TV series
The Philadelphia homicide squad's lone female detective finds her calling when she is assigned cases that have never been solved. Detective Lilly Rush combines her natural instincts with the updated technology available today to bring about justice for all the victims she can.
Streaming, rental and purchase options
Checked Jul 22, 2026
Cold Case is available to stream on DirecTV On Demand, YouTube TV, and The Roku Channel in United States. Use the direct links below to open the provider.
The Philadelphia homicide squad's lone female detective finds her calling when she is assigned cases that have never been solved. Detective Lilly Rush combines her natural instincts with the updated technology available today to bring about justice for all the victims she can.
Choose an episode, then use the watch options above for the show.
Episode 1
Lilly investigates a 1976 case involving a teenage girl who was beaten to death on a tennis court during a party at a plush estate.
Directed by Mark PellingtonWritten by Meredith StiehmGuest stars Elizabeth Franz, Tim Choate, Becki Newton, Sherman Howard, Bree Turner, D.W. Moffett, Michael Reilly Burke, Finn Wittrock
Episode 2
The fiancé of a fireman asks Lilly to help prove that a convicted felon, about to be paroled on an unrelated crime, is responsible for the murder of the fireman's first wife. The young mother was killed by a homemade bomb shortly before she was to testify in court against a man who exposed himself to her.
Directed by Paris BarclayWritten by Jan OxenbergGuest stars Madeline Carroll, Delane Matthews, Doug Spinuzza, Brett Cullen, Julia Vera, M.F. Bernier, Jack Galle, Dorian Lopinto
Episode 3
A serial rapist sends a letter to the squad announcing his return to Philadelphia after five years and his plan to strike again. Lilly's best hope of catching the rapist comes from a victim who is able to provide a composite sketch.
Directed by Bryan SpicerWritten by Stacy KravetzGuest stars Bree Turner, Gwendolyn Whiteside, Christopher Shea, Joy Hooper, Brooke Swift, Sarah Rosenberg, Greg Zola, Joel Bissonnette
Episode 4
Lilly re-investigates the case of a murdered church organist, when his Alzheimer's-stricken widow begins having flashbacks of the night in question.
Directed by Mark PellingtonWritten by Meredith StiehmGuest stars Douglas Smith, Jimmi Simpson, Aimee Teegarden, David Forsyth, Isabella Hofmann, Kevin McCorkle, Kerrie Keane, Kelli Dawn Hancock
Episode 5
After a drug addict brings in an audio tape she found on which a fatal shooting is heard, Lilly reopens a 1973 murder case involving the death of a twenty-one-year-old rookie cop. The young officer was shot three times in the chest while responding to a call at a drug-infested housing project.
Directed by David StraitonWritten by Veena SudGuest stars Cory Hardrict, Marlene Warfield, Matt Bushell, Steve Ryan, Rif Hutton, Tianna Danielle Kenney, Sheila Jerome, Aldis Hodge
Episode 6
A petty crook, Ricky, hoping to get a reduced sentence, relates witnessing a young man washing blood out of his car the night a teen track runner was murdered. The young athlete, Paige Pratt, was found shot, and her boyfriend Al Clarkson was originally imprisoned for the crime.
Directed by Greg YaitanesWritten by Kim NewtonGuest stars Vincent Ventresca, James DuMont, Josh Hopkins, Summer Glau, Doug Kruse, Kevin McCorkle, Lacey Beeman, Tim DeZarn
Episode 7
Lilly investigates the case of Daniel Holtz, a college baseball player who was found beaten to death in an alley behind a gay bar in 1964. Daniel's mother comes to Lilly in the hopes that his killer can be brought to justice before she dies. Lilly discovers the maltreatment gay victims received in the 60's, when her investigation discloses that it may have been a policeman's nightstick that made the lethal blows.
Directed by Deran SarafianWritten by Jan OxenbergGuest stars Jack Guzman, Brandon Routh, Willam Belli, Barbara Tarbuck, Bill Henderson, Alicia Ziegler, Chelcie Ross, Kathleen Lloyd
Episode 8
When a young woman, Rosie, wakes up from a coma, Lilly re-opens the fall in which her 6-year-old daughter Toya died. Things get complicated when the mother remembers very little of that night, and Lilly feels especially motivated to find the killer.
Directed by James Whitmore Jr.Written by Veena SudGuest stars Laura Regan, Beata Pozniak, Victor Togunde
Episode 9
Lilly gets an anonymous phone call from a man claiming he killed an elderly woman back in 1989 and buried her body in the basement of a house. When Lilly checks the dwelling, a body is recovered, but the alleged murderer refuses to identify himself.
Directed by Rachel TalalayWritten by Sean WhitesellGuest stars Lois Hall, Christina Cox, Jake Bern, Silas Weir Mitchell, Sarah Buehler
Episode 10
Rush and Valens investigate the case of a cold-blooded killer who shot a young man trying to hitchhike his way home to Philly from Atlanta.
Directed by Marita GrabiakWritten by Sean WhitesellGuest stars Garrett Strommen, Nathan Baesel, Franklin Dennis Jones, Fredric Lehne
Episode 11
A college professor (Jeffrey Nordling), who lost everything − his career, his family, his reputation − after being suspected of murdering one of his female students (Kaitlin Doubleday) in 1995, offers new information regarding the case that he hopes will clear his name. He believes the student's death is connected to a copycat murder of a prostitute. Rush investigates the woman who was killed and the men in her life in order to discover which one of them killed her.
Directed by Agnieszka HollandWritten by Kim Newton, Stacy KravetzGuest stars Kaitlin Doubleday, Lisa Dean Ryan, Robert LaSardo, Josh Hopkins, Jeffrey Nordling, E.J. Callahan, Mary Kathleen Gordon
Episode 12
Det. Stillman asks Lilly to re-open a case he couldn't solve, wherein an 8-year-old boy, Tim Barnes, was murdered in 1980. The prime suspects included a catholic priest, three glue-sniffing teenagers, one elusive suspect, and the boy's own parents.
Directed by Peter MarkleWritten by Tyler BensingerGuest stars Marc McClure, Chelsea Field, Jordan Wood, Josh Hopkins, Trent Cameron, Ridge Canipe, John Lawlor, Todd Waring
Episode 13
Rush and Valens re-open the case of a 25-year-old black woman, who was murdered in 1939, after the woman's granddaughter comes forward with new information. The woman was assumed to be a prostitute murdered by a client, but letters written by the victim indicate that she was afraid of a milkman.
Directed by Tim HunterWritten by Veena SudGuest stars Anne Marie Howard, Keke Palmer, Lillian Lehman, Josh Hopkins, Geoffrey Lewis, Leslie Silva, Dan Desmond, Meta Golding
Episode 14
The 1958 death of an unknown 6-year-old boy found in a field inside a cardboard box is reinvestigated after a small suitcase with the child's picture and his old cowboy hat is left in front of a church. The new probe reveals that the rowdy boy lived at a Catholic-run orphanage and was adopted two days before his suspicious demise.
Directed by Karen GaviolaWritten by Meredith StiehmGuest stars Molly Cheek, Jacqueline Scott, Delaney Williams, Bruce Gray, Autumn Reeser, Samantha Eggar
Episode 15
Construction workers discover a skull with bullet hole under the ruins of a disco club burned down in 1978. 22 people died in the fire. Rush and Valens come to the conclusion that the burning of the club was arson, meant to cover up a murder leaving them with not one, but 23 cold cases.
Directed by James Whitmore Jr.Written by Tyler BensingerGuest stars Johnny Palermo, Amanda Wyss, Michael Fairman, Josh Hopkins, Nichole Hiltz, Robin Riker, Ciara Hughes
Episode 16
When the remains of a young black man and a white woman are found under the foundation of a building, Rush and Valens discover that not only did the two go missing in 1969, but that they may have been killed professionally for their work in an underground abortion clinic.
Directed by Allison AndersWritten by Jan OxenbergGuest stars Trever O'Brien, Karen Austin, Chris Sarandon, Doug Spinuzza, Amber Benson, Maggie Grace, Marisol Nichols, Katee Sackhoff
Episode 17
When the son of a murdered high-school basketball star receives a death threat, Rush and Valens reopen the 1987 case of Herman Lester who was stabbed to death only hours after leading his team to win the state championship.
Directed by Tim MathesonWritten by Sean WhitesellGuest stars Tyrone Burton, Tommy Hinkley, Mehcad Brooks, Sam Scarber, Shawn Woods, Marisol Nichols
Episode 18
Lilly investigates an unsolved hit-and-run accident from New Year's Eve 1999 that left a man dead, after a recovering alcoholic comes forward and claims she is the one who hit him. But the evidence points to the guy being murdered, not accidentally run down.
Directed by Alex ZakrzewskiWritten by Kim NewtonGuest stars John Kapelos, Cameron Dye, Stacy Edwards, Kevin McCorkle, David Andriole
Episode 19
The shooting death of a man in his driveway is connected to the unsolved 1992 murder of a Democratic campaign worker whose lifeless body was thrown into a nearby river on election night. The investigation centers on the relationship the dead woman had with a present-day congressman. Apparently, the victim in the current homicide probed into the earlier slaying and discovered damning new evidence. Elsewhere, Lilly spies Kite flirting with a new ADA and gets jealous.
Directed by David StraitonWritten by Jay Beattie, Dan DworkinGuest stars Hilary Angelo, Laura Allen, Josh Hopkins, Jim Meskimen, Terri Garber, Lee Garlington, Lauren Stamile, Blake Robbins
Episode 20
The team reopens the 1985 case of a wealthy stock broker. At the time it was deemed that Charles Danville was killed when someone attempted to steal his car, but new evidence suggests that he may, in fact, have been murdered.
Directed by Karen GaviolaWritten by Stacy KravetzGuest stars Michael Paré, Sam Ball, T.J. Thyne, William Bumiller, Marisol Nichols, J.P. Hubbell
Episode 21
The 1989 case of a woman murdered in front of her 3-year-old son is re-opened. A psychologist asks Det. Rush to look into the case again when the son, now a 17-year-old teen, suffers from intense nightmares and troubled behavior.
Directed by Kevin HooksWritten by Laurie ArentGuest stars W. Earl Brown, Heidi Bohay, J. Downing, Michael Nouri, Ashton Holmes, Tracy Middendorf
Episode 22
The 1999 drowning death of a military academy's swim coach, which was originally ruled as accidental, is reinvestigated after the homicide division receives a note that suggests it was murder. Back at the office, Valens searches for Elisa after she goes missing.
Directed by Agnieszka HollandWritten by Veena SudGuest stars Noel Fisher, Spencer Daniels, Robert Rusler, Tequan Richmond, Jason Dohring, Alec Medlock, Marisol Nichols, Sean Michael Afable
Episode 23
When DNA evidence reveals that a wrong man was convicted for killing 15-year-old Eve Kendall back in 1986, the team re-opens her case in an attempt to find the real killer.
Directed by Nelson McCormickWritten by Meredith StiehmGuest stars Larry Joshua, Ronne Troup, Josh Hopkins, Mae Whitman, Robin Weigert, Marisol Nichols
Episode information updated Jul 24, 2026
Kathryn MorrisLilly Rush
Danny PinoScotty Valens
Jeremy RatchfordNick Vera
Thom BarryWill Jeffries
Tracie ThomsKat Miller
John FinnJohn Stillman
Lilli BirdsellVivian Harden
Tania RaymondeFrankie Rafferty
CBSUnited States
Jerry Bruckheimer TelevisionUnited States
Warner Bros. TelevisionUnited States
