John Walsh, the Emmy-award winning host of true crime classic “America’s Most Wanted,” will return to the show to analyze some of the nation’s most gripping criminal cases for the first time since the original series’ cancellation in 2011.
Callahan Walsh, who will co-host the reboot along with his father, spoke with Fox News Digital about what fans and new viewers alike can expect in the new season, produced by Fox Alternative Entertainment and slated to air on Jan. 22 at 8 p.m. EST.
“It’s an incredible time for ‘America’s Most Wanted’ to return to Fox, especially in partnership with my son, Callahan, to continue my lifetime’s work,” John Walsh said of the show’s return. “I’m in constant awe over how instrumental our loyal viewers are in ensuring we get justice for victims and their loved ones, and today, they have entirely new tools at their disposal to help us fight back and quickly solve even more crimes.”
The younger Walsh, who was a producer during the show’s original run, said it was “an honor to follow in [his] father’s footsteps” – which he said “were obviously huge shoes to fill.”
“America’s Most Wanted” host John Walsh is pictured with his son Callahan Walsh. The pair will cohost the reboot of the true crime series for the first time since the original show was canceled in 2011 after a historic 24-season run. (Fox News)
Using cutting-edge technology that wasn’t available for the show’s historic 24-season run, Callahan said AMW will be able to “harness and engage with [its] audience and viewers in ways that [they] weren’t able to before.”
“The backbone of the show is the viewers – they’re the tipsters that provide us with the information that leads to the arrest that leads to justice for these families… that are so desperate for it,” Callahan said. “Again, it comes back to the viewer, the fan, to that armchair detective [or] internet sleuth – and we’re able to harness these individuals not just through the show, but through social media and providing additional information… being able to use the public and our fan base as a force multiplier is what the show is all about – sharing the white-hot spotlight on a wanted fugitive and having the public do the right thing.”
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Callahan Walsh told Fox News Digital that it was “an honor to follow in [his] father’s footsteps” – which he said “were obviously huge shoes to fill.” (Fox News)
Within the first four days of the show’s first broadcast in 1988, FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive David James Roberts – a convicted killer who had recently dug his way out of prison – was captured as a result of his appearance on the show’s inaugural episode.
Since its inception, the show has helped capture more than 1,190 criminals, according to a tally from Variety Magazine.
As always, tipsters can remain anonymous when reaching out to the show’s producers – and now, Callahan noted, “you can do more than just call.”
“That’s another big change – not everyone wants to pick up the phone,” he said. “You can submit tips online through our social media channels. We just want the information, we don’t care who you are.”
Adam Walsh, John Walsh’s son and Callahan’s brother, was kidnapped and killed in 1981. Along with the television series, their tragedy would inspire the Walsh family to found the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
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The return of “America’s Most Wanted,” produced by Fox Alternative Entertainment, is slated to air on Jan. 22 at 8 p.m. EST. (Fox News)
Currently, Callahan is the national manager for the nonprofit’s Florida branch office, which he said has helped recover more than 450,000 missing children since its inception.
Since the show’s original run, Callahan said, the nature of some crimes has changed. The online exploitation of children, which “didn’t exist” upon the show’s first inception, has “exploded,” he said.
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“The preying on children online, whether it’s grooming them or luring them from the home, coercing them to produce a nude image and then blackmailing that child for more images called sextortion. Sex trafficking. I mean, we’re seeing all types of exploitation of children happen online,” Callahan said.
Callahan also said the opioid epidemic, which saw a dramatic uptick beginning in 2010, has also changed America’s crime landscape.
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The younger Walsh attributed the pervasive popularity of “America’s Most Wanted” to its unique ability to “give the audience a way to fight back” against rising crime.
“Typically you’re watching… adjudicated cases, meaning they’ve already gone through the court process,” he explained. “With ‘America’s Most Wanted,’ these are not adjudicated cases – these are wanted fugitives, active investigations.”
“The show catches criminals – we’re not just telling true crime stories. We’re finding bad guys and we’re bringing justice to their families,” he told Fox News Digital.
In fact, Callahan remarked, the hardest part of the show is actually choosing the cases, “turning down families who beg [them] to [cover] their [relative’s] murder on the show.”