Controversial Canceled Police Show Is Coming Back
A once canceled and controversial police show is being revived and rebranded, and it will debut on a new network this summer.
In arguably one of the strangest moves for reality TV, a highly controversial police show is returning. Live PD is going to be revived on Reelz but is going through a bit of a facelift. The show will be rebranded as On Patrol: Live, which will air on Friday and Saturday nights from 9 PM to 12 AM. The original show had been pulled by A&E after the backlash taking place with protests against police brutality, especially after the killing of George Floyd. There is a huge instance of controversy where the original show had allegedly filmed someone dying in police custody but has since destroyed the tape. This is a wild accusation, to say the least. It’s strange that this show would decide to return right now, but the producers are clearly willing to take the risk.
Despite A&E pulling Live PD from its lineup, the show was massively popular on the cable channel. It spawned several spinoffs that include Live PD: Wanted, Live PD: Police Patrol, and Live PD Presents: PD Cam. This new series is going to be put together by the producers who worked on the original show. Dan Abrams had been the one who hosted the original series, and he has been tasked with hosting this new On Patrol: Live. It sounds as if the same format is going to be used to concoct this new live look at police work. Abrams will be joined by retired police Sgt. Sean “Sticks” Larkin and Deputy Sheriff Curtis Wilson, who is the current Division Commander with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department in Columbia, S.C. These men will provide some insight on what is captured on the show.
Abrams believes that the On Patrol: Live can provide viewers at home a sense of understanding when it comes to what police officers handle on their day-to-day route. According to Abrams, “Law enforcement is front and center in the national discussion, and our hope is that showing the work of police officers in a live format will provide viewers with direct access to the work they do.” This could backfire greatly, considering there are still protests and plenty of headlines speaking on police brutality currently. However, the case for the show returning might be because it is set to premiere on a much lesser-known channel. A&E is very known and was in the top 30 of rating among networks last year. Reelz was ranked 89th and has a far lesser reach.
On Patrol: Live is going to change things up apart from the new moniker it has been given. The new series will feature new elements that involve the public more. “Citizen Ride-Alongs” are going to be shown, which will take normal citizens on true ride alongs with police officers. Also, “Citizens On-Set” will bring back those same citizens on the show to go over their ride along experiences for viewers at home.
On Patrol: Live is set to premiere on Reelz sometime this summer, and as previously mentioned, this new police officer reality show will air two nights a week. Friday and Saturday nights from nine to midnight, fans of the original series can soak up the action of live police work. Despite the obvious elepahnt in the room that bringing this show back right now might be the best idea, Reelz is moving forward with it.
