Credit: Live PD/A&E
Live PD, or Cops 2.0, as many people may have referred to it as it was similar in concept and other aspects, was canceled on June 10th, 2020, in the wake of various protests surrounding the Black Lives Matter protests across the country fighting injustice. While Cops was canceled earlier for nearly similar reasons on Fox, A&E has had similar series, in concept, with Live PD, its spinoff series Live Rescue, and the recently announced revival series of Live PD, On Patrol: Live. Below, we’ve detailed Live PD, the other related shows such as Cops and Live Rescue, as well as the revival series that Live PD has been set to return as, On Patrol: Live.
Credit: Live PD/A&E
Live PD and its Cancellation
Live PD may not be the legitimate successor to Cops, but the shows have been closely similar to each other to the extent that it’s hard to think any other way. However, there were significant differences between Cops and Live PD that separated the two, but the similarities were too dark for the show to continue while Cops was taken off the air earlier. Live PD initially launched in October of 2016 with a unique format that combated the long complained about, biased format done throughout the entire run of Cops. The difference in format for Live PD relied not only on their in-depth and personal dive into the experiences the law face daily but also on the personality brought to the show by the host and analysts. Live PD was hosted by Dan Abrams, the chief legal affairs anchor for ABC News, and was also joined by two co-analysts, Sgt. Sean Larkin of the Tulsa Police Department and crime reporter, and former Washington D.C. special police officer Tom Morris. While Cops may have had various displays of overly aggressive police offers over a variety of crimes, Live PD was caught in the middle of the destruction of a tape that proved a case of police brutality that led to unnecessary death. As professionals, Live PD producers and crew didn’t destroy the video evidence of their own accord, as they were instructed to do so by a police official, who was later brought to trial over the tape destruction. While Live PD as new series, On Patrol: Live could cause more disaster within the unscripted live cop series of television shows, like the previous renditions, if not careful.
Credit: Cops/Fox
Cops
Cops, the most famous show of those similar to Live PD, was the original programming of police recording and bodycams for television purposes. Cops started in 1989 and at one point had a longer run on television than any other show, until surpassed by The Simpsons. Minor upgrades were made to Cops throughout its entire run and likely would have never been canceled if it wasn’t for the campaigns during a heightened time of police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement pushing for its cancelation. The show Cops was canceled after runs on various networks from Fox, Spike, Paramount, and then Fox Nation, but was canceled officially when Paramount dropped it during the George Floyd investigations against police. Although Paramount dropped the show due to the most negative comments in the show’s history, Fox picked the show up and set it for Fox Nation as a new home. However, the cancelation of Cops helped push for Live PD’s cancelation as well. However, with Cops being brought back to a new network, the return of Live PD as a new series showed that cancelations never last forever or long.
Credit: On Patrol: Live/Reelz
Live PD Return as On Patrol: Live
While On Patrol: Live hasn’t legitimately been labeled as Live PD 2.0, as Live PD was with Cops, the series was created by the same team and follows even more of a similar concept to its predecessor that Live PD did to Cops. On Patrol: Live, as if the name alone didn’t give away similar vibes as Live PD, was announced on June 8th, 2022, that On Patrol: Live would be a new, similarly-formatted show on Reelz. Although Live PD was canceled due to escalated police violence, its spinoff series, Live Rescue, which followed emergency services like fire departments and paramedics, continued to live on with a home on A&E. As Live PD and On Patrol: Live share producers and hosts in Dan Abrams and Sgt. Sean Larkin and new co-analyst Curtis Wilson, a sheriff’s deputy, followed a remarkably similar format it was no wonder that A&E filed a lawsuit against Reelz for their practical ripoff of the forcibly canceled A&E show. Amongst all of the turmoil from the various similarly styled shows, including the lawsuit, A&E created their show that they dubbed the spiritual successor for Live PD, titled Court Night Live.original programming of police recording and bodycams for television purposesspinoff series Live Rescue,
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