Wanted is a short-lived half-hour CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

 crime documentary

Documentary

A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...

 television series hosted by the late Walter McGraw, which aired in the 1955

1955 in television

The year 1955 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1955.-Events:*March 5 – Elvis Presley appears on television for the first time...

-1956

1956 in television

The year 1956 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1956.-Events:*January 28 – Elvis Presley makes his national television debut on CBS on Stage Show, the first of six appearances on the series....

 season at 10:30 EST on Thursdays following the original version of The Johnny Carson Show

The Johnny Carson Show

The Johnny Carson Show is a 1955-56 half hour prime time television variety show starring Johnny Carson.While working as a staff writer on The Red Skelton Show , local Los Angeles television comedian Johnny Carson filled in as host when Skelton was injured during a show rehearsal...

, not to be confused with the subsequent The Tonight Show

The Tonight Show

The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...

.

This "Wanted" has a format similar to the subsequent Unsolved Mysteries

Unsolved Mysteries

Unsolved Mysteries is an American television program, hosted by Robert Stack, from 1987 until 2002, and later by Dennis Farina, starting in 2008...

on NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

, hosted by Robert Stack

Robert Stack

Robert Stack was an American actor. In addition to acting in more than 40 films, he was the star of the 1959-1963 ABC television series The Untouchables and later served as the host of Unsolved Mysteries.-Early life:...

 and the still-running Fox Channel's America's Most Wanted

America's Most Wanted

America's Most Wanted is an American television program produced by 20th Television, and was the longest-running program of any kind in the history of the Fox Television Network until it was announced on May 16, 2011 that the series was canceled after twenty-three years, with the final episode...

, with John Walsh

John Walsh

John Edward Walsh is an American television personality, criminal investigator, human and victim rights advocate and formerly the host, as well as creator, of America's Most Wanted...

. Like the two later series, Wanted features re-enactments of actual crimes and profiles fugitives from justice. Viewers were urged to telephone information that they may have about each case presented on the series.

Declared a "flop" by Billboard magazine

Magazine

Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...

, Wanted aired only from October 20, 1955, to January 12, 1956. Perhaps early television audiences were unprepared for this kind of interactive program. ABC

American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

 aired no program at the time Wanted was on the schedule. The series ran opposite the last half-hour of NBC's long-running Lux Video Theatre

Lux Video Theatre

Lux Video Theatre, is a weekly television anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays....

.