LIVE PD Makes Comeback After a Two-Year Cancelation
By Movieguide® Contributor
After two years, fan-favorite LIVE PD will finally return to cable television as ON PATROL: LIVE via Reelz with host Dan Abrams, following its 2020 cancelation after George Floyd’s death.
“This show has become a part of my DNA, and I want a partner who feels the same way,” Abrams said. “Reelz is really excited about this series; they’re committing a lot of their entire network to the series and are going to put their marketing behind it.”
Before its cancelation, LIVE PD was A&E’s top-rated show, and they had just renewed it for 160 episodes. After they canned it, the network’s viewership tanked by 49%.
Since then, Abrams has been committed to bringing the show back. “I was very clear when the show was taken off that I was disappointed in the decision,” he said. “I understood it, but I felt strongly that the show belonged on the air. There were a number of times where I said on social media that I felt that by the end of 2021 the show would be back on the air…but it was really important to find the right partner.”
“We have a lot of people in this community who are into the show and are really invested in it [and] we didn’t want a short-term commitment. This is a show about being there with the police departments and embedding with them and becoming part of those communities, to some degree,” he continued.
Like LIVE PD, ON PATROL: LIVE will televise real-life police officer patrol footage from across America, showing viewers the reality of policing.
While Abrams expects backlash, he believes the show has a vital role to play. “Policing is controversial,” he said. “That’s the point of the show, to show police doing what they do, and what they do can be controversial. I’m prepared [for the criticism] and the producers are prepared for it — but, most importantly, people who watched the show regularly are now really excited about this new version.”
“I think in an era where people are generally more supportive of body cameras on police officers, on both sides now, that people would say this is a good thing to see more police in action,” Abrams concluded.
Former LIVE PD co-host Sean “Sticks” Larkin, a retired Tulsa Police Department lieutenant, and Curtis Wilson, who serves as Deputy Sheriff in the Richland County (South Carolina) Sheriff’s Department, will join Abrams as the show’s hosts.
ON PATROL: LIVE premieres on Reelz on July 22.
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