Police procedurals are a dime a dozen on television, which makes it all the more important for a new series in the genre to put its own spin on the formula. Fox’s “Alert: Missing Persons Unit” did just that with the story of Jason and Nikki, a divorced duo who reunite as members of a special police task force focused on missing persons. But they have their own personal stake in their work, because their own child went missing years before, and in between cases, they do whatever they can to find out what happened to their son. 

Co-created by Jamie Foxx and heavily inspired by real life, “Alert: Missing Persons Unit” stars Scott Caan and Dania Ramirez as Jason and Nikki. With its focus on deep detective work, mad manhunts, and the protagonists’ personal mission to find their own missing child, the series offered something a bit different. Unfortunately, after three solid seasons, it was announced that there would be no Season 4. In June 2025, mere days after the airing of the third season finale, industry trades like Deadline reported that the network had axed the series due to low viewership figures. Fox also announced the cancellation of “The Cleaning Lady,” giving the same reason.

The announcement that “Alert: Missing Persons Unit” wouldn’t return for Season 4 took many fans by surprise, particularly as it came so quickly after the Season 3 finale aired. It was particularly shocking because Season 3 ended on a stunning cliffhanger. The final episode, “Chase,” sees Wayne (Alisha-Marie Ahamed) officially join the MPU, effectively replacing Nikki, who was killed off midway through the season. In a shocking moment, she reveals to the audience that she has her own agenda and may be acting as a saboteur within the MPU, contacting an unseen party to tell them that “They don’t suspect a thing.” It might not be among the greatest season-ending cliffhangers in TV history, but it certainly whetted audience appetite. 

Despite the clear tease for a potentially dramatic Season 4 storyline involving a mole inside the MPU, “Alert: Missing Persons Unit” won’t be returning to resolve the mystery. But according to industry insiders, the show’s cancellation wasn’t really a surprise. As Deadline notes in its report, “Alert: Missing Persons Unit” and “The Cleaning Lady” were consistently at the bottom of the Fox rankings. In a separate report, The Hollywood Reporter also cited low viewership numbers as the reason behind the demise of “Alert: Missing Persons Unit,” revealing the show only averaged 2.16 million viewers. That was far lower than shows like “Doc” and “Murder in a Small Town,” both of which got picked up for more seasons.