A&E cancels Live PD, one of cable's highest-rated shows, in wake of the George Floyd protests

Deadline

A&E and Live PD producer MGM’s Big Fish Entertainment jointly agreed today to pull the plug on the cop reality show less than a week after yanking last weekend's episodes amid police brutality protests over George Floyd's killing, reports Deadline. “This is a critical time in our nation’s history and we have made the decision to cease production on Live PD,” A&E said in a statement to Deadline. “Going forward, we will determine if there is a clear pathway to tell the stories of both the community and the police officers whose role it is to serve them. And with that, we will be meeting with community and civil rights leaders as well as police departments.”  The cancelation of Live PD, which premiered in October 2016 and aired for four seasons, comes one day after Paramount Network axed the long-running reality show Cops. The cancelation also comes one month after A&E renewed Live PD for an additional 160 episodes. Hosted by Dan Abrams with analysis from Tom Morris Jr. and Sgt. Sean ‘Sticks’ Larkin, Live PD was basic cable's No. 1 show on Fridays and Saturdays in 2019. The cancelation comes 24 hours after Abrams tweeted "yes" Live PD is "coming back." After the cancelation news, Abrams tweeted: "Shocked & beyond disappointed about this. To the loyal #LivePDNation please know I, we, did everything we could to fight for you, and for our continuing effort at transparency in policing. I was convinced the show would go on. . More to come. .  ."

ALSO:

• Read Live PD's contractual agreement with police departments: "The contracts detail the access that the departments give the show, both in terms of filming and for logistical support," says Reality Blurred's Andy Dehnart, who posted two versions of the Live PD contract with law enforcement in Texas and Oklahoma. "The production’s work is done 'at no cost to the department,' but there is also no information about any compensation given to them or to the communities." The contracts state that officers are “able to stop filming at their discretion” “at all times" and that the police department can prevent producers from accessing spaces on police property.
• Live PD defends destroying March 2019 footage of black Texas driver Javier Ambler dying in police custody: “Video of the tragic death of Javier Ambler was captured by body cams worn on the officers involved as well by the producers of Live PD who were riding with certain officers involved," A&E said in a statement to EW. "The incident did not occur while Live PD was on the air but rather during the show’s hiatus, when producers are regularly out in the field gathering footage. The footage never aired on Live PD per A&E’s standards and practices because it involved a fatality...Contrary to many incorrect reports, neither A&E nor the producers of Live PD were asked for the footage or an interview by investigators from law enforcement or the District Attorney’s office. As is the case with all footage taken by Live PD producers, we no longer retained the unaired footage after learning that the investigation had concluded. As with all calls we follow, we are not there to be an arm of the police or law enforcement but rather to chronicle what they do and air some of that footage and our policies were in place to avoid having footage used by law enforcement against private citizens.”