An American Family was undoubtedly an inspiration for The Real World , now in its ninth season. Real World housemates enjoy a fleeting fame . Indeed, ratings , not quality, matter most to network executives. Until CBS' recent emergence as the reality TV network, Fox had cornered the market. The show debuted in 1989 and remains on the schedule.
Ratings also reveal that America wants America's Most Wanted .
The show, another Fox staple, dates back to 1988, and ranked first in its timeslot in the summer of 1989. Host John Walsh , whose son Adam was kidnapped and murdered, presents information about fugitives and reenactments of their crimes, with the intention of tracking down the suspects. To its credit, the show has helped apprehend 618 criminals. CBS experimented with this format more than 30 years earlier, with Wanted , which ran from October 1955 through January 1956. Host Walter McGrew outlined the crimes of fugitives and interviewed their relatives and law enforcement officers working on the cases.