John Walsh, Lance Heflin, Michael Linder & Greg Klein) (executive producers)
Van King & Tony Zanelotti (producers / location producers)
Dan Kavanaugh, Greg Klein, Stephen Narisi & Nevitt T. Greene (supervising producers / producers)
Scott Owens, Matt Conlon, Raul Zahir De Leon, Michael Hopper, Amishjim Schulze, Jamie Lark, Ben Caro, Shawn McGuinn, Brian Matthew Lee, Conor McCourt & Greg Howell (associate producers)
Peter G. Gillespie, Karen Daborowski. Keith Greenberg, Jenna Griffiths, Andrew Holland, Evan A. Marshall, William Clark, Jen Naranjo, Renee Rosenfeld, Pat Dinota, Donna Brant, Alissa Collins, Philip Metlin, Gina D. Long, Ed Miller, Sam Juneau, Cindy Miller, Cindy Smith Aderson, Cindy Smith Anderson, Sedgwick Tourison. Jennifer Klein, Shawn Driscoll, Cheri Nolan, Erica Hopper, Sam Rath, Ken Reichling, Todd Robinson, Karen S. Shapiro, Courtney Thomas, Pam Lewis, Neal Freundlich, Paula C. Simpson, Kenneth A. Carlson, James Bruce, Peter Koper & Cord Keller (producers)
Gavin Portnoy (producer / assistant producer)
Larry Contratti, Diana Nolan & Carolina Alban Stoughton, Marcy Willmann, Brandon Altvater & Jocelyn Sigue (associate producers / producers)
Steve Katz (co-executive producer / supervising producer)
Chris Hamilton (producer / senior show producer)
Benjamin Haslup (co-producer / producer)
Del Bryant, Carl Buehl, Kara Kurcz, Michael Bernstein, Jenny Rose Costuros, David G. Knappe, Stephanie L. Leonard & Joe Cacciotti (field producers)
Brian Leonard (segment producer / co-executive producer)
Nan Waffen (segment producer / co-producer)
Nellie Zimmerman (segment producer / producer)
Joann Donnellan (segment associate producer)
Sereita Cobbs, Jeremy Cohen, Gail Flannigan, Koina Freeman, Amy Green& Brian Lovett & Cheryl Black (segment producers)
Talin Hallajian (line producer / assistant producer)
Olivia Clayton, Miles A. Perman & Heather Semer (producers / line producers)
Mark Dziak, John Latenser V & Debi Giudice Brent (line producers)
Josie Perrone (associate producer / production associate producer)
John Driver (coordinating producer)
Donald Paonessa (creative producer)
DIRECTED BY
Glenn Weiss, Peter G. Gillespie, Thomas Makowski, Gavin Portnoy & Paul Jensen
1990 Nominated Emmy Outstanding Informational Series Michael Linder (executive producer) Dan Kavanaugh (producer) Cord Keller (co-producer) For episode "United States Marshals".
TV Guide Awards
2001 Nominated TV Guide Award Reality Series of the Year
Young Artist Awards
1994 Nominated Young Artist Award Best Youth Actress Guest Starring in a Television Show Nicole Rodgers
The concept for America’s Most Wanted originally came from a German show "Aktenzeichen XY... ungelöst" (German language File Number XY... Unsolved) that first aired in 1967, and the British show Crimewatch, first aired in 1984, with the US version conceived by Fox executive Stephen Chao and Executive Producer Michael Linder in the summer of 1987. Even earlier, however, CBS aired a three-month half-hour similar series hosted by Walter McGraw in the 1955-1956 season entitled "Wanted".
The show began profiling missing persons, especially children, in 1991.
The show also covered criminals in the War on Terrorism when, on October 12, 2001 an episode aired featuring 22 most wanted al-Qaeda operatives. The show was put together due to a request by President George W. Bush, who had presented the same list of men to the nation two days earlier.
The Fox network cancelled the show in 1996, but reversed the decision because of a public outcry from viewers, politicians, and law enforcement agencies. The series was off the air for six weeks before it was finally reinstated.
The AMW Dirty Dozen is John Walsh's list of notorious fugitives who have been profiled on the show that are currently at large. It is similar in function, though not identical with, the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.
"15 Seconds of Shame" is a segment (approximately one minute in length) where the show features four fugitives that are currently on the run, each in their own 15-second briefing. The segment was introduced in December 2004. The run-up shows the charges against the fugitives, and where they might be. Aliases, tattoos and character quirks are also mentioned in the profiles. It was discontinued in June 2010.
"BOLO" stands for Be On the Look Out. It is a segment similar to the 15 Seconds of Shame, except it profiles one fugitive and has no time limit. There are usually multiple segments in one episode. They profile either known fugitives or unknown fugitives that have a composite sketch. It was introduced in late 2010 and used as a subtle replacement for the 15 Seconds of Shame.
"All Points Bulletin" is a segment that airs multiple fugitives one right after the other. It describes the crime, shows evidence, basic information, and a picture of the fugitive.
The "Break Four Tease" is an additional case usually aired during the fourth commercial break on Fox episodes. Lasting eight seconds long, it gives a brief spotlight to a current case. It gives the hotline number, pictures, crime type, and location. Missing persons and known fugitives have been profiled in this segment. It was introduced around 2000, but does not air on the Lifetime episodes.
"In the Line of Duty" showcased a police officer who was killed while on duty, whether during a shootout, a car chase, or anything else related to trying to catch a criminal. The segment was introduced in November 2004, and airs in most episodes. Usually shown near the end of the program.
The website for America's Most Wanted has a very active community page. Members from all over the continent give the latest updates on cases and it provides a forum to talk with other fans. It takes two days to become a member and some very basic information (username, password, email address.) Members must be at least 13 years old to join.
