![]() The results were mixed, to say the least. While that gave the segments an authentic feel, it also meant that regular people were called upon to act. Cosgrove and Meurer used the actual people involved in a case whenever possible. But there were still some growing pains to work through.īy the producers’ own admission, the earliest reenactments on the show were rough. NBC was very happy with the specials, and ordered a weekly series to debut in the fall of 1988. His presence was the last and maybe the most important thing Unsolved Mysteries needed in order to take off. Stack gave the show an air of legitimacy, which was key, as some critics dismissed its examination of cold cases as tabloid television. His name was Robert Stack, and viewers knew him best as legendary lawman Eliot Ness in the popular 1960s drama The Untouchables, which had just been turned into a major feature film starring Kevin Costner and Robert De Niro. When Unsolved Mysteries returned for a fourth primetime special, there was a new host. Malden did two of the specials before he also bowed out. Those were hosted by actor Karl Malden, who won an Academy Award for his role in 1951’s A Streetcar Named Desire opposite Marlon Brando. But Burr didn’t return for the following specials. Burr is probably best known for playing Perry Mason, the dogged criminal defense lawyer who rarely lost a case over nine seasons (the guy was good).īurr had an authoritative presence that lent itself well to stories of disappearances, unsolved murders, and lost loves. When Unsolved Mysteries premiered as a special on January 20, 1987, actor Raymond Burr was hosting. If they could combine mysteries of all types with dramatic reenactments, they might have a shot at shaking up the primetime landscape. In the special, they had used reenactments to portray the far-reaching consequences of owning a handgun. So Cosgrove and Meurer took a cue from a special they had produced for HBO back in 1983 called Five American Guns. ![]() For another, even though the shows acted as a way to inform the public, they still had to be entertaining and hold the viewer’s attention. While there was no shortage of cases, a solid hour of them might prove emotionally taxing for viewers. Cosgrove and Meurer knew they had something, but there were a few missing pieces.įor one thing, it was hard to continue doing specials based strictly on missing persons. They were also a ratings success for NBC. The Missing specials resulted in 25 people being found and reunited with their families. At the time, the concept of “stranger danger” and kids profiled on milk cartons was in the cultural zeitgeist, and Cosgrove and Meurer believed a show exploring these types of cases could be something rare for primetime television-a public service. In 1985, they created a series of specials for NBC titled Missing…Have You Seen This Person? Hosted by Family Ties star Meredith Baxter and her then-husband David Birney, the specials profiled children and adults who had disappeared. ![]() That fact didn’t go unnoticed by producing partners John Cosgrove and Terry Dunn Meurer, who met while working at the same production company in the early 1980s. It was likely the first program of its kind, but it wasn’t popular, and the format went dormant for about 30 years. Wanted featured real victims and law enforcement officials in a telecast that urged viewers to help them capture fugitives. In fact, the closest thing viewers had ever seen to a reality-based crime show was a series called Wanted that aired on CBS for one season in 1955. ![]() Aside from some Geraldo specials, shows about real people involved in crimes just weren’t common. In the mid-1980s, primetime television didn’t leave a lot of room for reality programming. ![]()
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