After The First 48 Is Highlighting The First 48’s Biggest Disappointment

A new season of After the First 48 has premiered on A&E, giving fans fresh episodes of the best spinoff in true crime. Unfortunately, the return of the series is also drawing renewed attention to the biggest letdown in the history of The First 48: the exit of Mobile Homicide from that show’s lineup.

The latest batch of After the First 48 episodes includes updates on cases in Mobile, which is giving fans a second chance to see one of the best homicide units that has ever been featured on The First 48. Audiences are getting to hear from the likes of fan-favorite Corporal Jermaine Rogers and Sergeant Kenneth Gillespie one more time and to look back on some of the most memorable investigations that took place in Mobile.

But that all came crashing to a halt when then-police chief Paul Prine decided to end the Mobile Police Department’s association with the TV show, criticizing how it represented the city. Prine—who, it’s worth noting, is no longer Mobile’s chief of police—could not have been more wrong, and After the First 48 proves it.

The Mobile Homicide team is one of the best departments ever to have been on The First 48, and what they showed TV audiences was that the officers in Mobile are people with compassion, integrity, and real personality. They are strongly connected to their community, not just policing it. Viewers watched them interacting with the citizens of Mobile in ways that felt incredibly relatable, whether they were talking to witnesses or suspects. They were showing the best of the city of Mobile, and After the First 48 is reminding viewers how much they’re missed.

The problem with the show is that the damage is done. The First 48 is down to two regularly active departments: the Tulsa Police Department and the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department. Tulsa is and has long been the foundation of the show, as an incredible example of what it means to work in law enforcement. But Mobile had the chance to be just as important to the series. Audiences also got to see wonderful representation within the unit, not just in terms of racial and gender diversity, but in learning about the different backgrounds that brought each person to the homicide team. In general, most true crime shows lack that kind of diversity. It’s very rare to see a Black woman like Det. Kenyada Taylor leading a true crime episode, let alone get the chance in that episode to learn more about her and what led her to being a police officer. And the unit had the personality to bring viewers back week after week, to make them want to learn more about the homicide team and the city of Mobile.

There aren’t many police departments that are on the level of Tulsa or Mobile. Some departments may be fun to watch, but audiences don’t connect with them or learn anything from seeing them in action. Other departments might be perfectly fine, but not play well for TV, and then viewers become disinterested and go on to one of their dozens of other true crime options. It’s not the format that’s made The First 48 a success; it’s the people. Once viewers are dialed into a favorite department or a favorite detective, then they’re more interested in paying attention to what that team or that person does. Then they start enjoying the show, and then there’s also a great and important opportunity for them to engage with it.

The First 48 needs more than two departments, and it needs departments that are unique and go above and beyond. It’s not the show’s fault or A&E’s fault that the Mobile Homicide team isn’t present anymore. But each one of the After the First 48 episodes featuring Mobile is a gift because they’re reminders that under a different kind of leadership, Mobile could have been part of The First 48 for years to come. It could have been as big as Tulsa, Atlanta, or Miami. The Mobile Homicide team certainly deserved to be, and at least viewers know they’re still out there doing great work. We just don’t get to see it.

After the First 48 and The First 48 both air Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. on A&E. Photo credit: Key art by A&E.