The BEST episodes of Early Edition

Every episode of Early Edition ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Early Edition!

Gary Hobson was a regular Chicago stockbroker. One day his wife dumped him and he was forced to move into a hotel room. The next morning, at 6:30 am, a mysterious yellow cat showed up at his front door with tomorrow's edition of the Chicago Sun-Times. From that day on his life was never the same. At first skeptical, Gary started to try saving people's lives and stop disasters from happening. With the help of his friends Chuck and Marissa, Gary became a man with a mission, even though he doesn't know why or how the paper gets to him every morning.

Last Updated: 1/13/2024Network: CBSStatus: Ended
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False Witness
star
9.14
71 votes

#1 - False Witness

Season 4 - Episode 15 - Aired 3/25/2000

While stealing cars for a chop shop, Jose (Joey) encounters Gary, who is brought in by police to ID the teenager in a criminal lineup. When Gary realizes that Joey is Miguel's little brother, he denies knowing him in order to protect his friend. Although Joey promises Gary that he will go straight, his accomplice pressures him into pulling another job, a heist in which the owner of the car is shot and Gary is taken hostage. While trying to convince Joey to give up his life of crime, Gary is wounded by gunfire and left to ponder whether or not he should have acknowledged Joey's involvement the first time around before people were seriously hurt.

Directors: Ian Barry
Writer: Eric Tuchman
Watch Now:Amazon
Angels and Devils
star
9.12
78 votes

#2 - Angels and Devils

Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/1/1997

A young boy who is part of a youth basketball camp at a church is influenced by his older brother, recently released from prison. Gary works with a sister to keep the boy on the right path. Chuck struggles to find a new head chef for McGinty's and falls for a female applicant whose dishes are a little too unconventional.

Directors: Gary Nelson
Watch Now:Amazon
March in Time
star
9.04
80 votes

#3 - March in Time

Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/15/1997

After learning that a leader of a racist movement will be assasinated during a march, Gary begans to debate whether he should save his life or let him die. Marissa manages to convince him to save him, but the dilemma is further compromised when the leader's comrades attack and vandalize McGinty's. Now Gary has to stop the sniper from killing the leader of the movement. The situation is further complicated when the leader's son befriends a young African-American kid.

Directors: Robert Ginty
Watch Now:Amazon
Blowing up Is Hard to Do
star
8.76
45 votes

#4 - Blowing up Is Hard to Do

Season 3 - Episode 23 - Aired 5/15/1999

Gary saves a woman from drowning in a pool at a women-only gym, who turns out to be Detective Armstrong's wife. The Armstrongs invite Gary and Erica to dinner at their house; Det. Armstrong is suspicious about Gary saving his wife, and accuses him of trying to kill her. Erica decides to end her relationship with Gary, and leave Chicago. Meanwhile, Gary has to prevent two places from blowing up after a manifesto is sent to the Sun Times and the TV station, both of which refuse to read or publish it, and then are targeted by the people who wrote it.

Directors: David Grossman
Watch Now:Amazon
The Fourth Carpathian
star
8.69
105 votes

#5 - The Fourth Carpathian

Season 2 - Episode 17 - Aired 4/18/1998

Gary's parents receive the paper when Gary is trapped in an abandoned theater trying to save a monkey. Gary's parents and Crumb accidentally bring together a family of Latvian trapeze artists in Chicago.

Directors: Gary Nelson
Writer: Alex Taub
Watch Now:Amazon
The Cat
star
8.57
90 votes

#6 - The Cat

Season 1 - Episode 19 - Aired 4/13/1997

Gary takes the cat to the vet after the cat appears lethargic. He begrudgingly leaves the cat overnight, but returns the next morning to see that the cat is gone, with no sign of the paper.

Directors: Daniel Attias
Watch Now:Amazon
Don't Walk Away, Renee
star
8.57
76 votes

#7 - Don't Walk Away, Renee

Season 2 - Episode 20 - Aired 5/9/1998

Gary helps Renee, a woman who is being targeted by thieves.

Directors: Gary Nelson
Watch Now:Amazon
Snow Angels
star
8.57
46 votes

#8 - Snow Angels

Season 4 - Episode 12 - Aired 2/26/2000

While out in the snow, Gary encounters two men, Earl Camby, a reformed criminal who now devotes his life to helping those less fortunate than himself, and Cliff Mourning, a sleazy motel operator. As Gary tries to save Earl's life when a building collapses on him, he reads that Cliff is going to succumb to a heart attack. Torn between leaving Earl alone to die while he saves an ungrateful human being, Gary contemplates a decision that could ultimately tie the two men's lives together.

Directors: Sander Stern
Watch Now:Amazon
Everybody Goes to Rick's
star
8.55
42 votes

#9 - Everybody Goes to Rick's

Season 4 - Episode 21 - Aired 5/20/2000

Gary travels back in time to 1929, and is the proprietor of a speakeasy at the location where McGinty's is currently located. He must try to prevent the St. Valentine's Day Massacre.

Directors: Gary Nelson
Watch Now:Amazon
Camera Shy
star
8.54
46 votes

#10 - Camera Shy

Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/23/1999

While covering the opening of a local pickle factory, Miguel winds up in the middle of one of Gary's saves, when he falls head first into a barrel of kosher dills. After Miguel's pickled puss winds up in all the papers, he loses his job and must take a position at a museum, where he's forced to photograph uncooperative school children. When Gary reads that one of the kids at the museum will be injured, he races to prevent the tragedy - only to cost Miguel another job. To make matters worse, while at the museum, Miguel inadvertently takes a photo of Bruce Bryce a vicious criminal thought to be dead. When he realizes he has evidence that could potentially get him his newspaper job back, Miguel heads over to the Sun Times with the film. But Bryce tracks him down and threatens him with bodily harm if he doesn't hand over the photos. With Miguel's life in jeopardy, Gary must figure out how to save him before his days as an inquiring photographer are over.

Directors: Reza Badiyi
Writer: Eric Tuchman
Watch Now:Amazon
Where or When
star
8.51
76 votes

#11 - Where or When

Season 2 - Episode 16 - Aired 4/11/1998

After Gary is injured in a fall, he becomes housebound while his broken leg heals. In a ""Rear Window"" style plot, he watches people in the apartment building across the street and is attracted to a new neighbor who seem to have been the victim of a murder almost 50 years ago.

Directors: David Grossman
Watch Now:Amazon
Downsized
star
8.51
112 votes

#12 - Downsized

Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/25/1997

An old work friend of Gary and Chuck's plans to have plastic surgery to impress his girlfriend. Gary and Chuck learn that the procedure will kill him, and they plan to make him reconsider.

Directors: Mel Damski
Writer: Nick Harding
A Bris Is Just a Bris
star
8.50
50 votes

#13 - A Bris Is Just a Bris

Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/20/1997

Gary comes between his cook and an accident-prone librarian. Chuck turns truthful while dating a Rabbi.

Directors: Scott Paulin
Writer: Alex Taub
Watch Now:Amazon
A Regular Joe
star
8.50
48 votes

#14 - A Regular Joe

Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/22/1997

Gary is stressed out, and just wants a regular life. He is having recurring dreams about a psychiatrist, who encourages him to take Sundays off from the paper. Gary decides to take that advice. However, he finds out that he needs to convince a famous quarterback to stop playing in order to avoid a serious injury.

Directors: Mel Damski
Writer: Jeff Melvoin
Watch Now:Amazon
The Quality of Mercy
star
8.49
81 votes

#15 - The Quality of Mercy

Season 2 - Episode 18 - Aired 4/25/1998

The paper sends Gary to save a man John Hernandez from getting killed in a road accident. After doing that the paper changes and it states that Hernandez is going to kill Rachel Stone the prosecutor who sent him to prison. Gary can't help but wonder why the paper sent him on such an errand. Gary then goes to the courthouse to stop Hernandez; Hernandez gets away and Gary is arrested and brought to Ms. Stone. When he tries to warn her about Hernandez; she doesn't believe him cause Gary won't reveal the source of his information. Hernandez got away by knocking Chuck out and taking his car. While Gary waits at the hospital, the paper now says that Hernandez is going to try again this time at her home. Gary goes there and gets him and Ms. Stone taken as hostage.

Directors: Fisher Stevens
Watch Now:Amazon
The Iceman Taketh
star
8.49
47 votes

#16 - The Iceman Taketh

Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/16/1999

As Brigatti carries out her plan to entice the thief with an expensive diamond pendant, her relationship with Gary grows more personal since they are forced to spend several days and nights together. When it appears that the case has been solved, Gary reads that the diamond will turn out to be a fake -- putting Brigatti's career in jeopardy. Armed with tomorrow's news, only Gary can save Brigatti's job by finding the true thief and returning the diamond to its owner.

Directors: Scott Paulin
Show Me the Monet
star
8.47
76 votes

#17 - Show Me the Monet

Season 2 - Episode 19 - Aired 5/2/1998

Gary learns that a British person who assisted him with a mission is actually a forger with many enemies.

Directors: Mel Damski
Writer: Nick Harding
Watch Now:Amazon
Mum's the Word
star
8.45
75 votes

#18 - Mum's the Word

Season 2 - Episode 15 - Aired 4/4/1998

Gary takes Marissa who poses as an Egyptian princess to gain admission to an exhibition so that he can save an archaeologist from being struck in the head by an ancient Egyptian stone. At the museum, Gary pushes the man out of the way only to see that someone wanted the archaeologist killed. The day after, Gary reads in the newspaper that there'll be a fire in the museum, so he checks up on a journalist who was at the museum the night the archaeologist was almost killed. When the eyes are stolen from a cat mummy, a curse is released causing everyone involved, including Marissa, to fall seriously ill.

Watch Now:Amazon
Occasionally Amber
star
8.44
43 votes

#19 - Occasionally Amber

Season 4 - Episode 18 - Aired 4/29/2000

When Chuck returns to Chicago to get married, Gary recognizes Chuck's bride as Amber, a jewel thief. She is now calling herself Jade. Gary confides in Marissa who tells him that he must inform Chuck. Gary confronts Jade, who tells him that she truly loves Chuck and that she is really Jade. He decides not to tell Chuck what he knows. The next morning's paper says that a large diamond will be stolen from an auction. Gary and Marissa throw a private rehearsal dinner for Chuck and Jade to keep Jade there while the theft is suppossed to happen. Jade hires two female strippers to handcuff both Gary and Chuck. She then leaves and steals the diamond. When she returns to her apartment Gary confronts her. Jade tells Gary that she had to steal the diamond because it was once a national treasure of her country. Gary doesn't believe her story. He takes the diamond from her and puts it into the curator's mailbox with a letter warning them to tighten security.

Directors: Kyle Chandler
Romancing the Throne
star
8.40
82 votes

#20 - Romancing the Throne

Season 2 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/17/1998

Gary must deal with a stowaway princess who hid in his trunk.

Directors: Gary Nelson
Watch Now:Amazon
Redfellas
star
8.38
77 votes

#21 - Redfellas

Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/8/1997

The newspaper arrives with an article written in Russian Cyrillic text. Gary saves a cab driver from an accident (as seen in an English article), and finds that the cab driver can read Russian. They learn of an assassination attempt on a female Russian violinist who is playing at the Chicago-based Russian consulate.

Mel Schwartz, Bounty Hunter
star
8.37
43 votes

#22 - Mel Schwartz, Bounty Hunter

Season 4 - Episode 19 - Aired 5/6/2000

Gary must keep rescuing an accountant who is determined to become a bounty hunter.

Directors: Todd Pfeiffer
Writer: Alex Taub
The Play's the Thing
star
8.36
44 votes

#23 - The Play's the Thing

Season 4 - Episode 16 - Aired 4/8/2000

While at the theater, Gary runs into his old friend, ex-Chicago police detective Marion Crumb, who joined the Shakespearean troupe after the play's director, Bonnie Rousseau, convinced him to pursue his natural born acting talents. While pooling the cast's money to put on the production, Bonnie recruits Gary to replace one of the leads who has had an accident. As Gary throws himself into his new role, the production is threatened -- first by a producer claiming to have rights to the theater and then by an arsonist. As Gary and Marion work together to put out all the fires, damaging evidence arises against Bonnie that reveals she's a scam artist. With hours left before show time, it's up to Gary to stop Bonnie from deserting her devoted troupe -- or else it's curtains for everyone.

Directors: Deborah Reinsch
Writer: Michael Kotz
Watch Now:Amazon
Collision
star
8.36
134 votes

#24 - Collision

Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/3/1998

Chuck has left McGinty's in financial chaos and Marissa announces for a pub manager in the paper without telling Gary who has hands full with the choice of preventing a major car crash or saving an 8-year-old.

Directors: Randy Zisk
Writer: Alex Taub
Watch Now:Amazon
Walk, Don't Run
star
8.35
78 votes

#25 - Walk, Don't Run

Season 2 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/24/1998

Gary tries to use his nomination to a public job to get a light put at a dangerous crossroad.

Directors: Richard Heus
Writer: Sean Clark
Watch Now:Amazon