Today, a series like America’s Most Wanted is very much needed, as the show helped lead to the capture of notorious criminals during its heyday. One of the reasons for the true crime series’ success was original host John Walsh, who always remained calm, yet passionate, when discussing the show's heavy subject matter. But the upcoming revival of America’s Most Wanted will not feature Walsh as the host, and he's now opened up about his feelings on Fox's upcoming show.
It was recently announced that Fox's America’s Most Wanted revival would be arriving in March, which will mark the show’s return to television after Fox originally cancelled the show in 2011. The latest iteration will rely more on modern technology compared to the original series by utilizing social media and technologically advanced tools such as augmented reality and 3-D life-size avatars. Another change to the fan-favorite series is that former ABC News anchor Elizabeth Vargas will take on hosting duties in place of John Walsh. Despite not being the host, Walsh gave the new iteration his blessing in a press release for the series:
Capturing dangerous fugitives, bringing justice to victims and finding missing children is my Lifetime’s work. I am so excited to hear America’s Most Wanted is coming back and I support its return. God bless.
John Walsh's blessing speaks greatly to his understanding of the true crime series' mission – catching criminals. During his tenure as host, Walsh was credited with capturing over 1,100 criminals, including 17 on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list, along with reuniting 43 missing children with their families. The revival is one of a few true crime shows to be revamped like Netflix's revival of Unsolved Mysteries and a few others.
John Walsh hosted America’s Most Wanted from 1988 to 2011 on Fox, before it was revived on Lifetime for the 2011-12 television season. After the second revival ended, he hosted two more investigative series, CNN's The Hunt with John Walsh from 2014 to 2017 and Investigation Discovery's In Pursuit with John Walsh in 2019. New America's Most Wanted host Elizabeth Vargas is also no stranger to investigative series, as she hosted A&E Investigates from 2018 to 2019.
The new iteration of America’s Most Wanted will be produced by Fox’s Alternative Entertainment division with John Ferracane serving as showrunner and executive producer. XG Productions’ Jim Clemente, Tim Clemente and James Bruce, along with Glenn Geller, will also serve as executive producers on the revival.
John Walsh’s blessing for the new America’s Most Wanted means a lot gave how integral he was to the series’ popularity and success. The revival of America’s Most Wanted will premiere in March on Fox. After the live broadcast, the episodes will be available to stream on Tubi, On Demand, FOX NOW and Hulu. And until the new show arrives, you can check out other true crime content that's available to stream.
