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Cold Case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For unsolved crimes, see Cold case. For other uses, see Cold Case (disambiguation).
Cold Case
Promotional poster
Genre
Created byMeredith Stiehm
Starring
Theme music composerHelmut and Franz Vonlichten with intro by Michael A. Levine
Opening themeNara
ComposerMichael A. Levine
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons7
No. of episodes156 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Production locationsPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Running time42–45 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseSeptember 28, 2003 (2003-09-28) –
May 2, 2010 (2010-05-02)

Cold Case is an American police procedural crime drama television series that aired on CBS from September 28, 2003, to May 2, 2010. The series centers on a fictional division of the Philadelphia Police Department that specializes in investigating cold cases—unsolved homicides from previous years.

The show stars Kathryn Morris as Lilly Rush, a dedicated homicide detective who reopens and re-investigates cold cases with her team. The ensemble cast includes Danny Pino, John Finn, Jeremy Ratchford, Thom Barry, and Tracie Thoms.

Cold Case employs a unique narrative structure, often showing flashbacks that depict the crime as it originally happened, juxtaposed with the present-day investigation. The format reveals how the lives of those involved in the case were affected by the unsolved crime, and each episode typically ends with the resolution of the case, often using poignant musical sequences.

Cold Case received mixed-to-positive reviews for its storytelling, atmosphere, music, and performances of the cast. Despite not receiving major awards during its run, the series developed a loyal fan base and remains popular in syndication.

Premise

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Cold Case is set in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and follows Detective Lilly Rush (Kathryn Morris), a homicide detective specializing in cold cases—unsolved murders that are no longer being actively pursued by the police. Initially partnered with Detective Chris Lassing (Justin Chambers) for the first 5 episodes, Rush is later paired with Detective Scotty Valens (Danny Pino) for the remainder of the series. They work under Lieutenant John Stillman (John Finn) and are supported by detectives Nick Vera (Jeremy Ratchford), Will Jeffries (Thom Barry), and, starting in Season 3, Kat Miller (Tracie Thoms).

Each episode typically revolves around a single investigation. The cases, all involving murders in Philadelphia, span various periods, with some crimes as recent as a few years old and others dating back as far as the early 20th century. Investigations usually begin with the detectives receiving new leads or insights, prompting them to reopen a case.

The detectives conduct interviews with witnesses connected to the crime, and these conversations are depicted through flashback sequences that dramatize events from the time of the murder. The show often addresses social and historical issues, such as racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, abortion, and police brutality, as seen through the lens of the victims' lives and the circumstances of their deaths.

A distinctive feature of Cold Case is its use of double casting, where characters are shown both in the present day and as they appeared at the time of the crime. The resolution of each case usually culminates in a flashback sequence revealing the killer’s confession and the murder itself, followed by their arrest. In some episodes, the victim reappears as a vision to one of the detectives, symbolizing the case's closure.

Music

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The theme song for Cold Case is an excerpt from "Nara" by E.S. Posthumus, featuring an introduction by series composer Michael A. Levine that begins with an ethereal wail performed by vocalist Elise Morris.[1] In addition to Levine's original score, the series is known for its extensive use of era-appropriate music during flashbacks to the year in which the crime took place.

Several episodes feature music from specific artists that reflects the era or theme of the investigation. Notable examples include Ray Charles, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, The Doors, John Mellencamp, Johnny Cash, Bob Seger, Pink Floyd, Tim McGraw, Bob Dylan, Santana, Frank Sinatra, and John Lennon. In a notable instance, Pearl Jam's music was used exclusively in the two-part season-six finale, marking the first time a single artist's music was featured across two entire episodes.[2]

Cast and characters

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Main article: List of Cold Case characters

Fictional universe

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Danny Pino appeared as Valens in the CSI: NY episode “Cold Reveal”. This episode connected Cold Case to not only CSI: NY, but also to CSI: Miami, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Cyber, and Without a Trace.[3]

Adaptations

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Japanese adaptation

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A Japanese remake of the series, Cold Case: Shinjitsu no Tobira (コールドケース 〜真実の扉〜), set in Yokohama, was broadcast on cable network WOWOW Prime from October 22, 2016, to December 24, 2016.[4][5] A second season was broadcast from October 13, 2018, to December 15, 2018,[6] and a third season was broadcast from December 5, 2020, to February 13, 2021.[7] The second and third seasons are filmed in 8K and downscaled to 4K for broadcast.[8][7]

Russian adaptation

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Company Star Media produced Russian adaptation of the series (broadcast in Russia under the title Detective Rush) named Without Prescription.[9] The show consists of 25 episodes.[10]

Satire

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In 2005, John Finn, Kathryn Morris and Jeremy Ratchford appeared in a satirical promo on the Irish-language television station TG4. The commercial won a gold medal in the "Best Drama Promos" category of the 2007 Sharks International Advertising Awards Festival of Ireland (Sharks Awards).[11] The promotion features John Finn and Kathryn Morris in character interrogating a murder suspect (Peader Cox) from the TG4 soap Ros na Rún who refuses to speak in English; both detectives then begin talking in Gaelic, much to the surprise of Jeremy Ratchford's character. The promo tied in with a murder investigation in Ros na Rún.[12]

Cold Squad controversy

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At the launch of Cold Case in July 2003, a Canadian journalist asked the launch panel about similarities between Cold Case and a Canadian series called Cold Squad which had debuted five years earlier.[13][14] Cold Squad fans accused the American series of copying the Canadian program's basic premise and characters. In 2003, the Cold Squad creators considered seeking legal redress against the Cold Case producers over copyright issues.[15][16] Both shows air in Canada (and on the same network, CTV). In November 2003, the law firm O'Donnell & Schaeffer, which had successfully represented Art Buchwald in his copyright-infringement suit against Paramount and who has defended the James Bond franchise against copycats, confirmed it agreed to represent the Cold Squad producers, who claim the CBS series was a copy of their own hit show. The Globe and Mail reported that Meredith Stiehm, the American series creator, attended a TV writing seminar at the Canadian Film Centre in 2002 where the Cold Squad concept was discussed. O'Donnell lawyer, Carole Handler stated: "Our clients are very concerned about many striking similarities and have retained counsel to investigate the situation and, if necessary, to take appropriate action."[13]

Episodes

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Main article: List of Cold Case episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
123September 28, 2003 (2003-09-28)May 23, 2004 (2004-05-23)
223October 3, 2004 (2004-10-03)May 22, 2005 (2005-05-22)
323September 25, 2005 (2005-09-25)May 21, 2006 (2006-05-21)
424September 24, 2006 (2006-09-24)May 6, 2007 (2007-05-06)
518September 23, 2007 (2007-09-23)May 4, 2008 (2008-05-04)
623September 28, 2008 (2008-09-28)May 10, 2009 (2009-05-10)
722September 27, 2009 (2009-09-27)May 2, 2010 (2010-05-02)

U.S. television ratings

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Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.
Season Timeslot Season premiere Season finale Ranking Rating Viewers
(in millions)
1st 2003–2004 Sunday 8:00 p.m. September 28, 2003 May 23, 2004 #17 9.3[17] 14.18
2nd 2004–2005 October 3, 2004 May 22, 2005 #14 9.7[17] 15.10
3rd 2005–2006 September 25, 2005 May 21, 2006 #17 9.3[17] 14.24
4th 2006–2007 Sunday 9:00 p.m. September 24, 2006 May 6, 2007 #16 8.9[17] 13.98
5th 2007–2008 September 23, 2007 May 4, 2008 #28 7.1[18] 10.89
6th 2008–2009 September 28, 2008 May 10, 2009 #20 7.5[18] 12.00
7th 2009–2010 Sunday 10:00 p.m. (September 27, 2009 – November 15, 2009, February 14, 2010 – May 2, 2010)
Sunday 9:00 p.m. (November 22, 2009 – January 17, 2010)
 September 27, 2009 May 2, 2010[19] #29 6.3[18] 9.86
  • In season 3 episode "A Perfect Day" Cold Case set a series rating record by attracting an audience of 19.36 million viewers.

Cancellation

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Cold Case began in September 2003 and quickly became a staple of the CBS Sunday night schedule. The crime drama had a successful first season and, by season two, was averaging a 3.5 rating in the 18–49 demographic and 15.1 million viewers. For the next couple seasons, total viewership fell slightly but the demographic numbers rose, reaching a 3.8 rating in season four.

In season five, the show averaged a 2.9 rating and just under 11 million viewers and ranked 28th. In season six, the ratings sank lower, to an average of a 2.7 rating but climbed up to 12 million viewers and ranked 20th. CBS made a choice between renewing Without a Trace and Cold Case. They chose to keep Cold Case. The real ratings trouble began in the final season, when the show's ratings dropped even further to a 2.15 rating in the 18–49 demographic and 9.6 million viewers. One reason for this is that the show aired at 10:00 pm; the ratings dropped 25% to 9 million viewers.[20] On November 22, 2009, CBS made a final attempt to increase the ratings by scheduling Cold Case at 9:00 pm. The ratings increased to 10 million viewers, but it was short-lived because on February 14, 2010, Cold Case returned to its original schedule, at 10:00 pm and the ratings dropped and the show concluded its run in May 2010 ranking 29th and more than two weeks after the series finale aired, CBS announced the show would not be renewed for an eighth season.[20]

On May 18, 2010, CBS announced the cancellation of the series after seven seasons and 156 episodes.[21]

Since it had become customary to end each season with a cliffhanger, season 7's final episode, "Shattered", ended leaving viewers wondering about the fates of several characters. The cancellation of the show left those questions unresolved.

Distribution

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Broadcast

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The series aired in syndication on CBS, and also on Ion Television in the U.S. and on Viva in Canada.[22] Sleuth also aired the series occasionally. In 2011, the show aired on MyNetworkTV.[23] The show made its debut on the new over-the-air channel Start TV when it launched on September 3, 2018. It also airs on MBC Action. As of 2022, reruns are often shown on TNT channel.

Home media and streaming

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After the program's debut in 2003, the show was not released on DVD or Blu-ray due to licensing issues related to the use of contemporary music in each episode.

In May 2020, the Roku Channel in the United States released all episodes of Cold Case to stream for the first time, in a high-definition digital format, with full subtitles and all contemporary music from the original CBS broadcasts left intact.[24] The streaming ended in December 2020. The show returned to the service in September 2021.[25]

Cold Case was made available for streaming on Max as of June 19, 2023.

All seasons of Cold Case are also available to stream on Amazon Prime in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Latin America and India.

The series also airs on Quest Red in the United Kingdom and available for streaming on Discovery+.

Awards and nominations

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Awards

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ASCAP Award
  • Top TV Series – (2004)
  • Top TV Series – (2005)
  • Top TV Series – (2006)
  • Top TV Series – (2007)
  • Top TV Series – (2008)
  • Top TV Series – (2009)
GLAAD Media Awards
  • Outstanding Individual Episode (In a Series Without a Regular Gay Character) – For episode "Best Friends". (2006)
Image Awards
  • Outstanding Directing in a Dramatic Series – Paris Barclay (2006)
Imagen Foundation Awards
  • Best Actor, Television – Danny Pino (2010)

Nominations

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ALMA Awards
  • Outstanding Actor in a Drama Television Series – Danny Pino (2008)
ASC Awards
  • Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Regular Series (For episode "Time To Hate") (2004)
Excellence in Production Design Award
  • Television – Single Camera Television Series (For episode "Factory Girls") (2005)
CDG Awards
  • Outstanding Costume Design for Television Series – Period/Fantasy (2005)
  • Outstanding Costume Design for Television Series – Period/Fantasy (2006)
  • Outstanding Costume Design for Television Series – Period/Fantasy (2007)
GLAAD Media Awards
  • Outstanding Individual Episode (In a Series Without a Regular Gay Character) (For episode "A Time to Hate") (2004)
  • Outstanding Individual Episode (In a Series Without a Regular Gay Character) (For episode "It's Raining Men") (2005)
  • Outstanding Individual Episode (In a Series Without a Regular Gay Character) (For episode "Daniela") (2005)
  • Outstanding Individual Episode (For episode "Forever Blue") (2007)
  • Outstanding Individual Episode (in a Series without a Regular LGBT Character) (For episode "Boy Crazy")
Emmy
  • Outstanding Art Direction for a Single-Camera Series – Corey Kaplan, Sandy Getzler, & Timothy Stepeck (2005)[26]

Soundtrack

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A soundtrack CD was released in 2008 by Lakeshore Records, featuring incidental music composed by Michael A. Levine from the first four seasons, as well as the song 300 Flowers, sung by Robbyn Kirmsse.[27]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Late Returns"3:06
2."The Good Death"4:12
3."The Park"1:08
4."Detective's Reprise"1:40
5."Sister Vivian's Flashback"1:04
6."Yo, Adrian (featuring Elin Carlson)"1:13
7."Churchgoing People"1:52
8."Gwen & Rush"0:56
9."The Professor"3:15
10."Sadie's Blues (featuring Carmen Twillie)"3:47
11."Forever Blue"4:59
12."Bad Night (featuring Robbyn Kirmsse)"2:02
13."Fireflies"1:51
14."Carl's Recollection"3:42
15."Saving Sammy"3:30
16."Freely's Flashback"2:07
17."8:03 am"2:45
18."Rush & George"2:56
19."The Badlands (featuring Jason Ralicki)"2:48
20."The Window"1:58
21."Train Station"1:04
22."300 Flowers (featuring Robbyn Kirmsse)"2:48
23."Best Friends"2:13
24."Baby Blues"3:12

See also

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References

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  1. ^ https://elisemorris.com/. Retrieved April 20, 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ^ "Pearl Jam Turns "Ten" Buzz". Billboard. March 19, 2009. Retrieved April 11, 2009.
  3. ^ Thom Holbrook (May 2007). "Crossover: CSI: NY and Cold Case". Poobala. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  4. ^ Blair, Gavin J. (20 April 2016). "Japan's Wowow and Warner Bros. to Co-Produce Local Version of 'Cold Case'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  5. ^ "連続ドラマW コールドケース ～真実の扉～｜WOWOW". WOWOW. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  6. ^ "連続ドラマW コールドケース2 ～真実の扉～｜WOWOW". WOWOW. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  7. ^ a b "WOWOW開局30周年記念 連続ドラマW コールドケース３ ～真実の扉～｜WOWOW". WOWOW. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  8. ^ Abe, Kunihiro (2 October 2018). "8Kドラマ「コールドケース2」4Kサイマル配信。WOWOWで13日から10週連続実施". AV Watch. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  9. ^ "Star Media ended production on Russian adaptation of American tv series 'Cold case'".
  10. ^ "Page of series Without prescription on Star Media website". Archived from the original on 2012-08-18. Retrieved 2019-07-18.
  11. ^ "Corporate – Awards". TG4. Archived from the original on May 27, 2010. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
  12. ^ "Cold Case meets Ros Na Rún". YouTube/TG4. Archived from the original on 2021-11-07. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  13. ^ a b Doyle, John (12 November 2003). "Cold Squad, Cold Case: Similar, or what?". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  14. ^ Bob Sassone (September 18, 2006). "The strange case of Cold Squad". TV Squad. Retrieved February 21, 2008.
  15. ^ Ian Edwards (November 10, 2003). "Cold Squad on Bruckheimer Case". Playback. Retrieved February 21, 2008.
  16. ^ Dan Brown (December 4, 2003). "The genius of Ratchford". CBC News. Retrieved February 21, 2008.
  17. ^ a b c d Brooks, Tim; Earle Marsh (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows (1946—Present): Ninth Edition. United States: Ballantine Books. pp. 1697–1698. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.
  18. ^ a b c Tim Brooks (6 September 2011). "Top Rated TV Programs By Season (2007-2011)". Television and Record Industry History Resources. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  19. ^ "Valens Joins Forces with Rush to Find Her Abducted Drug-addicted Sister, and Jeffries Looks into a New Lead on the Case of a Murdered Teenaged Girl That Has Haunted Him for 17 Years, on the Seventh Season Finale, and Conclusion of a Two-part Episode, of "Cold Case," on Sunday, May 2". CBS Press Express. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  20. ^ a b "Cold Case: CBS TV Show's Cancelled, No Season Eight". TV Series Finale. 22 May 2010. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  21. ^ Hibberd, James (May 18, 2010). "CBS cancels seven shows, including "Ghost", "Case"". The Hollywood Reporter.
  22. ^ James, Newton Howard (June 22, 2011). "CBS canceled shows including ghost, case". IGN.
  23. ^ "Home". MyNetworkTV. 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  24. ^ Frederick, Brittany (May 5, 2020). "Cold Case complete series now streaming on Roku". Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  25. ^ "Roku".
  26. ^ "Cold Case - Emmy Awards, Nominations and Wins | Television Academy". Emmys.com. Retrieved 2022-09-01.
  27. ^ "Cold Case Soundtrack page at Lakeshore Records". November 11, 2009. Archived from the original on October 31, 2013. Retrieved November 11, 2009.
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