Unsolved Mysteries is an American mystery documentary television series, created by John Cosgrove and Terry Dunn Meurer. Documenting cold cases and paranormal phenomena, it began as a series of seven specials, presented by Raymond Burr, Karl Malden, and Robert Stack, beginning on NBC on January 20, 1987, becoming a full-fledged series on October 5, 1988, hosted by Stack. After nine seasons on NBC, the series moved to CBS for its 10th season on November 13, 1997. After adding Virginia Madsen as a co-host during season 11 failed to boost slipping ratings, CBS canceled the series after only a two-season, 12-episode run on June 11, 1999. The series was revived by Lifetime in 2000, with season 12 beginning on July 2, 2001. Unsolved Mysteries aired 103 episodes on Lifetime, before ending on September 20, 2002, an end that coincided with Stack's illness and eventual death.
Broadcast syndication is the practice of content owners leasing the right to broadcast television shows or radio programs to multiple television stations or radio stations, without having an official broadcast network to air on. It is common in the United States where broadcast programming is scheduled by television networks with local independent affiliates. Syndication is less widespread in the rest of the world, as most countries have centralized networks or television stations without local affiliates. Shows can be syndicated internationally, although this is less common.
WBFF is a television station in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, affiliated with Fox and MyNetworkTV. It is one of two flagship stations of Sinclair Broadcast Group, alongside ABC affiliate WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C. Sinclair maintains a local marketing agreement (LMA) with Cunningham Broadcasting, owner of CW affiliate WNUV, and a shared services agreement (SSA) with Deerfield Media, owner of TBD affiliate WUTB.
Dateline NBC is a weekly American television news magazine reality legal show that is broadcast on NBC. It was previously the network's flagship general interest news magazine, but now focuses mainly on true crime stories with only occasional editions that focus on other topics. The program airs Fridays at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Special weekend encore editions also air at 9 or 10:00 p.m.. One or two-hour feature-length editions sometimes air on any given scheduled evening, often to fill vacancies in the primetime schedule on the program's respective nights due to program cancellations. In February 2021, the program aired its first ever docuseries, "The Widower", a five-hour true crime saga about a man who married six women, four of whom died.
Forensic Files, originally known as Medical Detectives, is an American documentary television program that reveals how forensic science is used to solve violent crimes, mysterious accidents, and outbreaks of illness. The show was originally broadcast on TLC. It is narrated by Peter Thomas, produced by Medstar Television, and distributed by FilmRise, in association with truTV Original Productions. It broadcast 406 episodes from its debut on TLC in 1996 until its final episode in 2011. Reruns shown on HLN were initially retitled Mystery Detectives before settling on the main title of the show in 2014.
Cops is an American reality legal television documentary programming series that is currently in its 36th season. It is produced by Langley Productions and premiered on the Fox network on March 11, 1989. The series, known for chronicling the lives of law enforcement officials, follows police officers and sheriff's deputies, sometimes backed up by state police or other state agencies, during patrol, calls for service, and other police activities including prostitution and narcotic stings, and occasionally the serving of search/arrest warrants at criminal residences. Some episodes have also featured federal agencies. The show's formula follows the cinéma vérité convention, which does not consist of any narration, scripted dialogue or incidental music/added sound effects, depending entirely on the commentary of the officers and on the actions of the people with whom they come into contact, giving the audience a fly on the wall point of view. Each episode typically consists of three self-contained segments which often end with one or more arrests.
KTXD-TV is a television station licensed to Greenville, Texas, United States, serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The station is owned by Cunningham Broadcasting, a partner company of Sinclair Broadcast Group. It carries programming from Merit Street Media on its primary channel, as well as three digital multicast television networks operated by Sinclair, and religious broadcaster SonLife Broadcasting Network. KTXD's studios are located on Inwood Road in Farmers Branch, and its transmitter is located in Cedar Hill, Texas.
These are first-run syndicated television shows that air on commercial broadcast stations in a significant number of markets. If it has only aired in a few markets, it is not significantly important enough to be placed on this list. Note that shows listed here do not necessarily air in every market.
This TV is an American free-to-air television network owned by Allen Media Broadcast Networks, LLC, part of the Allen Media Group division of Entertainment Studios. Originally formed in 2008 as a joint venture between Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Weigel Broadcasting, the network carries various unscripted series from Entertainment Studios' library. The network previously had a large programming emphasis on films, primarily sourced from the library of former owner MGM, but all films were dropped from the schedule in 2024. Classic television series and children's programming had also aired on the network previously.
Animal Atlas is a half-hour educational wildlife television series that "takes children on a tour of discovery, uncovering the secrets of how animals live and thrive. Young viewers meet animals from the familiar to the astounding, and the domesticated to the wild, including the diverse creatures of the African savanna, the finned and flippered of the big deep, and the colorful cast of the equatorial rainforest." The series is produced by Longneedle Entertainment, LLC, a subsidiary of Bellum Entertainment Group. It premiered in national syndication in 2004. As of 2018, 286 episodes had been produced, all in high-definition. Hearst Television's "Go Time!" program block broadcasts Animal Atlas to independent television stations across America.
Allen Media Group, alternately known by its former name of Entertainment Studios, Inc. is an American media and entertainment company based in Los Angeles. Owned and founded in 1993 by businessman Byron Allen, the company was initially involved in the production and distribution of first-run television series for U.S. television syndication. Under the Entertainment Studios Networks division, it also operates a group of digital cable and satellite channels, which broadcast a mix of original programs and the company's syndicated content.
The Hearst Media Production Group is an American media and production company based in New York City, New York as a division of the Hearst Television subsidiary of Hearst Communications, with three additional offices in Boston, Washington, D.C., and Burbank, California. Many of HMPG's programs comply with federally mandated educational and informational requirements.
Miami Undercover is a low-budget 30-minute American crime drama series that aired in broadcast syndication in 1961 for a total of 38 episodes. The series stars Lee Bowman and boxer-turned-actor Rocky Graziano. Most episodes were shot on location in Miami.
KDD – Berlin Crime Squad, German title KDD – Kriminaldauerdienst is a German television series that was broadcast from 2007 to 2010. The series differs from typical police procedurals by focusing on the daily work life and the private problems of the main characters instead of following a “case of the week” scheme, and because of the overarching storylines spanning one or several seasons. Due to its uncommon dramaturgy and its ambiguous drawing of the main characters, it was critically lauded and received several accolades. However, as the limited number of viewers underperformed expectations, the series was canceled after three seasons.
Omba Mokomba is an American wildlife documentary television series that aired on Disney Channel from 1997 to 1999. The series was described as "The station for animal information!", and its stated intent was to answer viewer questions about animals and wildlife. The show was generally well-received for its educational value and positivity.
Xploration Station is an American syndicated programming block that is programmed by Steve Rotfeld Productions, distributed by Fox, and debuted on September 13, 2014. It airs weekends, primarily on Fox-affiliated stations. Aimed towards teenagers, the block consists of six half-hour shows focusing on the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. All of the programs in the three-hour block are produced to meet federally mandated educational programming guidelines. Boat Rocker Rights owns the shows' international rights.
Ion Mystery is an American free-to-air television network owned by the Scripps Networks subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. It focuses primarily on mystery, true crime, and police/legal procedural programs.
Unsealed Alien Files is an American television series that premiered in 2011 in broadcast syndication in the United States.
Crime Watch Daily is an American syndicated investigative news magazine television series. Premiering on September 14, 2015, the program was originally hosted by veteran Australian television journalist Matt Doran. The remaining two seasons were hosted by former NBC News investigative reporter Chris Hansen.
KidsClick was a daily children's programming block distributed by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which premiered on July 1, 2017. The block, which primarily consisted of long-form animated series as well as some short-form content, was carried in the U.S. on terrestrial television network TBD, and on Sinclair-owned/operated television stations in several markets. At launch, the block was available in 75 million households. The block marked the return of traditional weekday cartoons and Saturday morning cartoons to terrestrial television, as well as the first children's programming block on U.S. free-to-air television not to comply with Children's Television Act regulations since the Saban Brands-produced Vortexx was discontinued on September 27, 2014.
