Cold Case is an American police procedural television series which premiered on September 28, 2003 on CBS. The series revolves around a fictionalized Philadelphia Police Department division in Pennsylvania that specializes in investigating cold cases. The series currently airs in syndication on TNT. The seventh season of Cold Case began on September 27, 2009.

Format

Each episode of Cold Case follows a formula that begins with a flashback scene that establishes the year—sometimes the actual date—in which the crime took place, as well as a set of characters in a seemingly mundane situation. These flashbacks feature a different style of direction, whether it be the colors, lighting, shading, or camera angles. Flashbacks often match a style from that era, such as a black-and-white flashback depicting the 1950s. The next scene generally shows one or two of the characters introduced in the flashback scene dead at some future point in time.

The show then flashes to the present day, with the detectives of the homicide division of the Philadelphia police department prompted to investigate an old case gone cold following, for example, a revelation of new evidence, discovery of the victim's physical remains, or a witness who has decided to come forward. The detectives then give the cold case a new look and begin researching the victim and interviewing their friends, acquaintances, and family.