About this season
In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to convict the perpetrator by proving the person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Working together, these expert teams navigate all sides of the complex criminal justice system to make New York a safer place.
Episodes (23)
1. Bitter Fruit
7.9Aired 20 September 1995 • 48 min
Briscoe and his new partner, Det. Reynaldo Curtis, investigate the murder of a young girl who disappeared between school and her music lesson, with a blurry film from an ATM machine as their clue.
2. Rebels
7.4Aired 27 September 1995 • 48 min
Briscoe and Curtis have a hard time finding cooperative witnesses when investigating the murder of a college student at a rough biker bar.
3. Savages
8.1Aired 18 October 1995 • 47 min
McCoy and Kincaid clash over the death penalty as McCoy prosecutes a man who murdered an undercover cop during a drug bust.
4. Jeopardy
7.9Aired 1 November 1995 • 48 min
A triple murder at a magazine publishing company leads to a case of sibling rivalry, a protective matriarch and a corrupt judge.
5. Hot Pursuit
7.9Aired 8 November 1995 • 47 min
When the detectives solve a series of murders committed by a holdup team in ski masks, McCoy must determine whether a young woman found with them is an unwilling hostage, or an active participant in the crimes.
6. Paranoia
7.7Aired 15 November 1995 • 47 min
Briscoe and Curtis try to solve a co-ed's murder after a graphic description appears online, while McCoy finds himself up against a lawyer who is reluctant to reveal elements of her client's past.
7. Humiliation
6.7Aired 22 November 1995 • 47 min
The investigation into a prostitute's murder leads to a married plastic surgeon as the obvious suspect, but Kincaid has a hunch that an elaborate frame-up is in play.
8. Angel
7.9Aired 29 November 1995 • 48 min
A mother claiming that her baby was kidnapped while she was at confession retraces her steps and actions with Curtis, which raises legal questions later when her attorney introduces a unique defense.
9. Blood Libel
7.5Aired 3 January 1996 • 48 min
A hidden anti-Semitic message in a high school yearbook offers a clue to an art teacher's murder and leads to a case that matches McCoy against "Klan lawyer" Roy Payne.
10. Remand
7.9Aired 10 January 1996 • 47 min
The victim in a 30-year-old rape and stabbing case is fearful when information received by Briscoe and Curtis creates the possibility of a new trial for the perpetrator.
11. Corpus Delicti
7.6Aired 17 January 1996 • 48 min
The death of a show horse leads to a trial involving insurance fraud, a sting operation and a wealthy woman's disappearance.
12. Trophy
8.4Aired 31 January 1996 • 47 min
McCoy finds that his career is on the line when his former female assistant and ex lover accuses him of forging evidence that helped put an innocent man in prison.
13. Charm City (I)
8.1Aired 7 February 1996 • 48 min
A subway station gas attack, similar to one that took place in a Baltimore church five years earlier, brings Baltimore detectives Tim Bayliss and Frank Pembleton to New York to assist Briscoe and Curtis. This crossover continues on Homicide: Life on the Street S04E12 For God and Country (II).
14. Custody
7.5Aired 21 February 1996 • 47 min
Paul Robinette places the system on trial when he defends a young black woman accused of kidnapping her biological baby from his white, adoptive parents.
15. Encore
8.1Aired 28 February 1996 • 47 min
A jogger killed in Central Park turns out to be the second wife of a former comedy club owner, who was acquitted of killing his first wife. And convicting him this time may hinge on tracing the path of a Columbian coin used as a subway token slug.
16. Savior
7.8Aired 13 March 1996 • 47 min
A down-on-his-luck ad executive becomes the prime suspect when his wife and son are killed, and his daughter wounded on a night that he claims was spent drinking.
17. Deceit
6.0Aired 27 March 1996 • 48 min
When a young attorney is murdered shortly after he decides to file a sexual harassment claim against his employer, Briscoe and Curtis quickly discover that the alleged harasser and his wife each have an excellent motive for murder.
18. Atonement
7.7Aired 10 April 1996 • 47 min
The investigation into the murder of a model with a passion for cocaine and partying focuses on the men in her life -- a nightclub owner, a basketball player, a photographer and a limousine driver.
19. Slave
8.0Aired 21 April 1996 • 47 min
A woman is shot while sleeping, and the investigation leads the police to a boy whose crack-addicted mother has entrusted him to a dealer's care.
20. Girlfriends
6.1Aired 1 May 1996 • 47 min
After a college co-ed's body is found, the detectives look for a campus rapist, but the medical examiner's report puts them on a different path, one involving prostitution.
21. Pro Se
8.6Aired 8 May 1996 • 48 min
The investigation into multiple homicides at a clothing store leads to the arrest of a schizophrenic who presents McCoy with a formidable opponent when he decides to represent himself.
22. Homesick
7.9Aired 15 May 1996 • 48 min
After an infant is found dead in his crib, it's determined he was poisoned, and all evidence points to the child's au pair.
23. Aftershock
7.7Aired 22 May 1996 • 47 min
After Briscoe, Curtis, McCoy, and Kincaid witness the execution of a criminal they brought to justice, their unique reactions to the event culminate in personal tragedies for each of them.