Cold Squad is a Canadian police procedural television series that premiered on CTV on January 23, 1998, at 10 p.m., and ran for seven seasons.

Starting with the third season, the "Cold Squad" division was folded into a province-wide task force and its basement setting eliminated.

[8][9] At the time Cold Squad was developed, the production of television series in Vancouver was heavily dominated by programs made for the United States.

When Cold Squad was greenlit it became the first one-hour, prime time dramatic series for Canadian television to be produced out of Vancouver.

Funding was adjusted and both Baton and Alliance Atlantis committed to an increased financial investment in the production of Cold Squad, with the budget per episode at $900,000-plus (CAD).

[15] Stephanie Earp of TV Guide wrote: "Last fall, American viewers got excited about a new crime drama that revolves around a tough blond detective with an edgy haircut who solves cold cases.

[17] The similarities led Cold Squad series creators Matt MacLeod and Julia Keatley to retain intellectual property attorney Carole Handler, of Los Angeles law firm O'Donnell & Schaeffer, to broker talks with Cold Case producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Warner Bros. MacLeod declined to discuss details but said, "We are deeply concerned [about the shows' similarities]...We're taking the appropriate actions."

[26] The premiere of the final season was delayed until Fall 2004[23] and its programming changed to 9 p.m. Saturday as part of CTV's "crime time" block.

In July 2000, CanWest Global Communications obtained the international distribution rights for Cold Squad from Endemol Entertainment Holding NV when it purchased the company's television library.

[32] In the United States, Program Partners (PPI Releasing) acquired the syndication rights from Thunderbird in January 2006, and the series began airing in the U.S. in Fall 2006 as part of a "Crime Watch" block package.

[37][38] Cold Squad was seen in off-network syndication intermittently on cable specialty channel Mystery TV,[39][40][41] and also on Bravo.

[58][59] The Region 2 DVD of Season 1 was released in the Netherlands (English audio with Dutch subtitles) by Just Entertainment Bv on March 20, 2012.

[61] The Season 2 DVD (Region 2) was released in the Netherlands (English audio with Dutch subtitles) by Just Entertainment Bv on June 19, 2012.

[78][79] In a final season interview with Julie Stewart, media and television columnist Bill Brioux wrote: "Cold Squad has consistently been one of the top-rated Canadian-produced TV shows, despite being booted all over CTV's schedule.