Without a Trace is an American television drama series created by Hank Steinberg about the fictitious New York Missing Persons Squad of the FBI.
The series aired in the USA on CBS from 26 September, 2002 to 19 May, 2009. There are 160 hour-long episodes in seven seasons. It was cancelled by CBS on 19 May, 2009.
Without a Trace originally aired in South Africa on M-Net from 24 October, 2003 to 18 July, 2009. It premiered on SABC2 on 13 August, 2005 and Season 5 also aired on DStv's M-Net Holiday channel. See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times.
Season 7 premiered on SABC2 on Friday 10 May 2013, at 22h00. New episodes broadcast weekly. There are 24 episodes in the seventh and final season.
Synopsis
Without a Trace is a drama about the New York Missing Persons Squad of the FBI.
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, 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 and digs into every facet of the victim's life, following one simple rule: learn who the victim is in order to learn where the victim is.
Senior agent Jack Malone, a tough but compassionate, seasoned and astute professional, heads the dedicated team that knows too well that every second counts when someone vanishes.
His squad includes Samantha Spade, an agent whose blonde good looks belie a tough, complex approach to her work; Vivian Johnson, a no-nonsense investigator with a special insight into victims' families; Danny Taylor, whose sensitivity is often covered up by his street smarts; the driven Martin Fitzgerald, whose recent brush with prescription drug addiction revealed a darker side of his straight-laced persona; and the team's newest member, Elena Delgado, a resourceful agent who previously worked in the NYPD's Vice unit.
As the team members work on varied and complicated cases, details about their own lives continue to unfold.
Seasons
Season 1 (23 episodes)
Channel: M-Net | Premiere: 24 Oct 2003 | Finale: 14 May 2004 | Fridays, 19h00
Channel: SABC2 | Premiere: 13 Aug 2005 | Finale: 14 Jan 2006 | Saturdays, 20h00
Season 2 (24 episodes)
Channel: M-Net | Premiere: 21 Oct 2004 | Finale: 31 Mar 2005 | Thursdays, 20h30
Channel: SABC2 | Premiere: 29 Jun 2008 | Finale: 7 Dec 2008 | Sundays, 22h00
Season 3 (23 episodes)
Channel: M-Net | Premiere: 14 Jan 2006 | Finale: 5 Aug 2006 | Saturdays, 19h00
Channel: SABC2 | Premiere: 20 May 2009 | Finale: 21 Oct 2009 | Wednesdays, 22h30
Season 4 (24 episodes)
Channel: M-Net | Premiere: 12 Aug 2006 | Finale: 20 Jan 2007 | Saturdays, 19h00
Channel: SABC2 | Premiere: 3 Mar 2010 | Finale: 11 Aug 2010 | Wednesdays, 22h00
Season 5 (24 episodes)
Channel: M-Net | Premiere: 7 Apr 2007 | Finale: 20 Oct 2007 | Saturdays, 19h00
Channel: M-Net Holiday | Premiere: 10 Dec 2007 | Finale: 10 Jan 2008 | 10h00, Weekdays
Channel: SABC2 | Premiere: 27 Aug 2011 | Finale: 4 Feb 2012 | Saturdays, 22h00
Season 6 (18 episodes)
Channel: M-Net | Premiere: 2 Feb 2008 | Finale: 6 Dec 2008 | Saturdays, 19h00
Channel: SABC2 | Premiere: 21 Sep 2012 | Finale: 25 Jan 2013 | Fridays, 22h00
Season 7 (24 episodes)
Channel: M-Net | Premiere: 13 Dec 2008 | Finale: 18 Jul 2009 | Saturdays, 19h00
Channel: SABC2 | Premiere: 10 May 2013 | Finale: 25 Oct 2013 | Fridays, 22h00