"Live PD," which airs on A&E and embeds cameras in police units throughout the United States, has been canceled by the network amid calls for reforms of police departments throughout the US.
The episodes aired with a slight delay, but gave viewers a glimpse of police interactions with the public.
Variety reported the show’s cancelation, and show host Dan Abrams confirmed the announcement on Twitter. Abrams said on Tuesday that the show would continue on.
“Shocked & beyond disappointed about this,” Abrams tweeted. “To the loyal #LivePDNation please know I, we, did everything we could to fight for you, and for our continuing effort at transparency in policing. I was convinced the show would go on.”
Live PD’s announcement comes one day after “Cops” ended its 31-year run on television.
Live PD became embroiled in controversy this week when the show announced that it no longer retained footage of a police-involved fatality in Austin, Texas, from a 2019 incident. Live PD said that because an investigation had concluded into the officers’ conduct, Live PD deleted the unaired footage.
“This is a critical time in our nation’s history and we have made the decision to cease production on Live PD. 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. And with that, we will be meeting with community and civil rights leaders as well as police departments,” A&E said in a statement to Variety.
Live PD frequently was the most-watched program on Friday and Saturday evenings since its 2016 launch.
