Former ABC News anchor Elizabeth Vargas will host the updated series, which has a long history on the network.
Fox is giving new life to one of its key series.
The network gave the green light for a new version of America’s most wanted, with former ABC News anchor Elizabeth Vargas serving as host.
The new series, due to premiere in March, will have the same format as its predecessor: each week, Vargas will present cases involving fugitives from justice and request help from the viewer to locate them. The program will also employ social media for tips from the viewer and use technology like augmented reality and 3-D projections of what the suspects might look like now – tools that didn’t exist in the program’s first incarnation – for its staging.
“America’s most wanted has enabled viewers to help the United States successfully capture some of its most dangerous fugitives, “said Rob Wade, Fox’s president of alternative entertainment and specials.” By bringing this innovative series back with new and effective technology-based crime-fighting tools and acclaimed journalist Elizabeth Vargas, we hope to continue [original host] John Walsh’s long-standing mission to be a powerful voice for crime victims everywhere. “
America’s most wanted debuted in 1988 at Fox and ran for more than two decades before being eliminated in 2011. Lifetime then caught on, but it lasted just over a year on cable. The last episode aired in 2012.
Walsh, the face of the series throughout its original season, is not involved in the new series, but said in a statement: “I’m so excited to hear America’s most wanted is coming back and I support your return. God bless.”
Vargas was a 20/20 host for 15 years and was an anchor for World News Tonight and an anchor for Good Morning America during her tenure at ABC. In 2018, she became the host of the A&E documentary banner A&E Investigates.
America’s Most Wanted is being produced by Fox’s makeshift studio, Fox Alternative Entertainment. John Ferracane (First live respondents) will serve as showrunner and executive producer alongside Jim Clemente, Tim Clemente and James Bruce of XG Productions and Glenn Geller.