CBS is leaning into forensic-driven storytelling with its latest 48 Hours installment, “The Footprint,” airing Saturday, May 17 at 10 PM ET/PT, with veteran correspondent Erin Moriarty retracing the brutal 1993 murder of Jeanie Childs in Minneapolis—a case that hinged on one haunting clue: a set of bloody bare footprints.
Produced by the 48 Hours team as part of its long-running franchise’s push to spotlight legacy cases cracked by new science, the episode unpacks how investigators revived a dormant file using a footprint overlooked for decades. The prints—unmistakably left by the killer, as the victim was wearing socks—offered the only viable trail when DNA and fingerprints led nowhere.
The case stayed cold until advancements in forensic gait and footprint analysis reignited the investigation, ultimately leading to a conviction years after the original murder. It’s the kind of procedural breakthrough 48 Hours has increasingly prioritized as it competes with a saturated true-crime market.
Moriarty, a fixture of the series and one of its most experienced hands, fronts the hour with contributions from forensic experts Mark Ulrick and Andrea Feia, retired FBI agent Chris Boeckers, and legal analyst Julie Rendelman. The episode also features Minneapolis-based investigative reporter Jennifer Mayerle, adding local reporting firepower.
“The Footprint” follows an encore of “Fatal First Date” at 9 PM, also reported by Moriarty, rounding out a two-hour primetime block aimed at true-crime loyalists.
For CBS, the 48 Hours brand remains a key player in its unscripted portfolio, (it’s just been renewed for season 48), with consistent Saturday night viewership and a pipeline of timely, archive-rich episodes that play well across linear and streaming. The series continues to punch above its weight in the crime doc space, particularly as the network calibrates its broader nonfiction strategy post-Paramount Global restructuring.
