The I.D. channel (Investigation Discovery) is one of my favorite channels on TV. That being said, Homicide Hunter is one of my favorite shows on that channel. It is one of the shows my husband and I look forward to watching, so when our DVR catches a new one, we are there! (This is a true crime show, not fiction, nor is it a Cozy Mystery show.)
The show stars Joe Kenda – a retired homicide lieutenant in Colorado Springs. Each episode, Joe Kenda introduces one of his past cases. The audience is then treated to a reenactment of the case with commentary by Kenda & other police detectives (as well as journalists) sprinkled throughout the show. The show takes us all the way through the case. Carl Marino plays Lt. Kenda. Also, having lived in Colorado Springs years ago, it’s interesting to see some of the journalists I remember from when I was young. (As an aside – if you enjoy Homicide Hunter like we do, be sure to go online and watch the “Kenda on Kenda” interview of the “young Joe (Carl Marino) asking the “real Joe” questions.)
The show started airing in 2011 and will be starting its fifth season this year. This is a true crime show, so it’s not for those of you who are particularly squeamish. Joe Kenda is what makes the show unusually fun to watch. Yes, I know, real murder is not fun, but somehow Kenda’s ‘s dry commentary makes the show fun. Some of his comments have included:
- “Well, my, my, my.” (probably his most known quote)
- “Guilty people love to talk. Who am I to stop them?”
- “If you’re gonna lie, at least be good at it.”
- “Murder is an ugly business.”
- “Crazy boyfriend did you say? Oh, I like crazy boyfriends.”
With quotes like those – how could you not like this man?
Something that has struck me many times is the emotion Joe Kenda seems to have for the victims. He doesn’t work off of a script, simply talks to the viewer, and sometimes, at the end of an episode, he chokes up while talking about a victim. It’s a very nice thing to see a man who has dealt with murder so many years show us how much police officers feel about the victims.
Homicide Hunter is not available on Netflix, but is available on Amazon stream. The new season starts Tuesday, August 18, 2015, on the ID (Identification Discovery) channel. (I’ve already got it set up on my DVR!)
Click on these links to see these Kenda on Kenda interviews:
I was an avid fan of Elizabeth George (even though they aren’t Cozy Mysteries) when I first attempted to watch the Inspector Lynley Mysteries, a British police procedural mystery show. Because I had read all of the novels, and felt I “knew” George’s well-defined main characters, I could not embrace this BBC television series when I first tried watching it. (It originally aired 2001-2007.)