Without a Trace

The series follows the ventures of a Missing Persons Unit of the FBI in New York City.

Without a Trace (2002-2009) is an American network police procedural created by Hank Steinberg for CBS. Anthony LaPaglia plays Jack Malone, the veteran supervising agent of an FBI Missing Persons Unit in New York City, leading a team that includes Poppy Montgomery as Samantha Spade, Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Vivian Johnson, and Enrique Murciano as Danny Taylor. Each episode opens with a person who has simply disappeared from an ordinary life, and the agents race through interviews, records, and street-level footwork to find them before the trail goes cold. The engine is the case itself: a single missing person, a family waiting for answers, and a clock that keeps ticking. Across seven seasons and roughly 160 episodes, the show follows a steady case-of-the-week rhythm, with the team's personal lives threaded lightly through the investigations. Its tone is measured and sober, with an emotional weight that comes from the families left behind rather than from spectacle. The city is a constant presence, and the mood is that of a patient, methodical hunt. Fans of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, Criminal Minds, and Cold Case will find a familiar resonance in its procedural craft and its focus on the human cost of unexplained disappearances.

Audiences rate the series as mixed but solid, valuing its steady missing-persons case-of-the-week format and the ensemble of FBI agents.

• Law & Order: Special Victims Unitshared police procedural format, missing persons case of the week, new york city setting
• Criminal Mindsshared federal investigator procedural structure and case-driven episodes
• Cold Caseshared case-of-the-week investigative mystery with a team of specialists

Created by

Hank Steinberg

Release Date

2002-09-26

Episode runtime

43 min

Rating

7.0 / 10 (284)

What is Without a Trace about?

An FBI Missing Persons Unit in New York City hunts for people who have vanished without a trace.

What is Without a Trace like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Without a Trace as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as simple.

Is Without a Trace violent?

Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Without a Trace as mild.

What did critics think of Without a Trace?

Audiences rate the series as mixed but solid, valuing its steady missing-persons case-of-the-week format and the ensemble of FBI agents.

Which shows are like Without a Trace?

Shows with a similar feel include Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Criminal Minds, and Cold Case.

How long is Without a Trace?

Without a Trace: 7 seasons, 160 episodes.

Is Without a Trace still running?

No, Without a Trace has ended.

Where can I watch Without a Trace?

In United States, Without a Trace is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home.