APB With Troy Dunn
By Melissa Camacho,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Locating missing folks turns up poignant, sad stories.
A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.
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What's the Story?
APB WITH TROY DUNN is a reality series starring The Locator host Troy Dunn as he attempts to find long-lost persons and reunite them with their loved ones. After interviewing the people connected with the missing person, his team researches records, follows paper trails, makes phone calls, and turns to various social-media outlets to find leads and help him locate the missing. Using a new social-media app powered exclusively by the show, Dunn also calls on viewers to help them with ongoing searches. Not every story ends with the desired or happy results, but folks learn things about their loved ones and themselves along the way.
Is It Any Good?
From finding an older brother given up for adoption to locating a man convicted of killing a father while driving drunk, APB With Troy Dunn offers lots of emotional stories about families and loved ones who were torn apart by difficult (and sometimes tragic) circumstances. It also highlights some of the real consequences -- both positive and negative -- that locating these people can have on the people looking for them.
As on The Locator, the stories are poignant, but the well-timed scenes of people being given disappointing information or being reintroduced to "found" relatives add to the show's dramatically voyeuristic moments. However, the motivation behind the work being performed here appears both thoughtful and well intentioned. Folks who tune in may find themselves easily caught up in some of the personal journeys featured here.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the different reasons people choose to locate people who are missing from their lives. Why do you think the folks featured here chose to appear on-camera to share their journeys? Do you think the reunions and reactions of the folks on the show would be the same if the cameras weren't on?
How do social media platforms such as Facebook serve as tools for locating missing or long-lost people?
TV Details
- Premiere date: January 17, 2014
- Cast: Troy Dunn
- Network: TNT
- Genre: Reality TV
- TV rating: TV-14
- Last updated: February 26, 2022
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