Lifetime Cancels Long-Running Series AMERICA'S MOST WANTED

After 25 seasons, AMERICA's MOST WANTED is no longer particularly wanted.

Lifetime has officially cancelled the long-running docu-crime series, according to TV Guide, though no reps from Walsh Productions, or host John Walsh himself, were willing to offer a comment.

AMERICA'S MOST WANTED moved to the network in December 2011, where it ran for 44 episodes. It premiered on FOX in 1988, until they too cancelled the highly-influential series. Ultimately, execs decided uponcancellation when the show continuously failed to catch on with Lifetime's audience. The now series finale, which aired on Oct. 12, drew in just 807,000 viewers.

But for Walsh, the end of AMERICA'S MOST WANTED doesn't signal the end of his relationship with Lifetime. The network confirmed that they're in the Early Stages of developing the Working Titled pilot John Walsh INVESTIGATES, "which would take a different approach to Walsh's ongoing crime fighting and victims' advocacy work."

For the original announcement, head on over to TV Guide.

Since its 1988 premiere, AMW became one of the most important programs on television, having played a major role in the capture of more than 1,100 fugitives in the U.S. and 30 countries, including 17 on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List, and the rescue of 61 children and missing persons during the program's history. Aside from its landmark status in the annals of television as a leader in using the medium to apprehend the world's most dangerous criminals, the series also has shaped legislation and the national dialogue on crime fighting, and received numerous honors for its work. The influential series has helped lead to arrests in major unsolved crimes, such as the missing Elizabeth Smart case and the murder of Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen.

In September 2011, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences presented Walsh with its prestigious Governors Award, which "salutes an individual, company or organization that has made a substantial impact and demonstrated the extraordinary use of television."

America's Most Wanted was produced by Walsh Productions and distributed by Twentieth Television, Inc., with Walsh serving as executive producer, along with Rob Sharenow, Gena McCarthy, Abigail Harvey and Jim Rapsas of Lifetime.

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