After 22 years on the air, it appears that FOX’s America’s Most Wanted series may be in some trouble — and not because of fugitives from justice. According to MediaBistro, the show has lost nearly a third of their staff, including the TV show’s entire West Coast Bureau.
According to the report, host John Walsh fired Lance Heflin last August, his executive producer for 20 years. Steve Katz was hired as the new co-executive producer and “has not endeared himself to staff.” Numerous reporters and producers have either been laid off or have quit in the last 12 months.
One still-employed staffer calls it a “blood bath” while another isn’t sure how they’ll still get the show on the air each week.
From the report…
“John Walsh is only in the office twice a year,” a producer says. “He won’t interact with the staff. He has no interest in the stories we’re producing. He has no idea who any of us are, and he could care less who’s writing his scripts. We’ve made huge sacrifices to do this work because we believe in it, and we’re all being replaced by unpaid interns as a result.”
Another staffer remarked, “Everyone loved, trusted and respected Lance. In the last year, everything has fallen apart. There’s no way FOX will renew this show for another season.”
What do you think? Could America’s Most Wanted be on its way out? Would you miss it?
I grew up on AMW, every Saturday my family and I would watch it. This went on my whole life until the very last episode. So being an AMW buff I knew something was wrong within the last year of watching the show. It just hasn’t been the same and now I know why. As far as it being moved to Lifetime I could care less which channel it’s on as long as they don’t make any more huge changes to it and for sure not cancell it. I watch the Lifetime channel more than Fox anyway. All the good… Read more »
As a long time employee of AMW and as one who loves the program, it is true that the show began to stray from its mission after Lance Heflin was relieved of his responsibilities as executive director. Not only was there trouble at the top but it permeated all the way down to the hotline operators. I do believe that Steve Katz tried, but it seems that John Walsh remained the guiding force in policy matters. One huge mistake was the hiring of a highly inexperienced and unqualified hotline manager. Even though she got positive publicity through an article in… Read more »
Too bad,, but they will be moving to lifetime…so I look forward on seen the show there.
BRING THE SHOW BACK……IT IS THE ONLY REAL SHOW ON TV TODAY…..IVE WATCHED IT SINCE IT BEGAN….NOW THERE IS NO REASON TO EVEN WATCH TV ANYMORE IF AMW IS CANCELLED. FIND A REPLACEMENT FOR MR. WALSH AND KEEP THE SHOW GOING.
AMW is so important, there is no way fox can do this it only strenghtens the view people
have money is more important then human life
I don’t believe that is the reason why the show was cut down on Fox (Not cancelled “special” episodes on FOX will be produced.) I believe the show was cancelled ’cause of finances that John Walsh must have approved that involved to many lengthy reenactments being made, traveling around the world to produce episodes at those places, and just going all around; traveling anywhere than stay in the “Museum of Crime and Punishment” before, or do less. While I think the decisions Fox made were pretty harsh, I do feel they know about what’s going on in the AMW Offices,… Read more »
please bring “America’s Most Wanted ” back.
It’s a great show
AMW isn’t just great drama. It’s a great public service. Take, for example, the sicko profiled again tonight – the guy who victimized so many boys and then fled to Brazil. He WILL be caught. Had he not been profiled, nooone but the victims would know who he is and where he is probably hiding. If John Walsh can’t or won’t host the show anymore, Fox needs to find a good, zealous replacement.
Why in the world would fox cancel AMW? If John Walsh does not want to continue then find a suitable replacement. To cancel AMW is stupid. It has been a vessel in opening Americans eyes to all these scumbags who kill or raped… or forced themselves on kids.
If it wasn’t for this show, more than 1,500 criminals would still be on the street. To this day, I’m still impressed by the John List story. The New Jersey police were looking for him for 18 years, and, America’s Most Wanted got him in just a few months. Cancelling this show will only give criminals the green light to victimize innocent people, because they’ll know only local police will be after them. Unless they call CNN, or, MSNBC, for 30 seconds of air time on the story. And, for those people who don’t have cable, well…. I hope another… Read more »
Fox has become so bought out by political lobbists and Re-election money show, what they want the viewers to see from their viewpoint-the rich elite and will not dare to keep shows on that tell the American Taxpayers of the Corruption and Payola Government of Millionaire Club, Good Ole Boys Club of the government rich elite from city,county, state and the federal government. Sorry to see America’s Most Wanted get the axe, but what it is is what it is. Fox has joined the government in slicing, dicing and elimating those viewer who don’t fit their Cash Profile.
I don’t think AMW got axed ’cause of politics but because John Walsh wasting so much money to make the show look more “Cool” or “Modernized” since late August 2010 when he brought in a silly roundtable to “bounce ideas off other people around him” to make AMW the “John Walsh version” not what it was like under former executive producer Lance Heflin who is said to help the show move for at least 20 years, John also decided to waste a lot of money to get the show to travel around and produce episodes of AMW out of the… Read more »
What a disappointment cancelling a terrific program. It was great to see the bad guys caught.
I have watched AMW since show no.1.i am very disapointed if it is cancelled.I always look forward to SAT.at 9pm.
I can’t believe FOX is doing this again. They cancelled this show many years ago and there was such an outcry they brought it back. FOX, You are STUPID. This is the only show I won’t miss. There have been over 1.500 fugitives captured because of this show. Are you for fugitives on the run or what? DO NOT CANCEL AMW. This is a MUCH NEEDED SHOW. They even captured a fugitive here in my town last year and if it wasn’t for AMW he would have gone unnoticed. A tipster called it in because he was profiled on AMW… Read more »
First off, FOX has their rights to do what they want, even if they wanted AMW permanently removed, they have a right to do that, whether we like or not, I hate the decisions FOX made and their attitude towards this along with not really giving the FULL story of why AMW has been cut down, but I don’t think it’s really FOX’s fault. Secondly, cussing, shouting, and calling FOX negative things has not and won’t do anything, it’s been months and AMW will still be aired, it’s not really cancelled, just cut down, the next AMW episode airs October… Read more »
I cannot believe FOX cancelled this show. I have been watching AMW since I can remember. I think this is a very important show and FOX should reconsider. Look at how many criminals have been caught because of this show, what will happen now??? I don’t know if I will even watch FOX anymore, It’s truly too bad!!!
no way you are airing this show off.people sat down and believed in protection and felt more safe because there were other eyes out looking to come together and help each other,now because not enough people working your going to air it off but you guys give up ten thousand dollars to honored officer and might get other donation but what the problem?If some one not doing there job you don’t give up (the workers on amw) you all have a right to speak or talk to some one higher don’t let the bad guys win there might be throwing… Read more »