Now they've gone too far: A&E cancels LivePD

I don’t even know what to say about this. I’m afraid I’ll say something I shouldn’t.

It is apparently no longer acceptable in America to portray any police in a positive light. It’s not enough to say black lives matter, which they most definitely do at the very least. It’s no longer acceptable to advocate for steps to end police brutality, which we absolutely do.

No. Now the police are the enemy, and no one can see them doing good work, helping people or keeping their communities safe.

Two days ago the Paramount Network canceled Cops, which had been on the air in the United States for 31 years. That was stunning, but let’s be honest. Cops is not the rating juggernaut it once was. It wasn’t a radical programming decision.

LivePD, on the other hand, is the highest-rated show on cable, with its live-as-it-happens look at the work of law enforcement agencies across the country every Friday and Saturday night. The show is well produced and expertly presented by the team of Dan Abrams, Tom Morris Jr. and Tulsa Police Sgt. Sean “Sticks” Larkin. There’s a reason it’s cable’s top show. It’s great.

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Today, A&E canceled it. Completely. It’s gone. Because it’s no longer OK to support police:

“This is a critical time in our nation’s history and we have made the decision to cease production on Live PD,” A&E said in a statement to CNN. “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.”

Abrams is predictably incensed:

Shocked & beyond disappointed about this. 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. . More to come. . .https://t.co/WWh7fDrig2

— Dan Abrams (@danabrams) June 11, 2020

Hopefully that “more to come” will be another network picking up the show. There is every reason that should happen. LivePD shows the realities of police work and helps people better understand what officers go through on a nightly basis. It’s allowed us to see stunning moments in real time and understand just how much skill and discipline is required to serve as a police officer.

LivePD was a vital asset to the discourse that goes on in this country. It’s considerably enhanced public support for police, and it’s now being canceled because public support for police has suddenly become a bad thing.

What the hell is going on in this country? A week ago we were all in agreement that George Floyd’s death was an atrocity, and that something needed to be done to make sure such things did not happen again. Somehow we’ve gone from there to an all-out assault on all things police, culminating in the top-rated show on cable being canceled just because it’s pro-police. Astonishing.

Clearly the people who run A&E are first-rate cowards. Hopefully there is another cable network run by people with some intestinal fortitude, who would like to keep alive one of the best things cable TV has ever offered.

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Pray for the good police. They don’t deserve what’s happening right now.