It began twenty years ago today: January 19, 1988 marked the debut of CBS' 48 Hours. The program evolved after a two-hour documentary titled "48 Hours on Crack Street", with the idea to have a show that spent two days in the life of a story, utilizing the perspectives of several relevant individuals.

The program's format has, of course, evolved since then, now focusing each week on a single-subject 'mystery'.

The program's executive producer, Susan Zirinsky, has been at the helm since 1996. 48 Hours alumni include CNN's Jon Klein, CBS' Jeff Fager, and Alex Wallace and Lyne Pitts of NBC.