‘America’s Most Wanted’ Revival in the Works at Fox

The true-crime series America’s Most Wanted is getting another chance to hunt down the country’s most dangerous fugitives. While speaking at the Television Critics Association winter tour, Fox Alternative president Rob Wade told Deadline that the Fox network is actively looking to produce a pilot. However, a new host has not been decided just yet.

“It’s a great format, very Fox format,” Wade said. “It is America’s Most Wanted but with the help of our producer and Interpol we are now able to work outside of the U.S. because a lot of the fugitives these days travel; you need to be able to have a global reach to find fugitives.”

Wade also spoke about the three big reasons as to why the network feels it’s the right time to bring America’s Most Wanted back into living rooms across the country.

“We have seen that sometimes, there is success in bringing back existing IP, it immediately gives you a massive leg-up in the marketing,” Wade explained. “That’s what is attractive to us. Secondly, crime is something that is hugely consumed — certainly on cable and streaming — but has not been cracked in unscripted on network. Thirdly, I think it is a show that can create urgency and has a kind of a good heart at the end of the day. It is a crime show but it has positivity to it; you can try to find a fugitive and help.”

The original America’s Most Wanted was created by Michael Linder and Stephen Chao, which premiered in February of 1988. By the time it went off the air in 2011, it held the title of the longest-running TV show in history with 25 seasons. That record was since broke by The Simpsons, another Fox production. In February 2011, the show had a brief revival on Lifetime with Walsh, though it was canceled in early 2013.

Walsh provided the voiceover for actor-led reenactments of notorious crimes where the perpetrator was still at large. These reenactments were overlaid with on-camera interviews with those involved in the individual cases. During each show, a hotline number was regularly flashed on screen, encouraging viewers to phone in with possible tips.

It proved to be largely successful, with the show’s site posting that they’d captured a whopping 1,000 fugitives back in 2008.

America’s Most Wanted was something of a pioneer in the hybridization of true-crime with entertainment, and also inspired a number of other outlaw-hunting programs. This includes the reality series Dog the Bounty Hunter and its assorted spinoffs.