‘Live PD’ Episodes, ‘Cops’ Pulled From Schedule Amid George Floyd Death

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A&E has pulled this weekend’s episodes of its hit docuseries Live PD amid continued nationwide protests and outrage over the death of George Floyd at the hands of police, Deadline has confirmed.

“Out of respect for the families of George Floyd and others who have lost their lives, in consultation with the departments we follow, and in consideration for the safety of all involved, we have made the decision not to broadcast Live PD this weekend,” A&E said in a statement. The network will air encore episodes of Live Rescue in its place.

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Additionally, Paramount Network has shelved police series Cops, we’ve confirmed. The series did not air in its normal slot Monday, and we hear there are no plans to run any episodes in the future. Paramount Network has been moving away from all unscripted programming.

Hosted by Dan Abrams with analysis from Tom Morris Jr. and Sgt. Sean ‘Sticks’ Larkin, Live PD follows police departments from across the country in real time as they patrol their communities. Using dash cams along with fixed rig and handheld cameras, the series captures the work of a mix of urban and rural police forces on a typical Friday and Saturday night. Abrams, Morris and Larkin guide viewers through the night giving insight to what audiences are seeing in real time, bouncing between the featured police departments and offering an inside look at each live episode. Live PD also features law enforcement officers from the series who appear in-studio as guest analysts to provide additional commentary.

The three-hour live show is produced by MGM’s Big Fish Entertainment. Live PD is exec produced by Dan Cesareo, Lucilla D’Agostino and John Zito for Big Fish and Elaine Frontain Bryant, Shelly Tatro, Sean Gottlieb, and Brad Abramson for A&E.

The long-running Cops premiered on Fox in 1989 and aired for 25 seasons. The show was resurrected in 2013 when Spike TV ordered new episodes. Spike TV rebranded as Paramount Network in 2018.

Variety was first to report the news.

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