee, witnesses more time to forget what they saw, and crucial evidence more time to be lost forever.
The First 48 follows detectives from around the United States during these first critical hours as they race against time to find the suspect.
The show's premise is summarised in the title voice over: "For homicide detectives, the clock starts ticking the moment they are called. Their chance of solving a case is cut in half if they don't get a lead in the first 48."
A countdown timer is shown occasionally during the show to reinforce this, and to add drama.
Each episode picks one or two homicides in different cities, covering each alternately, showing how detectives use forensic evidence, witness interviews and other advanced detective skills to identify suspects.
The First 48 is notable because it takes viewers behind the scenes of real-life investigations with unprecedented access to crime scenes, autopsies, forensic processing, and interrogations, offering a view of homicide detective work that is not obscured by the veil of fiction.