''Cold Case Files'' is a reality legal show/ documentary on the cable channel

A&E Network A&E is an American basic cable network, the flagship television property of A&E Networks. The network was originally founded in 1984 as the Arts & Entertainment Network, initially focusing on fine arts, documentaries, dramas, and educational ent ...

and the rebooted series on

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. It is hosted by

Bill Kurtis Bill Kurtis (born William Horton Kuretich; September 21, 1940), is an American television journalist, television producer, narrator, and news anchor. Kurtis was studying to become a lawyer in the 1960s, when he was asked to fill in on a tempora ...

and the original series produced by Tom Golden. The show documents the investigation of many long-unsolved

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the ...

s (referred to as "

cold case A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or r ...

s" in detectives' parlance) through the use of modern

forensic science Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and criminal ...

(especially recent advances in DNA techniques), and criminal psychology, in addition to recent breakthroughs in the case(s) involving previously silent witnesses. On January 19, 2017, Blumhouse Television, AMPLE Entertainment and A&E revived the series for a ten-episode run. The well received reboot features highly cinematic recreations and music. The new episodes first began airing on February 27, 2017. Actor

Danny Glover Danny Lebern Glover (; born July 22, 1946) is an American actor, film director, and political activist. He is widely known for his lead role as Roger Murtaugh in the '' Lethal Weapon'' film series. He also had leading roles in his films inclu ...

took over for Kurtis as narrator for this new 10-episode series. However, in addition to Danny Glover, Bill Kurtis later returned to reprise his role as host of the series. On August 20, 2021, after a four-year hiatus, the series returned with a new season on A&E, again with Kurtis as the host.

Overview

According to A&E, the show has been widely praised by

law enforcement agencies A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LEA ...

, and its investigative reports are commonly used in the training of detectives.About Cold Case Files
A&E Television Networks website. ''Cold Case Files'' first aired as a sub-series of another A&E crime documentary program, '' Investigative Reports'', also hosted by

, which ran from 1991 to 2011. Reruns of the original 1997 series currently air on

broadcast syndication Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States wher ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, usually in lower-profile time slots, and on many RTV stations. The Blumhouse Television, AMPLE Entertainment reboot has quickly gained popularity on

. Some episodes of the series have now been adapted into a podcast of the same name, "Cold Case Files," hosted by Brooke Gittings and featuring the voice of the original Cold Case files host,

. The podcast is part of the

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podcast network in conjunction with A&E.

Episode list

Season 1 (1999)

Season 2 (2000)

Season 3 (2001)

Season 4 (2002)

Season 5 (2006)

Season 6 (2017)

Season 7 (2021)

Season 8 (2022)

Awards and nominations

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

: * Outstanding Nonfiction Series (2005) nomination: Michael Harvey (executive producer), Laura Fleury (executive producer), Tania Lindsay (supervising producer), Michael West (supervising producer), Mary Frances O'Conner (producer), Bill Kurtis (host) * Outstanding Nonfiction Series (2004) nomination: Laura Fleury (executive producer), Michael Harvey (supervising producer), Mike West (producer), Bill Kurtis (host)

References

External links

* * * {{A&ENetwork Shows 1999 American television series debuts 1990s American crime television series 2000s American crime television series 2010s American crime television series 2020s American crime television series 1990s American documentary television series 2000s American documentary television series 2010s American documentary television series 2020s American documentary television series American television series revived after cancellation A&E (TV network) original programming English-language television shows