Crime Watch Daily Preview 

Crime Watch Daily is a brand new series debuting today all across America. We’ve got the scoop on what you need to know about what’s being called a “game-changer” when it comes to daytime syndicated television.

Series Synopsis

A new one-hour program covering the most compelling aspects of the world of crime, mystery and intrigue, Crime Watch Daily is the very first crime show to air in daytime syndication.

From unsolved murders to must-see mysteries, undercover investigations and shocking crimes caught on video, the series will uncover the stories happening in small towns around America and turn them into national headlines.

The key ingredients of “Mystery, Crime and Drama” will drive every episode. Crime Watch Daily’s network of affiliate stations will serve as an “extended newsroom,” sharing resources and using local reporters to cover the stories in local markets all over the country.

Acclaimed Australian crime journalist and reporter Matt Doran will serve as host, joined by a formidable team of correspondents: Emmy® Award—winning reporters Michelle Sigona and Andrea Isom, as well as New York Times bestselling author Jason Mattera. The series, created by Extra‘s Lisa Gregorisch-Dempsey, will feature real-life investigations and deliver crime stories alive with mystery, intrigue and sheer human drama.

At last month’s Television Critics Association’s Summer Press Tour, TV Goodness chatted with Duran and Isom, two of the show’s on camera forces who are looking to provide a voice and some answers for those affected by crimes.

For both journalists, being a part of Crime Watch Daily is what you call a dream job. It’s the perfect transition for Doran whose previous gig was as host for the Australian criminal investigation series, Wanted. 

Matt Doran: What I loved about working on [Wanted] is that we actually were able to help bring solace to families who have been looking for some sort of answer to various crimes for many, many years. It was the police that did the bulk of the work — I’m not trying to say we did much of it — but we did play a role because there were crucial nuggets of information that came through our tip line that actually were pivotal in helping solve a number of these cases, really serious crimes. And I have no doubt that it’s gonna be the same with Crime Watch Daily. We’re already starting to see some inroads in some things that we’ve unearthed on particular crimes — some of them really big here — that police didn’t know about. As a journalist, for me, that’s the absolute ultimate. Because if you can play some role in helping to solve some of these crimes then there’s nothing bigger than that as a crime journalist and it just makes me feel amazing.

Isom was a local news reporter in Detroit when she got the call.

Andrea Isom: When you think you want something more but you’re not sure what it is…that you want to tell longer stories; you want to be a stronger voice for victims; but to try to figure out, where can I do that? And you get a call from one of the executive producers of Crime Watch Daily and they tell you they’ve been watching your work for a while and would you be interested in an opportunity like this? I was so humbled and still am. It still seems unreal that exactly what I wanted as a journalist — to tell longer stories and to be with our victims longer, to be their voice and to have more time to get them justice — is exactly what I was looking for and here it is.

While Doran’s the host, he won’t always be stuck in the studio. He’ll be involved in the field scoring big interviews, talking to victims and trying to get people to answer for their alleged crimes.

Being in the field means he’s been on the go ever since he moved to America. 

Matt: I feel like I haven’t stopped since I got here. I’ve been like a pinball coast to coast across America since I arrived trying to do as many of these stories as possible. In series, when filming, it’ll be a lot more difficult but I will still be doing some of the big stories. Because my background is as a journalist and that was the big thing for me coming across to do this show I didn’t want to just be a talking head and lose my background and that’s what the executive producers have allowed me to do is to maintain my journalist’s background and, in fact, that was the main thing that I think drew them to me from across the world was the fact that a lot of the big investigations that I’ve done, that’s what I love doing and now we’ve got a platform to do it across America.

It’s the perfect platform for Isom. She’ll be able to rely on a couple of her best qualities in her pursuit for justice and resolution: her passion for providing a voice to victims and her fearlessness when it comes to getting to the heart of a story.

Andrea: What they like about me is I’ll just go knock on doors, ask tough questions, stick mics in people’s faces, I’m not afraid to do it. Because I feel like I’m going to ask those questions that people wish they could ask. And I’m gonna hopefully get some answers. The fact that I really, really like telling stories from the victims’ perspectives…because a lot of times those people are forgotten it’s just the facts and the nuts and bolts that get this major attention and sometimes, in the end, you only hear a soundbite from the mom. But that needs to be in the forward. Those are the people who are suffering.

The series will tackle high profile crimes, yes. But from what Isom explains, no crime is too small.

Andrea: When you think of crime a lot of people think of murder and they think of carjackings and robberies. There are a lot of other things that people are victims of and they feel like nobody’s out there working for them. Nobody cares about these victimless crimes. That’s not so. It may seem like something that’s so small but you know what? Your hard-earned money is your hard-earned money. And nobody should take advantage of that.

Crime Watch Daily also features a serious interactive element.

Matt: This, to me, is one of the most exciting parts. We’ve got an entire separate news division who’s working on our website. So it’s going to be 24/7 live…it will be the hub for crime in America, our website. Also we will have social media. America’s Most Wanted existed in an age that predated this unparalleled social media connectivity. So if you then say we’re going to start a national crime show, one-hour daily, across America, of course it’s gotta work first. People have got to watch. I accept that. But if it does we’ve then got a new platform to be the new headquarters for crime. We’re gonna have a tip line, we’re gonna have a huge social media presence so, hopefully, as a result of that and the coverage of a national show, we can draw in information that people didn’t know was out there and maybe some of that will help solve some crimes.

The social media aspect is only one of the reasons Doran feels this show is a game-changer.

Matt: I think by game-changing for me, I talk about it being a different genre which sounds weird. People say, what do you mean it’s a different genre? It’s still gonna be crime but what this is…I feel like when you watch it, it’ll feel like nothing you’ve watched before. That’s how it was for me as a host. When I watched the stories — I mean this is amazing. To me anyway, in my personal opinion, is that [we’re] unmissable television because we’ve pulled the very best bits from the very best crime shows that have ever been out there. And that sounds frenetic but it comes together. People will recognize elements of 60 Minutes and Dateline and 20/20 but it’s much more modern and it’s very fast-paced and you don’t have to invest a full hour to get the twist at the end of the story.

Look for Crime Watch Daily to also go after Uber drivers. The crime series airs all across America starting today — check your local listings for times.