"Cold Case Files" True Crime Series Getting Reboot on A&E
by Denise Petski
January 19, 2017


A&E Network is resurrecting its Emmy-nominated true crime series "Cold Case Files". The network will premiere the rebooted 10-episode series Monday, February 27 at 9 PM, with Danny Glover as narrator.

From Blumhouse Television and independent production studio AMPLE, the new "Cold Case Files" will explore compelling new cases that have gone cold for years and chronicle the journeys of the detectives who reopened them. The detectives relive the events of the crimes, reveal new twists and revelations, relying on breakthroughs in forensic technology and the influence of social media to help crack the cases.

Each hourlong episode will feature a single case that has been left unsolved for years, with cinematic dramatizations and first-person storytelling from the detectives and loved ones who lived through the harrowing experiences.





Spanning 125 episodes, "Cold Case Files" originally premiered on A&E in 1998 and ran for nearly 10 years. It quickly became the network’s highest rated series, while also being nominated for two Emmys for Outstanding Nonfiction Series.

“’Cold Case Files’ remains one of A&E’s most beloved and successful series of all time,” said Elaine Frontain Bryant, Executive Vice President & Head of Programming for A&E. “The new creative team has infused the franchise with a rejuvenated approach to storytelling at a time when true crime investigation is capturing the nation’s attention more than ever.”

http://deadline.com/2017/01/cold-case-files-true-crime-series-reboot-ae-1201889745/

Yay so exciting! Too bad they won't have Bill Kurtis as the narrator, but I'll take it.

Very cool! I loved Cold case files!;)
Bill Kurt is was awesome! He had the perfect voice !;)

Eh. Meh.

I'm really glad that they're doing this new season, but it really doesn't hold a candle to the original series. There's definitely a different feel to this new series, and it seems like it would have had a better fit on Investigation Discovery. The only thing that makes it comparable to the original run is the name and that it's airing on A&E, in my opinion.

That being said, I'm glad that A&E is in a way returning to this true crime genre that made them so great back in the day, with American Justice and Investigative Reports along side Cold Case Files. I miss those days. :(

I'm looking forward to what other cases they'll be covering over the next several episodes, and I hope that A&E continues in this direction.

The original show with Bill had a procedural/short news report feel to it that I liked. You got to see crime photos and the interviews were straightforward. This new show has a different vibe with the reenactments, music and lighting. I prefer the original and I'm a little disappointed, but I'm going to give it a chance.

The original show with Bill had a procedural/short news report feel to it that I liked. You got to see crime photos and the interviews were straightforward. This new show has a different vibe with the reenactments, music and lighting. I prefer the original and I'm a little disappointed, but I'm going to give it a chance.

I share your sentiment. It looks too different. It's like wanting an orange soda, but you get orange sparkling water instead. The news report feel was an essential quality to the original series and it's absent in the new version. When I heard that the show was being "rebooted," I suspected it was going to look a lot different from the original, and my suspicion was correct. But what heightened my suspicion was learning that Bill Kurtis' production company, Kurtis Productions, would have no involvement in the new series, which confirmed that Bill Kurtis would have no involvement whatsoever.

Since only 10 episodes were ordered for the current season, I plan to watch the remaining nine episodes. I'm trying to give the new CCF a chance, but it's not easy.

Definitely seems like a different show. The other problem is, much like with Robert Stack, once you have someone as talented and as unique as Bill Kurtis hosting - it's hard for anyone else to fill their shoes, and Danny Glover is so different.

Totally agree Danny Glover (as awesome as he is) just seems like such an odd choice of narrator, when there's scores of other available people who could do a better job. Sorry, Danny. I know narrators of our favorite shows are such a hot topic, but I wouldn't have had pegged him as the new narrator. I mean, Bill Kurtis is alive and kicking. I wonder if he and A&E had some sort of falling out as his focus has been American Greed on CNBC as well as the Decades Network?

Anyways... I'm watching this past week's episode and twice now there's been an off-camera interjection from a wife or significant other while they're interviewing a main character to the story, in this case it's Susan Lemoi, who is Dennis Hadaller's wife, interrupting about Dennis Hadaller's night terrors. Dennis Hadaller is speaking about the unsolved murder of his grandparents. I don't know why it bugs me so much, but why include this? It doesn't add anything to the final cut. It just seems like a messy, dangling thread that serves no purpose. I dunno, it's bad editing.

Sorry to be so opinionated about this new season/incarnation, but at least the stories included in the past two episodes have been interesting.

Totally agree Danny Glover (as awesome as he is) just seems like such an odd choice of narrator, when there's scores of other available people who could do a better job. Sorry, Danny. I know narrators of our favorite shows are such a hot topic, but I wouldn't have had pegged him as the new narrator. I mean, Bill Kurtis is alive and kicking. I wonder if he and A&E had some sort of falling out as his focus has been American Greed on CNBC as well as the Decades Network?

If there had been a falling out between Bill Kurtis and A&E, is not widely known. But I think it was merely a case of Kurtis moving on after the expiration of his contract with A&E. But the fact that he is working for other networks could have been an issue. He launched American Greed for CNBC in 2007, by which time his A&E shows were already ending or had ended. With American Greed still in production for CNBC to this day, Kurtis may not have been able to return to A&E for the new Cold Case Files, since CNBC is one of A&E's competitors. In fact, when Kurtis developed American Greed ten years ago, his contract with A&E at the time prevented him from narrating that show (leading to the hiring of Stacy Keach).

Anyways... I'm watching this past week's episode and twice now there's been an off-camera interjection from a wife or significant other while they're interviewing a main character to the story, in this case it's Susan Lemoi, who is Dennis Hadaller's wife, interrupting about Dennis Hadaller's night terrors. Dennis Hadaller is speaking about the unsolved murder of his grandparents. I don't know why it bugs me so much, but why include this? It doesn't add anything to the final cut. It just seems like a messy, dangling thread that serves no purpose. I dunno, it's bad editing.

Sorry to be so opinionated about this new season/incarnation, but at least the stories included in the past two episodes have been interesting.

That's okay. There are obviously a lot of people who are having trouble warming up to the new show, because of the new style. Overall, it's not a bad style; it's just bad for the show. The style of the original series was far better and gave the show generally more authenticity as a documentary.

Not bad but definitely a decline. Too much like a standard true crime show of this era, as opposed to the original version which had more of a documentary feel and substantial weight.

It reminds me of a perfectly good website that is butchered when it was redesigned for no reason at all. Change for the sake of change.

I'll continue my emphasis that none of this is as sophisticated as we're led to believe. The Shauna Howe case from the opening episode of this new version of Cold Case Files should have been solved nearly a decade earlier if not for a basic screw up by detectives. A nearly identical abduction occurred three years after Shauna's abduction and murder, on the same route Shauna took. Fortunately the young girl escaped. She identified her attackers, one of two brothers with a bad reputation and long criminal history. The O'Brien brothers were briefly considered for involvement in the Shauna Howe case until a member of the department insists they couldn't have done it, since they were in jail at the time.

Nobody bothers to check on the accuracy of that. Why wasn't I surprised? At the end of the program we're told it was indeed the O'Briens, based on a conclusive DNA match. They had bonded out of jail and were out on the streets at the time of Shauna Howe's murder. Whoops.

Too much like a standard true crime show of this era, as opposed to the original version which had more of a documentary feel and substantial weight.

Exactly. The things that made Cold Case Files unique and stand on its own were tossed out the window. One of the easiest ways (if not the easiest way) to ruin a TV show like that is to turn it into a standard looking show. The new look isn't bad - it's just bad for CCF. My prediction is that the new series will flop.

It reminds me of a perfectly good website that is butchered when it was redesigned for no reason at all. Change for the sake of change.

Needless to say, the sake of change is a bad reason to change. It's like serving people their favorite soft drink for many years and then suddenly you decide to change the flavor in the name of change.

I see that it was a 10-episode order, yet only 5 aired. Any word if the remaining episodes will air or did they cancel it when they saw us all bitching about it? :lol:

Edit: looks like it's returning Thursday, May 25th, with "The Night Shift" as episode 5.

http://www.aetv.com/shows/cold-case-files-2017

New Cold Cases files on A&E at this moment. Bill Kurtis the narrator!

New Cold Cases files on A&E at this moment. Bill Kurtis the narrator!

Thanks for mentioning this. I didn't see the episode but after reading your post I searched and it will be replayed Thursday at 4 PM Eastern. There's a new episode that night, also with Kurtis listed as narrator, and likewise the following Thursday.

I wonder if this was planned all along or if they switched to Kurtis in midstream to save the renewed series after the early episodes disappointed?

Thanks for mentioning this. I didn't see the episode but after reading your post I searched and it will be replayed Thursday at 4 PM Eastern. There's a new episode that night, also with Kurtis listed as narrator, and likewise the following Thursday.

I wonder if this was planned all along or if they switched to Kurtis in midstream to save the renewed series after the early episodes disappointed?

I'm inclined to think it wasn't planned and it's an attempt to save the series. When I watched the reboot, I wasn't as invested. The original, using actual photos and filmed in a news documentary style, made it seemed more urgent and definitely added realism. Not everything has to be flashy reenactments with over-the-top acting like in the ID shows. I think more and more viewers want their crime shows to be more along the lines of The Next 48 and Snapped where the focus is on the crime and the people involved, with facts stated as opposed to soap opera theatrics.

I'm inclined to think it wasn't planned and it's an attempt to save the series.

Definitely correct. I just watched the first new "Bill Kurtis" episode tonight. I put his name in quotation marks because he is the narrator in technical terms only. A&E should be embarrassed to market it that way.

Kurtis has very little to do with these episodes, at least based on the one that debuted on May 25 and I watched on rerun tonight. His voice was heard for maybe 60 or 90 seconds total, if I had to estimate. Otherwise the detective on the case was the true narrator throughout, with assist from the brother of the victim. This was a 1984 case in Utah at a gas station. I have seen it covered previously on another true crime program.

They didn't even do a competent job of disguising their patchwork intentions while using Kurtis. As soon as I noticed that Kurtis was narrator only at the outset, I said to myself, "Don't tell me they are going to sloppily throw him in for a few seconds in the middle and then again at the end."

Yep. That's exactly what happened. I don't doubt they'll do the same for the remaining episodes. That's why they were pulled from the initial schedule and delayed for a month or two. Somebody in charge wasn't happy with the initial product and/or the ratings/reviews so they made a proposal to Kurtis and edited the already produced episodes. Note at the end of the show on the credits there are a couple of "Post Production Supervisors" listed and most notably a "Re-Recording Mixer" named.

I will say the episode was superior to the early versions of the renewal, with or without Kurtis. But if they are going to rely on detectives and relatives to narrate the vast majority of the show then naturally you're subject to wild fluctuation in caliber from week to week.

I'm inclined to think it wasn't planned and it's an attempt to save the series.

I'm inclined to agree. Judging from articles at the Show Buzz Daily web site, it is painfully clear that the new Cold Case Files is in trouble. The articles in question are of ratings performances of first-run cable programs, and the articles that I came across show that CCF has been consistently garnering less than a million viewers per episode. Not only is it a bad sign, but it validates your suspicion about the return of Bill Kurtis.

http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/?s=Cold+case+files

A&E has taken it even further. I guess it was predictable although I didn't think about it.

They have gone back and edited the episodes from earlier this year, adding Kurtis as narrator. I'm watching one from March 16 right now. Kurtis is now credited as narrator. He offered perhaps one sentence at the beginning of the episode. It's only 6 or 7 minutes into the rerun of the episode as I'm typing this, but I'm sure it will be the same patchwork -- Kurtis used briefly in middle and end.

Quite pathetic, A&E. I don't like your chances with this series.

I just caught this new show one of the last few days. I'm glad I read this thread with the update that Kurtis is now on the show because I swore I heard him, but I still didn't like the new format of these shows. I don't know if I didn't see the whole thing or what, but Kurtis seemed to be way underutilized. I only heard him right at the very end of the show, there wasn't any other narration that I heard. I didn't even realize I was watching Cold Case Files until I looked up at one of the commercial breaks and it had the title when it came back on. They should not call this Cold Case Files, it doesn't feel like the same show at all, even with Kurtis back narrating it.

They should not call this Cold Case Files, it doesn't feel like the same show at all, even with Kurtis back narrating it.

You can say that again. Calling it "Cold Case Files" is a joke (unless the title includes the words, "In Name Only"). Investigation Discovery did a better job at giving us a cold case documentary series with reenactments; that show was called Murder Book.

On Sunday May 27th, starting at 1 PM/12 PM Central, the Justice Network is having a marathon of some of the episodes from the first season. I haven't seen a lot of these air in the past several years I've been watching, and one in particular, "Burning Secret/Justice Delayed," never aired on Bio in reruns. That's one of the rarest episodes out there, and pretty good too.