When The First 48 audiences meet Detective Jason White, he’s literally introducing them to Tulsa. Season 16, Episode 2, “Ringside Seat” is Tulsa’s first episode of the A&E true crime series, and it opens with White driving to the crime scene, talking about the Oklahoma city that he now calls home. That makes him the point-of-view character for the audience—he’s the viewers’ eyes and ears as they experience the city and its team of homicide detectives for the first time.
The series is now in Season 22, having filmed in Tulsa for most of a decade (with good reason; the Tulsa Homicide team keeps the show going). Over seven seasons, White not only continues to be the caretaker of the audience, but he’s taken on a similar role with his fellow detectives as well. In a group where everyone has a distinct personality, White’s fountain of wisdom and his generally pastoral attitude have made him the Obi-Wan Kenobi of Tulsa Homicide (and yes, that means Ronnie Leatherman is Luke Skywalker, but before The Book of Boba Fett made Luke into a jerk).
That immediate connection audiences formed with White back in 2015 makes him a psuedo-mentor to the audience in the episodes that he appears in, whether they feature one of his cases or not. Part of The First 48 is that the detectives have to explain what’s going on or give their reactions to case developments, and White is one of the best at these segments that are speaking directly to the viewer. He’s concise in detailing what’s happening and why, but he’s also genial and often very funny. Season 22, Episode 22, “Snatched,” opens with White and Leatherman teaching a course for patrol officers and the brief bit viewers get to see is legitimately interesting. On top of that, White explains to camera later the value that patrol officers have to homicide investigators.
Even when he’s not intentionally engaging the audience, he’s still guiding them along. White has a tendency to think out loud, asking his colleagues what or why or giving his early theory of the crime. Sometimes he brings up things the audience should consider, like in Season 19, Episode 21, “Stolen Innocence,” when he both tells Det. Michael Zenoni that a building near the crime scene has security cameras and that the camera footage may be unusable. (Zenoni’s reaction is perfect: “Why would you do that? Bring me up and then tear me down like that?”) White always has some thought or information to contribute, and he imparts his wisdom in a very calm, Obi Wan-esque way.
As Tulsa Homicide has gone through lineup changes, White’s role has shifted on the team, too. Of that original group from “Ringside Seat,” Sgt. Dave Walker and Dets. Zenoni and Dianna Baumann have retired, while Lt. Justin Ritter and Det. Matt Frazier (aka Batman and Robin) were promoted and moved on respectively. Det. Leatherman was gone temporarily, too, working on a task force only to return in Season 21’s “Triggered.” New faces have come in to replace them, making White one of the more senior members of the unit, and he’s naturally mentoring his fellow officers — even if they’re as experienced as he is.
Sometimes it’s jokingly (there’s a quip in “Triggered” about showing Leatherman the ropes) and sometimes it’s seriously giving people food for thought. This quality was well illustrated in the recent After the First 48 that revisited Season 21, Episode 3, “Down a Dark Hallway.” Acting on a tip from a neighbor, White sent Ritter off to look into a tree-trimming service that had visited the victim’s home, but wasn’t totally sold on the connection. Ritter was, though, and the original episode showed him discussing the idea with White, who encouraged him to chase it, adding “And that’s why you’re on the team.” It was White’s investigation but he was trusting and empowering his teammate to do what he thought was best, and in After the First 48, he gives Ritter plenty of credit for his contribution to the case (which ended up being right).
In another episode, White talks about how much he’d learned from Zenoni. Now Jason White has assumed that mantle of leading the way for his fellow detectives, while guiding The First 48‘s audience through a complex and emotional world. While he won’t be getting his own spinoff series, he’s certainly the Jedi Master of homicide investigation.
The First 48 airs Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on A&E.
