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After 25 Seasons, a Show That Has Been a TV Fixture Is Canceled for the Second Time — and This Time It May Be for Good

Mar 29, 2013  •  Post A Comment

A TV show that has been a fixture on television for a quarter-century has been canceled — for the second time. TVGuide.com reports that Lifetime canceled "America’s Most Wanted" — which Lifetime picked up after it was canceled by Fox.

“The decision effectively ends the groundbreaking reality series after 25 seasons, at least for now,” TV Guide reports. “Separately, however, the cable network is looking to stay in business with ‘AMW’ host and executive producer John Walsh. Lifetime is developing a pilot, tentatively titled ‘John Walsh Investigates,’ which would take a different approach to Walsh’s ongoing crime fighting and victims’ advocacy work.”

Walsh’s production company and Twentieth Television, the distributor of “AMW,” are believed to be contemplating shopping the show elsewhere, the piece notes, adding that the companies declined to comment.

“’AMW’ ultimately ran for 44 episodes on Lifetime, resulting in 36 captures,” the report notes. “But by the end of its run, ‘AMW’ wasn’t making much noise in the ratings for Lifetime. The show’s final episode aired October 12 and averaged just 807,000 viewers. Walsh and the ‘AMW’ producers had been talking to Lifetime about producing another round of episodes, but ultimately a deal was not reached.”

The show first aired on Fox in 1988, and is credited with helping law enforcement officials capture 1,202 fugitives, including helping authorities find the "person of interest" in Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen’s murder, the piece notes. Fox ended the show”s original run in 2011, with 24 seasons under its belt, and Walsh approached other networks about picking up the show.

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