Live PD has been cancelled by A&E in response to the Black Lives Matter protests, which have brought the issue of police brutality to light recently. The move follows Paramount’s cancellation of the long-running show Cops, and comes just less than a week after both shows were temporarily pulled from the air due to the protests, which have affected everything from Nascar to HBO Max.
Live PD has been running on A&E since 2016, was hosted by Dan Abrams, and had recently been renewed for a number of new seasons. The show differed from other police footage shows like Cops, in that it showed live video feeds from various police stations around the country, as opposed to edited footage that had been shot and chosen beforehand. As a result, A&E would impose a delayed feed on the show, in case any footage that was shot ended up showing sensitive material. The show was no stranger to controversy having featured a number of violent and dangerous incidents which would normally not be seen on a taped broadcast. In recent weeks, many have called for the show to be cancelled, in light of the current dialogue around police brutality in the USA.
Now, Deadline reports that A&E and Big Fish entertainment, the show’s production company, have ceased production on Live PD effective immediately, and the show has been cancelled. A&E released a statement saying that that the cancellation was due to the Black Lives Matter protests following the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, calling this “a critical time in our history.” The statement goes on to say that the producers will be “meeting with community and civil rights leaders as well as police departments” and that in future they 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.”
Live PD host Abrams responded to the news in a tweet, saying that he is “shocked” and “beyond disappointed” that the show was cancelled. Sean Larkin, an analyst on the show, also reacted to the news on Twitter, thanking fans of the show, and encouraging everyone to “stay safe.”
The cancellation of the show should not come as a shock, given the recent discourse around police brutality. While Live PD tried to focus on positive stories, there were also its controversies, including the revelation that producers on the show destroyed footage showing the death of Javier Ambler at the hands of police officers in Austin, Texas.
While shows like Cops and Live PD may claim they are trying to show the realities of policing, the fact is that they also rely on sensational depictions of criminal activity in order to get attention. By turning police work into entertainment, you could argue that police shows are trivializing the justice system. With the recent focus on police treatment of black citizens in particular, its clear that these shows could not continue without being deemed offensive. In the end, it meant that the cancellation of Live PD was inevitable.
Sources: Deadline/Dan Abrams/Sean Larkin
