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
When a young girl is contacted by a man claiming to be her father, Det. Rush and her team reopen a 1988 case of a teenaged boy, killed on the same night the girl was born.
Directed by Mark PellingtonWritten by Meredith StiehmGuest stars Alana Austin, Kristin Richardson, Nathalie Paulding, Sarah Joy Brown, Robert Curtis Brown, Chuck Hittinger
Episode 2
Lilly re-opens the case of young girl, an overweight college freshman named Laurie, who died in a fraternity house fire in 2004. The fire was deemed accidental at the time, but a cell phone photo e-mailed from the girl's phone just moments before her death prompts a closer examination.
Directed by Paris BarclayWritten by Veena SudGuest stars Lindsay Hollister, Sarah Joy Brown, Nick Wechsler, Guy Wilson, Veena Bidasha
Episode 3
The 1978 murder of a young man is re-opened after the victim's mother finds a letter suggesting that his death wasn't random.
Directed by Kevin BrayWritten by Andrea NewmanGuest stars Mimi Kennedy, Hillary Tuck, Sarah Joy Brown, Dave Power, Dan Warner, Jonathan Murphy, Maria Quiban
Episode 4
Det. Rush re-opens the 1945 case of a baseball player, bludgeoned to death with his own bat.
Directed by Paris BarclayWritten by Sean WhitesellGuest stars Christina Hendricks, Beau Billingslea, Arlen Escarpeta, David Ruprecht, Sarah Joy Brown, Thomas Kopache, Elinor Donahue, Hunter Allan
Episode 5
In 1954, 9-year-old Otis Petrowski last saw his mother in a mental institution. Now over 50 years later, after the death of an elderly woman who had been using Otis' mother's identity, Det. Rush sets out to discover what happened to the boy's real mother.
Directed by Alex ZakrzewskiWritten by Liz W. GarciaGuest stars Diane Ladd, Katie Chonacas, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Robin Weigert, Matt Corboy, Lauri Johnson, Lauren Birkell, Rebecca Lowman
Episode 6
When a mother of five loses her fourth son to gang violence, Lilly sets out the save the youngest, reopening one of her first cases on the homicide squad.
Directed by Marcos SiegaWritten by Karin Lewicki, Tyler BensingerGuest stars Andre Jamal Kinney, Jack Knight, C.J. Sanders, April Grace, Edwin Hodge, Jon Huertas, Carl Gilliard, Michael Grant Terry
Episode 7
Lilly re-opens the 1999 case of a young, healthy woman who nevertheless died of a heart attack. In the late 1990's, she was briefly an Internet millionaire, but due to bad business decisions, her dot.com company eventually went bust.
Directed by James Whitmore Jr.Written by Karin LewickiGuest stars Richard Ian Cox, Zach Mills, Deborah Van Valkenburgh, Sarah Jane Morris, Robin Weigert, Rodney Scott, Amir Talai
Episode 8
When a box filled with POW support bracelets is found in an abandoned drug den, Det. Rush re-investigates the 1972 shooting of Carl, a veteran of the Vietnam War.
Directed by Paris BarclayWritten by Craig TurkGuest stars Tracie Thoms, Brynn Thayer, Skyler Gisondo, Christopher Cousins, Michael Welch, William R. Moses, Rachel Quaintance
Episode 9
When a fisherman finds evidence of a young girl's death washed up on a shore in New Jersey, Lilly re-opens the 1965 case of 4-year-old child who had a seemingly abusive mother.
Directed by Roxann DawsonWritten by Veena SudGuest stars Megan Follows
Episode 10
The team re-opens the 2001 case of a robbed and murdered deli owner when the brother of the man convicted of the crime brings forth new evidence, suggesting the man may have been wrongfully accused.
Directed by Michael SchultzWritten by Andrea NewmanGuest stars Tracie Thoms, James Jordan, Ramón Franco, Shannon Welles
Episode 11
Four close high school friends each went their separate ways in 1980. Eight years later, in 1988, one of them was murdered. The homicide team receives a tip about the murder, prompting a re-investigation of the case and an examination of the friends' lives, hopes and dreams after high school.
Directed by Mark PellingtonWritten by Meredith StiehmGuest stars Zachery Ty Bryan, Laura Johnson, Christine Elise, Alona Tal
Episode 12
When a note connected to a supposed suicide is found, the team re-opens the 1994 case of a high-school kid who fell from the roof of the school building after having served detention. In 1994 the death was deemed a suicide, but the newly-found note indicates that the victim might have been fearing for his life.
Directed by Jessica LandawWritten by Liz W. GarciaGuest stars Veena Bidasha
Episode 13
Lilly re-opens the 1968 case of an 18-year-old girl who died -- apparently accidentally -- at the night of her debutante ball. Now her mother comes forth with new evidence when a local art dealer is accused of murdering his wife in the same manner the girl died.
Directed by Tim HunterWritten by Karin Lewicki, Kate PurdyGuest stars Tracie Thoms, Ben Murphy, Tom Virtue, Priscilla Pointer, Elizabeth Hendrickson, Charlie Koznick, Tina Morasco, Kelly Miracco
Episode 14
The case of a female bank teller shot to death in her work in 2000 is reopened when the same bank is robbed again by perpetrators wearing identical masks and equipped with identical weapons as six years earlier.
Directed by Craig Ross Jr.Written by Sean WhitesellGuest stars Kate Levering, Paul Schulze, Brennan Elliott
Episode 15
The 1998 case of a female drug smuggler is re-opened. The woman was involved with Scotty at the time he was working undercover on a high-profile drug case, and he has been keeping it a secret from the team for all these years.
Directed by Alex ZakrzewskiWritten by Steve SharletGuest stars Alex Fernandez, Benjamín Benítez
Episode 16
Lilly and the cold case team will have to decode the clues given by a twisted killer in order to save the life of a young boy who has been left to die alone. But first they must find the boy and for that they need to dig a little deeper into their own pasts.
Directed by Nicole KassellWritten by Veena SudGuest stars Shiloh Fernandez, Taylor Handley, Scott Vickaryous, Cole Williams, Tim Haldeman, Rosemary Alexander, Hallock Beals, Željko Ivanek
Episode 17
When a poison-soaked towel turns up at the station, Lilly re-opens the 1973 case of a murdered female college tennis star.
Directed by Bill EaglesWritten by Patricia A. Fullerton, Nancy Pinkston, Jason Tracey, Craig S. O'NeillGuest stars Mel Harris, Nina Siemaszko, John Getz, Thomas F. Wilson, Jeff Perry, Colleen Flynn, Sam Murphy, Alicia Ziegler
Episode 18
The team re-opens the 2002 case of a murdered amateur actor when the owner of a local community theater finds a gun hidden inside prop furniture.
Directed by Paris BarclayWritten by Andrea NewmanGuest stars Adam Pascal, Matthew Shaffer, Tyce Diorio, Eric Lange, John Rubinstein, Donna Pieroni, Dwayne L. Barnes, Nancy O'Meara
Episode 19
Lilly re-opens the 1929 case of a woman found dead in a ravine on Christmas Day when the victim's great-granddaughter comes in asking for help. Meanwhile, Lilly's estranged mother shows up, hoping to re-connect with her daughter.
Directed by Kevin BrayWritten by Liz W. GarciaGuest stars Allison Miller, Tommy Dewey, Nick Spano, Sammi Hanratty, June Lockhart, Betty Murphy, Meredith Baxter
Episode 20
The 1994 case of a raped and murdered 16-year-old girl is re-opened when Det. Jeffries gets a call from a prisoner on death-row -- scheduled to be executed in just three days.
Directed by Alex ZakrzewskiWritten by Sean WhitesellGuest stars Michael Jace, Cameron Goodman, Thomas Calabro, Dean Norris, Lori Rom
Episode 21
The 1945 case of a murdered newspaper reporter is reopened when new evidence suggests that the woman was thrown in front of a passing train by someone she knew.
Directed by David Von AnckenWritten by Craig TurkGuest stars Peter Graves, K Callan, James Greene, Michael Cavanaugh, Todd Babcock, Joey Pollari, Michelle Harrison, Rodney Eastman
Episode 22
When a new witness steps forward, Lilly and the team are prompted to re-open the 1984 shooting of a respected and beloved ER doctor who had a secret he had been hiding from his family.
Directed by Craig Ross Jr.Written by Tyler BensingerGuest stars Garette Ratliff Henson, Stacy Haiduk, Suzanne Whang, Tonya Pinkins
Episode 23
When the victim's credit card is suddenly used a year after his death, Lilly re-opens the 2005 case of a counselor at a teens' rehab center who was shot to death just two weeks before he was scheduled to testify in a murder case. During the probe, Lilly feels a strange connection to the victim, and her personal attachment may end up jeopardizing the case.
Directed by Roxann DawsonWritten by Andrea Newman, Liz W. GarciaGuest stars Susan Walters, Mageina Tovah, Dale Dickey, John Hillard, Steven Grayhm
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
