‘Live PD’ Canceled By A&E After Reality Series Destroyed Footage Of Police Shooting
Around the same time that Paramount Network pulled the plug on the long-running law-enforcement reality showCops, A&E removed its biggest hitLive PDfrom its schedule “out of respect for the families of George Floyd and others who have lost their lives.” However, after it came to light thatLive PDcameras filmed the 2019 police killing of a Texas man, Javier Ambler, A&E has decided to cancelLive PDaltogether.
A&E has canceledLive PD, one of cable TV’s biggest hits, amid anti-police brutality protests sweeping the world following the killing of George Floyd by Minnesota police officers. The news comes just 24 hours after the show’s executive producer,Dan Abrams,tweetedthat the series wasn’t going away anytime soon.
Abrams' tweet would precede a flood of controversy surrounding the police reality series. Following A&E’s removal of new episodes ofLive PDfrom the airwaves, the Austin American-StatesmanreportedthatLive PDcameras captured the 2019 police killing of a Texas man, Javier Ambler, on camera and that the footagewas subsequently destroyed. A&E confirmed Tuesday that “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.”
Abrams has denied malicious intent in destroying the footage, insisting that the show was following established guidelines designed to protect civilians. But the network apparently wised up on the dangerous complicity ofLive PDin working so closely with police officers during a charged climate such as now.
However,Vulturenotes that the cancelation of a massive hit for A&E likeLive PD,which regularly dominated cable ratings and spawned several spin-offs, could significantly impact the network. That may be why A&E has left the door open for a reimagined format of the show, Vulture reports. “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,” the network said, adding that it “will be meeting with community and civil rights leaders as well as police departments” as it moves forward. However, A&E insiders say that, with the network pulling reruns of the show,Live PDis done.
TV networks and studios are now coming to terms with how television and media hashelped shapeand support systemic racism. Paramount Network canceled the long-running reality showCops,comedy shows using blackfacehave been pulled from streaming platforms, andGone With The Windis the subject of renewed debate about its glamorization of the Antebellum South following itstemporary removalfrom HBO Max.
