Without a Trace

FavoritedFavorite 326
CBS (ended 2009)
EDIT

Show Summary

  • Ended
Without a Trace is a fast-paced procedural drama about the Missing Persons Squad of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The sole responsibility of the special task force is to find missing persons by applying advanced psychological profiling techniques to peel back the layers of the victims' lives and trace their whereabouts in an effort to discover whether they have been abducted, been murdered, committed suicide or simply run away. The team reconstructs a "Day of Disappearance" timeline that details every minute of the 24 hours prior to the disappearance, following one simple rule: learn who the victim is in order to learn where the victim is. Senior agent Jack Malone (Anthony LaPaglia) heads the dedicated team that knows too well that every second counts when someone vanishes. His squad includes Samantha Spade (Poppy Montgomery), an agent who doesn't let her good looks get in the way of being tough; Vivian Johnson (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), a no-nonsense investigator; Danny Taylor (Enrique Murciano), an intense and private agent; and Martin Fitzgerald (Eric Close), the newest member of the team, considered a lightweight by the squad because his only experience involves fighting white-collar crime. In six seasons, much has happened. Martin Fitzgerald is no longer considered the lightweight he once was, having earned the respect of the team through his solid work. Jack Malone has been through many ups and downs and now finds himself in a bad position following the mishandling of a case. Vivian Johnson has proven herself, and a new agent has been welcomed into the ranks -- Elena Delgado (Roselyn Snchez), a Hispanic female agent who came on in the program's fourth season as the squad faced ever-increasing demands on its time and resources. A former member of the NYPD, she is already known to Danny and their connection grows as the series progresses. Without a Trace aired Thursday nights on CBS from its premiere in 2002 until the 2006-2007 season. CBS moved it to Sunday nights for one season, before moving it back to its regular Thursday slot for season six. The program now airs in its new timeslot of Tuesdays at 10 P.M. Viewers can catch the seventh season of the program in this timeslot beginning September 23, 2008. Repeats of [i]Without a Trace[/i] also air regularly on TNT. The first and second seasons of the program have been released on DVD in the United States, with latter seasons available only in other markets.moreless
8.8
out of 10
Avg Rating: Great
4,191 votes
  • Your Rating: 10
    "Perfect"
  • Your Rating: 9.5
    "Superb"
  • Your Rating: 9
    "Superb"
  • Your Rating: 8.5
    "Great"
  • Your Rating: 8
    "Great"
  • Your Rating: 7.5
    "Good"
  • Your Rating: 7
    "Good"
  • Your Rating: 6.5
    "Fair"
  • Your Rating: 6
    "Fair"
  • Your Rating: 5.5
    "Mediocre"
  • Your Rating: 5
    "Mediocre"
  • Your Rating: 4.5
    "Poor"
  • Your Rating: 4
    "Poor"
  • Your Rating: 3.5
    "Bad"
  • Your Rating: 3
    "Bad"
  • Your Rating: 2.5
    "Terrible"
  • Your Rating: 2
    "Terrible"
  • Your Rating: 1.5
    "Abysmal"
  • Your Rating: 1
    "Abysmal"
Rate Now!

Episode Guide

See All
S 7 :  Ep 24 Aired 5/19/09
S 7 :  Ep 23 Aired 5/12/09
S 7 :  Ep 22 Aired 5/5/09
S 7 :  Ep 21 Aired 4/28/09
S 7 :  Ep 20 Aired 4/14/09

Cast & Crew

See All EDIT

Watch Without a Trace Full Episodes

See All

Without a Trace News

See All

Fan Reviews (141)

See All

  • A good idea for a show...

    7.5
    "Good"
    By emeraldcity, May 17, 2012
    ...considering all the people who do go missing in this society. It has notable theme music and is a well thought out show in general. Interestingly several of the main characters are not played by North Americans, I believe...Too bad it is on so late, well past my bedtime. The only drawbacks I can think of in terms of the content of the show itself is the male leads character is a bit too staid to be actually likeable. Oh well. I remember seeing him as a gangster years ago in a film...big difference compared to this show.moreless

  • Well written, great actors, great stories...

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By T_VFan, Apr 07, 2012
    Compelling to watch. Mind boggling. Great visuals!

  • Simply amazing! The best crime show on tv!

    10
    "Perfect"
    By anacarina, Jan 30, 2011
    I discoverd Without a Trace in it's third season, and since then i have watched every episode several times over. It is one of those shows that will never be boring, because it's well written, the actors are really good, once in a while has some good action and the characters' personal life are well explored. Sometimes some cases seems to be so simple and it becomes so big and hard to solve, that they have to go deep on the missing's person life, and it might reveals a lot of dark secrets. My favourite crime show. Simply the best! Bye.moreless

  • OMG - The Casting in this show has gone to the dogs!

    8.0
    "Great"
    By joseesauve, Oct 09, 2010
    OK...I've been a fan since the beginning and love it. But what is UP with casting? I tried to find the girls' names but couldn't in the casting but let's see - In "Wanted", Sasha Pieterse plays 13 year old Daphne Stevens who is 13. Even though Sasah is turning 13 this year, she looks 19. Compared to her little friend from school (couldn't find her name... but she looked 13 at least). It doesn't matter that Sasha is 13, it was not believable because of her appearance. I couldn't concentrate on the episode at all! Then, in the episode right after "Believe Me", we have Hayley McFarland plays 15 year old Amy Gilroy. I can't find any info on this actress online but she looked about 11. Again, I could not concentrate on this show cuz the casting was so bad. This is not the first time I notice but the first time I see back to back HORRIBLE Casting. Wake Up Casting Dept...losing interest......losing focus.moreless

  • Great concept, great acting, well put together. Everything was great, until the endings. The show never managed to bring it all the way home. An unfortunate waste of a great opportunity that ultimately more than justified the show's cancellation.moreless

    7.0
    "Good"
    By intimidationcap, Aug 26, 2010
    Let me begin by saying that there was a lot to like about this show. The cast was about as well cast as any on American television (at least mainstream television) at the time. The characters were all well developed and they played off each other wonderfully. The concept was great. There really wasn't, and isn't, anything like it on the air; a group of investigators following the last steps of a missing person(s), trying to find them. The visuals were beautiful. So where's the problem? The endings. Virtually every episode ended the exact same way, with the person(s) being found. It stills baffles me as to why CBS/Jerry Bruckheimer/Hank Steinberg didn't get this, but you simply can't construct a show, in particular this show, this way. The whole point of the show is to find out what happened to a missing person. If you already know before the episode begins that the person is going to be found, than half of the suspense ends before the episode even begins. And that is not a good thing. It would have been SO easy to just let the missing person die a few times, throw in a few more twists as to what happened to them, aka. not always let them be found. Had they done this, voila, you've got a great show. But no, they stuck to formula and it just didn't work.

    I still score this show fairly high at 7/10 because the acting, in particular Anthony LaPaglia who won a Golden Globe for his performance in this show, and the writing and overall concept were good enough that they needed to be recognized. It really is too bad that the show didn't go the little step further and become a really great show.

    Just a random side note, but I've been seeing a lot of people claiming that Roselyn Sanchez ruined the show. I completely disagree with this. I thought she did a perfectly fine job with her character.moreless
WRITE A REVIEW
 

Without a Trace Forums


Add a Topic See All
Last Activity
Replies

Photos

See All

Related Shows

Contributors

Become a contributor
More
Less

TV Listings

Full Listings

More Info About This Show

Categories

Drama, Suspense

Themes

assassination, callous rebellion, child hero, children in adult situations, controversial

TV.com Properties | Shows | Videos | News | Listings | Forums | People | Photos | TV.com Blog

CBS Entertainment | About TV.com | About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2012 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Ad Choice | Terms of Use