''Murder in the First'' is an American

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and comb ...

television series that originally aired on TNT. The series was created by Steven Bochco and Eric Lodal, and stars Taye Diggs and

Kathleen Robertson Kathleen Robertson (born July 8, 1973) is a Canadian actress, producer, writer and showrunner. She is best known for her roles as Kitty O' Neill in the Starz, Golden Globe winning series Boss, Hildy Mulligan in TNT's Murder in the First, Tina Edi ...

. Set in San Francisco, the show follows a single case across an entire season. The series aired for three seasons from June 9, 2014 to September 4, 2016. This series was the last produced by Bochco before his death in 2018. On October 11, 2016, TNT canceled the series after three seasons.

Overview

In the first season, Homicide Inspectors Terry English and Hildy Mulligan investigate two seemingly unrelated murders only to learn that both victims have ties to a

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Cou ...

prodigy who is darker than anyone realizes. In the second season, as San Francisco recovers from a school bus massacre, English and Mulligan investigate the death of a fellow officer and uncover a conspiracy that shakes the city to its core. In the third season, English and Mulligan juggle investigating a football player's murder and dealing with their respective personal issues while District Attorney Mario Siletti reels from a tragedy that jeopardizes his career.

Cast and characters

Main cast

* Taye Diggs as Inspector Terry English: a homicide inspector with the San Francisco Police Department who struggles to cope with his wife's death. He is a former U.S. Marine Corps scout-sniper. *

as Inspector Hildy Mulligan: English's partner and a single mother who juggles raising her daughter and doing her job. * Ian Anthony Dale as Lieutenant Jim Koto: the squad's no-nonsense supervisor * Raphael Sbarge as Inspector David Molk: a philosophizing SFPD homicide inspector *

Lombardo Boyar Lombardo Boyar (born December 1, 1973) is an American actor. He is best known for his recurring role as Chuy in ''The Bernie Mac Show'' and for voicing Lars Rodriguez in ''Rocket Power''. Career Lombardo is a veteran of the United States Army, h ...

as Inspector Edgar Navarro: a dedicated SFPD homicide inspector, Molk's partner *

Currie Graham Currie Graham (born February 26, 1967) is a Canadian stage, film and television actor. While primarily recognized as a TV actor, he has numerous film credits, including the action thrillers ''Rancid'' (2004) and ''Assault on Precinct 13'' (200 ...

as Chief Prosecutor Mario Siletti * Mimi Kirkland as Louise Mulligan: Hildy's inquisitive eleven-year-old daughter.

Supporting cast

* Jamie McShane as Justin Burnside: a forensics technician from the Medical Examiner's office. * Camille Balsamo as Kami Keefer: the homicide squad's technology expert who has a crush on Hildy Mulligan. * Jamie Luner as Cassie Siletti, Mario Siletti's wife ; Season 1 * Tom Felton as Erich Blunt: a young Silicon Valley prodigy who is suspected by the SFPD of murdering his biological father and his latest personal mistress. * Steven Weber as Bill Wilkerson: Blunt's long-time friend, chauffeur, and pilot whose marriage is put in jeopardy following Blunt's arrest. *

James Cromwell James Oliver Cromwell (born January 27, 1940) is an American actor and activist. Some of his best-known films include '' Babe'' (1995), '' Star Trek: First Contact'' (1996), ''L.A. Confidential'' (1997), '' The Green Mile'' (1999), '' The Queen' ...

as Warren Daniels: a well-known yet unscrupulous criminal defense attorney who is hired to represent Blunt. *

Richard Schiff Richard Schiff (born May 27, 1955) is an American actor and director. He is best known for playing Toby Ziegler on ''The West Wing'', a role for which he received an Emmy Award. Schiff made his directorial debut with ''The West Wing'', directing ...

as David Hertzberg: Blunt's personal and corporate attorney. *

Bess Rous Bess Rous is an American actress. On television, she was featured as a series regular on the first season of the TNT crime drama '' Murder in the First'' (2014) and the Yahoo! Screen science fiction comedy '' Other Space'' (2015). She also appea ...

as Ivana West: the chief technology officer of Erich Blunt's company and one of his personal mistresses. *

Nicole Ari Parker Nicole Ari Parker Kodjoe (born October 7, 1970) is an American actress and model. She made her screen debut with a leading role in the critically acclaimed independent film '' The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love'' (1995) and went o ...

as District Attorney Jacqueline Perez, who is having an affair with Jim Koto; she resigns when it becomes public. *

Peter Onorati Peter Onorati (born May 16, 1953) is an American actor. He is known for his TV roles as Charlie Howell on ''Civil Wars'' (1991–1993), Mr. Scotto on '' Murder One'' (1995–1997), Stanley Pearson on ''This Is Us'' (2017–2022), and Jeff Mumford ...

as Jimmy Salter, a former police sergeant turned head of security of Blunt's company. ; Season 2 * Laila Robins as Jamie Nelson: a professor of law and a famous criminal defense attorney *

Emmanuelle Chriqui Emmanuelle Sophie Anne Chriqui ( ; born 10 December 1975) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her performance on HBO's '' Entourage'' as Sloan McQuewick, Claire Bonner in '' Snow Day'', Dalia in '' You Don't Mess with the Zohan'', Lorelei ...

as Sergeant Raphaelle "Raffi" Veracruz: a gang unit and special operations officer who is a veteran of the

Israeli Army The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branch ...

A. J. Buckley Alan John Buckley (born 9 February 1977) is an Irish-Canadian actor. He is known for playing nerdy crime lab technician Adam Ross on the television series ''CSI: NY'' (2005–2013) and Navy SEAL Sonny Quinn on the television series '' SEAL Tea ...

as Inspector Marty "Junior" McCormack: a special operations officer and Hildy's brother, who transfers to Homicide from Vice *

Mo McRae Mo McRae (born July 4, 1982) is an American actor, writer and producer, best known for his recurring role as Tyler in the FX series '' Sons of Anarchy'' as well as Leon Hayes in the 2006 film ''Gridiron Gang''. He starred in Fox's '' Pitch''. ...

as Anthony "Suger" Cascade: the kingpin of an African-American gang, dealing with the accidental death of a member of another gang during an unsanctioned warehouse heist. * Marcus Hopson as Fatty B, Sugar's right-hand man. * Mateus Ward as Dustin Maker: one of two high school boys participating in the bus shooting before being captured by the SFPD. He is later given the death penalty for his role in the crime. * Jimmy Bennett as Alfie Rentman: the second boy participating in the shooting, who escapes capture but is later killed. * Spencer Garrett as Dr. Frank Rentman: Alfie's father, a psychiatrist who diagnoses Alfie's mental illness. *

Laura Regan Laura Regan (born October 17, 1974) is a Canadian actress. She has had leading and supporting roles in the films '' Saving Jessica Lynch'' (2003), ''My Little Eye'' (2002), ''They'' (2002), ''Dead Silence'' (2007), and '' Atlas Shrugged: Part I ...

as Mary Rentman: Alfie's mother, who appears to be in denial about Alfie's mental state. * Adam O'Byrne as Det. Kaleb Peat: a member of the squad and Walt Martins's partner, who commits suicide after Martin's funeral. * Inny Clemons as Det. Walt Martin: a member of the squad, and Peat's partner, who is presumed to be shot by Alfie Rentman, but was actually shot by a cop. * Jade Tailor as Alyssa: a stripper with whom Det. Molk becomes involved. ; Season 3 *

Kim Delaney Kim Delaney (born November 29, 1961) is an American actress known for her starring role as Detective Diane Russell on the ABC drama television series ''NYPD Blue'', for which she won an Emmy Award. Early in her career, she played the role of Je ...

as Dr. Nancy Redman: Inspector Terry English therapist. *

Anthony Michael Hall Michael Anthony Hall (born April 14, 1968), known professionally as Anthony Michael Hall, is an American actor best known for his leading role as Johnny Smith in '' The Dead Zone'' from 2002 to 2007. He also rose to fame starring in films with ...

as Paul Barnes *

Tiffany Dupont Tiffany Dupont (born March 22, 1981) is an American actress, known for playing the lead character, Hadassah, a Jewish girl who will become the Biblical Esther, Queen of Persia, in the Hollywood film '' One Night with the King''. From 2007 to 200 ...

as Serena Parrish: A sports blogger with whom Lieutenant Jim Koto becomes involved. *

Michael Gaston Michael Gaston is an American film and television actor. He played agent Quinn on the show ''Prison Break'', Gray Anderson on the CBS drama series ''Jericho'', and appeared in the first episode of ''The Sopranos'' as Alex Mahaffey, a compulsive ga ...

as Alfred Arkin: Defended suspended DA Mario Siletti in his DUI trial. *

Sara Paxton Sara Paxton (born April 25, 1988) is an American actress, voice artist, and singer. She began acting at an early age, appearing in minor roles in both films and television shows, before rising to fame in 2004, after playing the title role in the t ...

as Alicia Barnes. * Corey Reynolds as ADA Martin Reardon. *

Amanda Schull Amanda Schull is an American actress and former professional ballet dancer. She is known for her lead role in the 2000 film '' Center Stage'', and for her recurring roles on the American television series '' One Tree Hill'' and ''Pretty Little L ...

as Melissa Danson: She had affair with suspended DA Mario Siletti whom she also prosecuted. *

Robert Cicchini Robert Cicchini is an American film and television actor and director. Among Cicchini's film appearances are his roles as Lou Pennino, Vincent Corleone's bodyguard, in ''The Godfather Part III'' (1990), Bill Guidone in ''Light Sleeper'' (1992 ...

as Chief Charles Shannon.

Episodes

Production

TNT ordered 10 episodes on September 19, 2013, which premiered on June 9, 2014. On September 12, 2014, TNT renewed ''Murder in the First'' for a 12-episode second season, which began on June 8, 2015. On November 12, 2015, TNT renewed ''Murder in the First'' for a third season, which was set to premiere on June 19, 2016, but was pushed back to the following week due to the delayed third season premiere of '' The Last Ship''.

Critical reception

''Murder in the First'' scored 68 out of 100, in its first season, on

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

based on 20 "generally favorable" reviews. Its second season scored 67, based on four reviews. The review aggregator website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

currently reports a 73% "certified fresh" critics rating with an average rating of 6.8/10 based on 22 reviews. The website consensus reads: "''Murder in the First'' fits happily into the over-arcing season-long murder mystery mold, offering pleasurably typical twists and natural, attention-grabbing characters".

Broadcasts

''Murder in the First'' has aired in several international countries in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. In Australia it has aired on

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of fiv ...

and

10 Peach 10 Peach is an Australian free-to-air television channel operated by Network 10. It was launched on 11 January 2011 as Eleven. It is owned by ElevenCo, which was established as a joint venture between Ten Network Holdings and CBS Studios Inte ...

, Top Crime and Premium Crime in Italy, Fox in the UK,

TNT Series TNT Series (TNT Séries, with an accent, in Brazil) is a Latin American pay television channel which is focused on airing television series. It is operated by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched as a spin-off of Latin American subscription network ...

in Latin America, and WarnerTV Serie in Germany.

Universal Networks International NBCUniversal International Networks, formerly NBC Universal Global Networks and Universal Networks International, is a part of NBCUniversal, owned by Comcast. History When NBCUniversal was formed in 2004, it owned many entertainment television ch ...

has acquired international rights ''to Murder in the First'' in 2014, including European countries such as France, Denmark, and Portugal. It first aired on Universal Channel in France on July 30, 2014.

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