Profiler poster

TV series

Profiler

1996TV-144 seasons7.0 / 10

MIND OVER MURDER

Rachel Burke is a criminal profiler, one of the best, actually. She, along with a sophisticated team of specialists on the FBI's Violent Crimes Task Force in Atlanta, investigates crimes throughout the country. Together, they solve the toughest of cases while trying to live their lives as best they can.

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Checked Jul 22, 2026

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Synopsis

Rachel Burke is a criminal profiler, one of the best, actually. She, along with a sophisticated team of specialists on the FBI's Violent Crimes Task Force in Atlanta, investigates crimes throughout the country. Together, they solve the toughest of cases while trying to live their lives as best they can.

Season 1 episodes

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Episode 1

Insight

Sep 21, 19961h7.3 / 10

Ally Walker (""While You Were Sleeping"") stars in this stylish, hour-long suspense-thriller as Dr. Sam Waters, a brilliant female forensic psychologist with a unique gift for understanding the criminal mind. Sam was a fast-track forensic psychologist with a special skill which enabled her to ""think"" in pictures and visualize a crime through the eyes of both the victim and the killer, until ""Jack,"" an admiring serial slayer, murdered her husband three years ago, leaving her devastated. Guilt-ridden, Sam retired and retreated with her young daughter, Chloe (Caitlin Wachs), to live an anonymous life at a friend's (Erica Gimpel) in the country. She is coaxed out of self-imposed isolation by her old friend Bailey Malone (Robert Davi), head of the FBI Investigative Support Unit, to assist in solving a baffling spate of weekend serial killings that have claimed the lives of several single women in Atlanta, GA. Julian McMahon co-stars.

Episode credits

Guest stars Lee Garlington, Gary Anthony Williams, Terry Beaver, Judson Vaughn, Libby Whittemore, Carol Martin, Melissa McBride, Joe Washington

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Episode 2

Ring of Fire

Sep 28, 19961h6.0 / 10

Dr. Sam Waters (Ally Walker) joins the newly formed Violent Crimes Task Force, led by her mentor, Bailey Malone (Robert Davi), to probe a string of well-publicized arson fires in the South, until her anonymity is shattered -- providing Jack-of-all-trades, her murderous stalker, more clues to her whereabouts. As a result, Sam is forced to move with her daughter (Caitlin Wachs) and her best friend, Angel (Erica Gimpel), while she uses her skills to compose a profile of the self-destructive arsonist (Seth Peterson). John Diehl guest-stars

Episode credits

Directed by Peter O'FallonGuest stars John Diehl, Seth Peterson, Terri Conn

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Episode 3

Unholy Alliance

Oct 19, 19961h7.0 / 10

Sam investigates a series of murders which bear striking similarities to the methods of a killer (Benjamin Mouton) whom Bailey put in prison 10 years earlier. Sam suspects that the real culprit is still free, and through her gifted insight, she finds clues in the ancient I Ching art of divination that lead her to a high-ranking military officer (Carmen Argenziano), who may be protecting the slayer (Ian Patrick Williams).

Episode credits

Guest stars Carmen Argenziano, Tom Everett, Ian Patrick Williams, Benjamin Mouton, Merle Kennedy, Doug Spearman

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Episode 4

I'll Be Watching You

Oct 26, 19961h7.0 / 10

Dr. Sam Waters and the Violent Crimes Task Force must find a twisted assassin (Jason Rainwater) before he kills a celebrated political candidate (Casey Biggs), but Sam is distracted by new evidence that could locate her murderous stalker, known as ""Jack-of-all-trades."" Relying on audio clues from a recording, the hopeful FBI agents zero in on a Baltimore church which they believe to be Jack's lair. Robert Davi co-stars as Bailey Malone. .

Episode credits

Directed by John HarrisonWritten by Lawrence HertzogGuest stars Tuesday Knight, Scott Williamson, Casey Biggs, Jason Rainwater, Joseph Whipp, Antony Sauvé, Mark Hicks, Erik Fallin

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Episode 5

Unsoiled Sovereignty

Nov 2, 19961h7.0 / 10

A series of bomb blasts at power plants draw Dr. Sam Waters and the task force to Pittsburgh, where Sam meets a charming bomb squad dismantler (guest star A. Martinez, ""LA Law""), and the flirtatious pair quickly form a romantic bond. Even so, their primary focus remains on targeting a deranged man (guest star Ron LaBelle), with an obsessive fetish for cleanliness, whose masterwork blast is timed to poison the city's water supply in just hours. Robert Davi co-stars.

Episode credits

Directed by Sarah Pia AndersonGuest stars A Martinez, Rob LaBelle, Ren Hanami

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Episode 6

Modus Operandi

Nov 9, 19961h8.0 / 10

When the twisted serial killer known as Jack-of-all-trades murders a kindly neighborhood fix-it man (Don Keefer), Sam discovers a pattern -- her tormentor is leaving messages to her through his victims, all of whom had some connection to her. As Sam agonizes over her slain acquaintances, her beau Cooper (guest star A. Martinez, from ""LA Law"") and Bailey try to comfort and protect her, but they can't watch her all the time -- unlike Jack.

Episode credits

Guest stars Ross Bagley, A Martinez, Harrison Page, Anne Gee Byrd, Don Keefer

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Episode 7

Night Dreams

Nov 16, 19961h8.0 / 10

Sam and Bailey race the clock to track a serial kidnapper (guest star Stephen Lee) who curiously abducts a wide range of women from a college coed to a senior citizen -- and based on his ritualistic clues, Sam deduces that they have only hours before the victims are executed. While in pursuit, Agent Grant is wounded, and the trail cools off until Sam gets an unlikely break when she finds a stripper (guest star Debi A. Monahan) who survived an attempted kidnapping.

Episode credits

Guest stars Stephen Lee, Vernee Watson, Debi A. Monahan, Eve Brenner, Tom Kendall, Maclovio Perez, Stan Abe, Kevin Marshall Brady

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Episode 8

Cruel and Unusual

Dec 14, 19961h7.0 / 10

Sam and the team investigate a series of bizarre slayings whose victims were connected to the trial of a charming murderer (guest star Gary Stretch) sentenced to die within days. One of her prime suspects is a lovestruck protester (guest star Kim Darby) who leads a candlelight watch outside the prison while appeals are filed to halt the execution. Elsewhere, the serial killer known as Jack-of-all-trades assembles a roulette wheel with pictures of the entire VCTF unit -- and one spin will determine his next victim.

Episode credits

Guest stars Gary Stretch, Wanda De Jesus, Kim Darby, Michael C. Mahon, Debra Christofferson, Eric Fleeks, Brad Heller, AlgeRita Wynn

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Episode 9

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

Jan 4, 19971h7.0 / 10

When Native American chiefs are ritually murdered on the reservation, Sam and the team tiptoe around local suspicions and superstitions as the locals blame a 1,000-year-old spirit -- the Nacazanti -- and a perplexed Sam consults a tribal wise man (guest star Russell Means) to narrow the list of suspects. Back in the city, serial killer Jack-of-all-trades has an extra trump card after stealing Bailey's all-access FBI identification card.

Episode credits

Directed by Lewis TeagueGuest stars Russell Means, Pato Hoffmann, Irene Bedard, Tim Sampson, Frank Salsedo, April Breneman, Tripp Law

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Episode 10

Shattered Silence

Jan 11, 19971h8.0 / 10

The separate kidnappings of two high-profile doctors (guest stars Scott Koes, Buddy Farmer) and the evidence left behind leads Sam to believe that the prime suspect is a patient with an incurable medical condition who is driven to take desperate measures. Meanwhile, Bailey is riddled with guilt when he develops a mutual attraction with the wife (guest star Patricia Charbonneau) of one the missing men. In addition, serial killer Jack-of-all-trades continues his quest to isolate Sam by terrorizing Agent Nathan Brubaker. Morag Dickson guest-stars.

Episode credits

Directed by Sarah Pia AndersonGuest stars Patricia Charbonneau, Walter Olkewicz, Philip Tanzini, Herb Mitchell, Buddy Farmer, Joe J. Garcia, Morag Dickson, Scott Klace

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Episode 11

Doppelganger

Jan 18, 19971h8.0 / 10

Sam confronts inmate Arthur deRhodes (guest star Edward Albert, ""Beauty and the Beast""), a former adversary and serial slayer whom she helped put in a prison for the criminally insane years before, over a recent murder that bears striking similarities to his modus operandi. However, when another ritualistic murder occurs, Sam wonders whether the culprit could possibly be the clever deRhodes -- or a copycat killer. All bets are off when deRhodes eventually escapes, and no one is safe -- especially Sam. Robert Davi also stars.

Episode credits

Guest stars Edward Albert, Barry Cullison, Peter Dennis, Steve Larson, Michael Ensign, T.J. Kennedy, Marjory Graue, Cathrine Grace

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Episode 12

Learning from the Masters

Feb 1, 19971h8.0 / 10

When a series of murder victims are found arranged in elaborately staged tableaux, Sam deduces that the cold-blooded killer is replicating famous artworks with their lifeless forms. Her investigation plunges her into the avant-garde art world until she accidentally strays into the killer's lair, where he takes her hostage -- and prepares to use her for his latest three-dimensional ""masterpiece."" Meanwhile, Bailey gets chills when he discovers that clever serial killer Jack of All Trades has compromised the team's vital computer system. Julian McMahon co-stars.

Episode credits

Guest stars Brian Brophy, Tuck Milligan, Tom Towles, Tony Abatemarco, Jennifer Griffin, Gibby Brand, Jane Singer, Virginia Hamilton

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Episode 13

The House That Jack Built

Feb 8, 19971h8.0 / 10

When Jack of All Trades, the inventive but frighteningly elusive serial murderer stalking Sam continues to toy with members of the VCTF team and their families, Bailey orders everyone into the task force's bunker-like command center as they scramble to devise a trap to ensnare Jack. Since their technologically brilliant quarry delights in eavesdropping and seeing them almost everywhere, the frustrated team uses Sam and Agent Grant as bait to flush Jack out into the open.

Episode credits

Guest stars Craig Wasson, Norman Snow, Keith Coulouris, Patricia Fraser, Tricia Dong, Kinna Lindahl

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Episode 14

Shadow of Angels (1) (a.k.a. Noblesse Oblige)

Feb 15, 19971h8.0 / 10

In this 2-hour episode, Dr. Sam Waters and the VCTF team investigate a series of bizarre murders where the victims -- including a U.S. Senator -- are either crushed or strangled with silver coins. The investigation leads them to Charles Vanderhorn (guest star James Coburn, ""The Magnificent Seven"" and ""Our Man Flint""), an aloof but powerful billionaire heading a well-connected aristocratic family. Also joining the probe is Nick Cooper (new series regular A Martinez, ""L.A. Law""), a terrorist and explosives expert who is romantically attracted to Sam. As the VCTF learns that the tightly knit killers are on a unified mission to punish the corrupt and overextravagant, they face a more primary case in their pursuit of the serial slayer Jack of All Trades -- which leads to a Costa Rican hideout where he is cornered at last.

Episode credits

Guest stars Alexander Zale, A Martinez, Harrison Page, James Coburn, Greg Coolidge, Don Handfield, Geoffrey Infeld, Carole Ita White

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Episode 15

Shadow of Angels (2) (a.k.a. Gestalt)

Feb 15, 19971h8.0 / 10

In this 2-hour episode, Dr. Sam Waters and the VCTF team investigate a series of bizarre murders where the victims -- including a U.S. Senator -- are either crushed or strangled with silver coins. The investigation leads them to Charles Vanderhorn (guest star James Coburn, ""The Magnificent Seven"" and ""Our Man Flint""), an aloof but powerful billionaire heading a well-connected aristocratic family. Also joining the probe is Nick Cooper (new series regular A Martinez, ""L.A. Law""), a terrorist and explosives expert who is romantically attracted to Sam. As the VCTF learns that the tightly knit killers are on a unified mission to punish the corrupt and overextravagant, they face a more primary case in their pursuit of the serial slayer Jack of All Trades -- which leads to a Costa Rican hideout where he is cornered at last.

Episode credits

Guest stars A Martinez, Tom Everett, James Coburn, Greg Coolidge, Don Handfield, Geoffrey Infeld, Dennis Christopher, Peter Crombie

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Episode 16

Film at 11

Mar 8, 19971h8.0 / 10

Sam and the task force probe a series of ghastly murders which are carefully videotaped and sent to TV newsrooms by the vigilante slayer (guest star Ron Kuhlman) who announces that the crimes are righteous retribution against guilty people who slip through the judicial system. When a young woman (guest star Sherri Howard) is kidnapped and thought to still be alive, the accelerated investigation narrows to former law students with strong opinions about crime and punishment.

Episode credits

Guest stars Colette Kilroy, Norman Snow, Dennis Christopher, Richard Zobel, Pat Crawford Brown, Lawrence Dobkin, Ron Kuhlman, Steven Dennis

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Episode 17

Crisis

Mar 22, 19971h7.0 / 10

Sam is taken hostage by a zealous anti-nuclear scientist (guest star Robert Sampson) and a cadre of steely commandos after they capture a banquet room full of Washington, D.C. brass, and vow to kill them unless the President agrees to meet their demands to ban the bomb. When Bailey and the task force attack, the terrorists escape and are cornered in an airplane hanger, where a desperate Sam tries to ""profile"" the anguished scientist -- hoping to find a common bond that might save both their lives. A Martinez, Julian McMahon co-star

Episode credits

Guest stars Heather McComb, Don Stewart, Jason Behr, A Martinez, Dennis Christopher, Pat Crawford Brown, Robert Sampson, William Bogert

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Episode 18

Blue Highway

Apr 5, 19971h8.0 / 10

Sam and the VCTF investigate a series of fatal hit-and-run auto accidents on remote highways where the only clues are abandoned car hulks, a pattern which leads Sam to suspect a trucker (guest star Jim Wilky) who is reliving a traumatic accident from his childhood. Elsewhere: George is mugged and nearly killed in a video store holdup; Bailey feels responsible for his wayward teenaged daughter (guest star Heather McComb) when she hangs out with a rough crowd; Angel is very appreciative when John speaks to her art class

Episode credits

Guest stars Heather McComb, Michael Galeota, John Mahon, Dennis Christopher, James Parks, Victor Williams, Clement Blake, Kate Williamson

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Episode 19

FTX: Field Training Exercise

Apr 12, 19971h8.0 / 10

The task force comes under intense scrutiny when the FBI suspects that an insider is selling covert information, so a reluctant Bailey agrees to a mock field training exercise designed to root out the mole -- but he learns too late that one of the agents (guest star Michael Gaston) has a personal grudge against him. When one senior investigator (guest star Jack Conley) is found murdered in the command center, Sam tries to profile which one of the team's edgy members might benefit the most from trading FBI secrets. Meanwhile, Grace goes public with some personal news, and Nathan stands at the crossroads of the future of his bumpy marriage.

Episode credits

Guest stars Michael Gaston, Colette Kilroy, Gibby Brand, Dennis Christopher, Gina Torres, Jack Conley, Rick Snyder, David Brisbin

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Episode 20

Into the Abyss

Apr 26, 19971h7.0 / 10

A burned-out Sam takes somber note of a psychic-turned-author (guest star Leland Crooke) whose cooperation with police in solving serial murders has taken a heavy toll on his emotional stability -- and worst of all, he's targeted by a serial slayer (guest star Dayna Gladstone) intent on putting him out of his misery. Back at the command center, John chafes under Bailey's strict policy and hard-nosed code of secrecy. Bailey has more problems at home when he attempts to rein in his trouble-prone teenaged daughter (Heather McComb).

Episode credits

Guest stars Heather McComb, Kathryn Joosten, Dennis Christopher, James Handy, Leland Crooke, Dana Gladstone, Robert Machray, Dino Meminger

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Episode 21

Venom (1)

May 10, 19971h8.0 / 10

Sam (Ally Walker) and the VCTF team are taunted by a diabolical serial killer (guest star Lori Petty, ""Free Willy"") who prefers to use a variety of exotic poisonous spiders and animals to kill her victims, while providing her pursuers with cryptic clues to her next murder. A frustrated Bailey (Robert Davi) is further irritated by a sexy private investigator (guest star Joan Severance, ""Wiseguy"") who tries to aid the VCTF, but it's the unit's chief nemesis--a jealous Jack of All Trades--who ironically can help the most. Elsewhere, Bailey asks Cooper (A Martinez) to replace John (Julian McMahon) on the team, and later takes drastic measures to curb his carousing daughter (Heather McComb).

Episode credits

Directed by James Whitmore Jr.Guest stars Heather McComb, A Martinez, Dennis Christopher, James Handy, Lori Petty, Joan Severance, Rick Casorla, Ping Wu

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Episode 22

Venom (2)

May 10, 19971h8.0 / 10finale

Sam (Ally Walker) and the VCTF team are taunted by a diabolical serial killer (guest star Lori Petty, ""Free Willy"") who prefers to use a variety of exotic poisonous spiders and animals to kill her victims, while providing her pursuers with cryptic clues to her next murder. A frustrated Bailey (Robert Davi) is further irritated by a sexy private investigator (guest star Joan Severance, ""Wiseguy"") who tries to aid the VCTF, but it's the unit's chief nemesis--a jealous Jack of All Trades--who ironically can help the most. Elsewhere, Bailey asks Cooper (A Martinez) to replace John (Julian McMahon) on the team, and later takes drastic measures to curb his carousing daughter (Heather McComb).

Episode credits

Guest stars Heather McComb, Colette Kilroy, A Martinez, Dennis Christopher, James Handy, Lori Petty, Joan Severance, Ed Brigadier

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Episode information updated Jul 24, 2026

More about Profiler

Watch trailer"Profiler" TV Intro

Cast

Ally WalkerSamantha Waters

Jamie LunerRachel Burke

Robert DaviBailey Malone

Julian McMahonJohn Grant

Roma MaffiaGrace Alvarez

Peter FrechetteGeorge Fraley

Michael WhaleyNathan Brubaker

Erica GimpelAngel Brown

Credits

Written by: Lawrence Hertzog

Production details

Status: Ended
Series type: Scripted
Episodes: 83
Original language: English

Networks & production

NBCUnited States
Three Putt Productions
NBC EnterprisesUnited States
NBC StudiosUnited States

Themes

atlantacrime investigationdetectivefbiforensic psychologistgood versus evilpolice profilingserial killer

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