Plot Synopsis

AMERICAN DETECTIVE WITH LT. JOE KENDA is a docuseries that follows Lt. Joe Kenda, as he trades in his own case files to bring viewers astounding investigations from across the country, with each episode featuring a different homicide detective whose tireless efforts helped put a killer behind bars and bring justice for the victim. Three 40-minute episodes of AMERICAN DETECTIVE premiered on Monday, January 4, 2021 on discovery+, the same day the streaming service launched. Three days earlier -- on Friday, January 1, 2021 -- at 10pm ET/PT, Investigation Discovery debuted a 15-minute sneak peek of the series. AMERICAN DETECTIVE had its linear TV premiere on Wednesday, July 14, 2021 at 9pm ET/PT on Investigation Discovery. In the series opener, "Fourteen Stories Down," when a promising young realtor plunges to his death from the 14th story of a trendy Miami high-rise, first responders assume suicide. But Det Joe Schillaci suspects foul play and follows a series of clues to the bloodied body of a second victim.

The second season of AMERICAN DETECTIVE WITH LT. JOE KENDA debuted on Wednesday, January 26, 2022, as discovery+ released the first two episodes of the new season. The first episode dropping features the work of Det. James Colley from Antioch, California. To solve the murder of a hard-working father of five, he must untangle a web of twisted relationships and bizarre fantasies. The additional episode available will showcase the work of Sgt. Garritt Kelly (Fmr.) with East Hampton, Connecticut. When a home health care aide is found floating in a rural creek, Det. Kelly is tasked with bringing justice to a community gripped by fear. But he will need to employ burgeoning forensic technology to secure a conviction. A new episode debuts each Wednesday thereafter.

Season 3 of AMERICAN DETECTIVE WITH LT. JOE KENDA premiered on Wednesday, July 6, 2022 at 10pm ET/PT on Investigation Discovery. In the season opener, "Body Parts," two South Carolina women make unthinkably horrifying discoveries on their doorsteps, including ominous death threats and trash bags containing severed human appendages.

The fourth season of the series, now called HOMICIDE HUNTER: AMERICAN DETECTIVE, debuted on Wednesday, January 25, 2023 at 10pm ET/PT on Investigation Discovery. In the premiere episode, "Prodigal Son," hardworking father of five lies dead on his kitchen floor with a bullet to the back of the head. To get to the bottom of the mystery, Det. James Colley must untangle a web of twisted relationships and bizarre fantasies.
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Season 5 of the series debuted on Wednesday, May 29, 2024 at 9pm ET/PT on Investigation Discovery. Hosted by true crime superstar Lt Joe Kenda, each episode of HOMICIDE HUNTER: AMERICAN DETECTIVE continues to showcase an intrepid investigator who put it all on the line to solve one unforgettable case, and walks viewers through their tireless efforts to find justice for the dead. In the two-hour season opener, "It Begins with One," when a young woman turns up dead in south Texas, Captain Federico Calderon fears the killer has disappeared into Mexico; as more bodies turn up, investigators pick up on the trail of a serial killer, leading to a showdown in the streets of Laredo.