<P> The series was nominated for a Distinguished Documentary Achievement Award in the Continuing Series category by the International Documentary Association, eventually losing out to American Experience . By season 6, The First 48 had become the highest rated non-fiction justice series on television, and had gained critical acclaim along with controversy . The season 8 premiere, "Gone", which aired on January 1, 2009, garnered a domestic audience of 2.3 million viewers which made it the series' most watched episode, at the time . </P> <P> Until the middle of the 12th season, the opening title sequence featured the conceptual statement "For homicide detectives, the clock starts ticking the moment they are called . Their chance of solving a murder is cut in half if they don't get a lead within the first 48 hours ." The original soundtrack, opening title theme and dark ambient sound design for the overall program were composed by Chuck Hammer (2004--2006). Later composers included Brian and Justin Deming (2006--2008) and Paul Brill (2008--2015), who continued with a combination of dark ambient music integrated with sound design . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Season </Th> <Th_colspan="2"> Episodes </Th> <Th_colspan="2"> Originally aired </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> First aired </Th> <Th> Last aired </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 13 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> June 3, 2004 (2004 - 06 - 03) </Td> <Td> November 18, 2004 (2004 - 11 - 18) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 13 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> January 6, 2005 (2005 - 01 - 06) </Td> <Td> August 11, 2005 (2005 - 08 - 11) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 12 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> October 6, 2005 (2005 - 10 - 06) </Td> <Td> March 2, 2006 (2006 - 03 - 02) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 19 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> June 15, 2006 (2006 - 06 - 15) </Td> <Td> December 28, 2006 (2006 - 12 - 28) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 5 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 13 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> January 11, 2007 (2007 - 01 - 11) </Td> <Td> May 31, 2007 (2007 - 05 - 31) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 6 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 18 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> June 21, 2007 (2007 - 06 - 21) </Td> <Td> December 6, 2007 (2007 - 12 - 06) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 7 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 26 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> January 10, 2008 (2008 - 01 - 10) </Td> <Td> September 11, 2008 (2008 - 09 - 11) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 8 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 16 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> September 18, 2008 (2008 - 09 - 18) </Td> <Td> April 23, 2009 (2009 - 04 - 23) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 9 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 11 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> June 18, 2009 (2009 - 06 - 18) </Td> <Td> September 17, 2009 (2009 - 09 - 17) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 10 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 16 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> January 14, 2010 (2010 - 01 - 14) </Td> <Td> June 10, 2010 (2010 - 06 - 10) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 11 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 36 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> July 8, 2010 (2010 - 07 - 08) </Td> <Td> June 9, 2011 (2011 - 06 - 09) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 12 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 43 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> June 16, 2011 (2011 - 06 - 16) </Td> <Td> December 20, 2012 (2012 - 12 - 20) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 13 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 36 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> March 7, 2013 (2013 - 03 - 07) </Td> <Td> May 29, 2014 (2014 - 05 - 29) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 14 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 24 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> June 19, 2014 (2014 - 06 - 19) </Td> <Td> May 21, 2015 (2015 - 05 - 21) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 15 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 30 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> November 5, 2015 (2015 - 11 - 05) </Td> <Td> September 5, 2016 (2016 - 09 - 05) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 16 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> TBD </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> December 1, 2016 (2016 - 12 - 01) </Td> <Td> () </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Season </Th> <Th_colspan="2"> Episodes </Th> <Th_colspan="2"> Originally aired </Th> </Tr>

When does the new season of the first 48 start