A+E Networks has filed suit in federal court against Big Fish Entertainment, Half Moon Pictures and ReelzChannel over the series On Patrol Live, charging a “brazen theft” of its rights to the TV series Live PD.

A+E took the high-rated series off the air after George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020. Live PD was one of many shows highlighting law enforcement officers that were cancelled at the time. 

In June, the Reelz cable channel said it would launch On Patrol: Live in July, produced by Big Fish with Live PD hosts Dan Abrams, Sean “Sticks” Larkin and Curtis Wilson reprising their roles and incorporating many other Live PD features.

The suit is seeking to recover actual damages, the profits generated by the new show, and punitive damages. It also wants the defendant enjoined from continuing to reproduce and distribute the show.

ReelzChannel said it "has not been served with nor had an opportunity to review the Complaint in detail, and thus has no comment at this time beyond denying liability and expressing its ongoing commitment to On Patrol: Live."

A spokespersons for Big Fish had not responded to requests for comment as of when this story was posted.

In its suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, A+E said it is the sole and exclusive owner of any and all rights to Live PD, which aired on A&E between 2015 and 2020.

“Without any authorization from AETN, Big Fish (the show’s former producer) created a clone of Live PD featuring the same primary hosts, content, format, segments, and more, and sold that virtually identical show to Reelz, a cable network seeking its first breakout hit, which then aired the show over AETN’s repeated and vociferous objections,” the suit said.

The suit also notes that when marketing the new series, the defendants said they were “bringing back” Live PD on a new network.

The suit includes a tweet from Abrams from June that says “the show will be back on Friday and Saturday nights sometime later this summer!”

“So far, defendants’ plan has worked as intended: the infringing series has single-handedly drawn millions of viewers to Reelz, which was the 89th ranked television network in total viewers in 2021,” the suit says. “Facing such a blatant rip-off, AETN brings this action against Defendants for copyright infringement under the Copyright Act and for trademark infringement and unfair competition under the Lanham Act and New York law.”

A+E Networks said in the suit that when production of the series — the highest-rated show on A&E — was suspended, it never “relinquished or assigned rights to create episodes of Live PD nor has it authorized anyone to prepare derivative programs based upon Live PD.”

A+E said it has sent cease-and-desist letter to the defendants warning them not to infringe on A+E’s intellectual property rights, but they went forward anyway with On Patrol: Live.

“On Patrol: Live copies nearly every aspect of Live PD: it covers the same, crime-related subject matter through the same format (i.e., a live series following police units around the country in real time, with hosts in studio curating and guiding the action, and pre-produced packages about cops/areas/hot cases during moments of quiet); it features the same primary studio host and co-host, who describe the unfolding action using the exact same catchphrases they used on Live PD while dressed as they often were dressed on Live PD; it has live feeds in multiple cities following several of the same police departments as Live PD and even some of the same individual officers; it utilizes similar percussive opening and closing music; it copies the same program segments (e.g., “Crime of the Week,” “Missing,” and “Wanted”); it displays the officers’ locations and their activity the same way; it transitions from scene to scene in the same way; episodes end in the same way, with footage of a police interaction continuing to play in the upper-middle part of a screen while credits flash underneath in white font, with police lights flashing in the background; and it even airs during the same time slots (Friday and Saturday nights from 9 p.m.-12 a.m.),” the suit claims.

A+E Networks is also seeking damages for the defendant using its trademarks. 

“As a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ infringement of the Live PD series, including the Registered Episodes, AETN has been damaged by such infringement including, inter alia, through lost licensing revenue and other opportunities to exploit the Live PD series, and Defendants have profited and are continuing to profit from such infringement, all in an amount to be proven at trial,“ the suit said. “Accordingly, AETN is entitled to actual damages and any additional profits of Defendants.

“Because defendants are engaging in new acts of infringement on at least a weekly basis and such infringement is willful, AETN, at its election, as an alternative to an award of actual damages and Defendants’ profits, is entitled to recover the maximum amount of statutory damages available  … for each infringed work,” the suit said. “Because Defendants are engaging in new acts of infringement on at least a weekly basis, AETN is entitled to recover its costs, including its attorneys’ fees, in prosecuting this action,” the lawsuit said. ■

A&E Network said it will launch Court Night Live, a new series from Big Fish Entertainment that gives viewers a chance to weigh in on the cases being decided, on August 10 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

The show is hosted by Vinnie Politan of Court TV and Judge Greg Mathis, who has had his own courtroom shows. Retired Judge Vonda Evan will offer analysis.

Also: ViacomCBS Unit Drops 'Live PD' Producer Big Fish

The show will feature live civil cases being tried in pop up courts presided over by judges in Philadelphia, Tampa and Chicago. People agree to have cases heard in these pop up trials because the wait to have civil cases hear can be more than a year.

During the show, the home audience will get a chance to have their voices heard, weighing in on the proceedings in some cases by voting on the verdict via text message.

“Court Night Live will combine the inherent drama of live civil court proceedings with context and expert legal analysis, elevating the traditional court shows that have been a staple of the television landscape for decades,” said Elaine Frontain Bryant, executive VP and head of programming for A&E. “Court Night Live gives viewers a chance to experience public trials live in the virtual courtroom gallery on air.” 

Big Fish is the company behind Live PD and Live Rescue, among other programs. It is owned by MGM. 

Court Night Live is produced for A&E by Big Fish Entertainment. Dan Cesareo, Lucilla D’Agostino and John Zito are executive producers for Big Fish Entertainment. Elaine Frontain Bryant, Shelly Tatro, and Sean Gottlieb are executive producers for A&E. A+E Networks holds worldwide distribution rights for Court Night Live.■

Days after its hit show Live PD was canceled by A+E Networks, producer Big Fish Entertainment was dropped by ViacomCBS’ Entertainment and Youth unit.

Big Fish produced the Love & Hip Hop and Black Ink Crew franchises as well as Cartel Crew for VH1.

ViacomCBS said the shows will be produced in house.

The move comes as companies are looking at the way they handle racial issues in the wake of demonstrations against police brutality following the May 25 death of George Floyd while Floyd was in the custody of the Minneapolis Police Department.

“We have decided to end our relationship with Big Fish Entertainment and will be producing our shows in house at this time. We thank Big Fish for their past contributions and wish them the best,” the company said in a statement.

Viacom’s Paramount Network had canceled Cops earlier in the week.

ViacomCBS’ Entertainment & Youth Group Friday ended its working relationship with reality series producer Big Fish Entertainment, a day after A+E Networks dropped the New York-based production company’s unscripted series Live PD.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the group said ViacomCBS “will be producing our shows in house at this time,” ending the run of such popular series as VH1’s Black Inc. Crew franchise as well as Cartel Crew.

“We have decided to end our relationship with Big Fish Entertainment and will be producing our shows in house at this time. We thank Big Fish for their past contributions and wish them the best,” said the spokesperson.

The move comes on the heels of A+E Networks’ decision Thursday to discontinue the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer-owned Big Fish Entertainment's popular reality series Live PD amid protests over police brutality stemming from the death of George Floyd as he was in the custody of the Minneapolis Police Department on May 25.

Related: A&E Cancels ‘Live P.D.’

A&E has added 10 episodes to its freshman series Live Rescue, the network said Wednesday.

The series, which follows live first responders from across the country responding to emergency rescue calls, will now air 19 episodes in its first season, according to A&E. Live Rescue, produced by Big Fish Entertainment (Live P.D.) is averaging 1.3 million viewers since its April 22 debut, according to the network.

“The initial response by viewers to Live Rescue has been extremely rewarding,” said Elaine Frontain Bryant, Executive Vice President & Head of Programming for A&E Network in a statement. “This is a challenging show to produce, but our incredible partners at Big Fish have once again made it possible for viewers across the country to see the work of first responders and the challenges they face every day in real-time through this groundbreaking series.”

RELATED: Big Fish Rides 'Live PD' Wave

Cable networks and streaming services will launch several specials and documentaries over the next few weeks highlighting the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, which industry executives say is still as relevant -- and debated -- as it was in 1969.

“Considering that after 50 years we’ve never been back to the moon is significant and deserves further questioning and exploration,” said Lucilla D’Agostino, chief creative officer for production company Big Fish Entertainment, which produced Science Channel’s limited documentary series Truth Behind the Moon Landing. “No one can argue that this was an amazing time in American history, but the considerable hurdles NASA needed to overcome to get man there by Kennedy’s deadline have fueled lunar conspiracies for decades.”

The six-part Truth Behind the Moon Landing series, which debuted this past Sunday (June 2), tackles the most popular conspiracy claims surrounding the iconic moon landing. The series seeks to apply scientific reasoning to the most popular conspiracies with commentary from former NASA Astronaut Leland Melvin, Iraq War veteran and former FBI agent Chad Jenkins and best-selling author, Mike Bara, according to network officials.

Other special programming commemorating the event include streaming service CuriosityStream’s June 13 premiere of Return to the Moon, an original documentary film which chronicles today’s global sprint to take man back to the moon and the innovative technology needed to colonize and explore beyond it, according to network officials.

On June 17, Curiosity Stream will also launch a summer block of moon landing-themed specials and documentaries on Monday nights, including Hack the Moon:Unsung Heroes of Apollo, which debuts June 24.

CNN on June 23 will debut director/producer Todd Douglas Miller‘s documentary Apollo 11, which captures the days and hours of the moon landing from newly-discovered 70mm footage and more than 11,000 hours of audio recordings, according to the network.

Smithsonian Channel will explore the moon landing through unique and rare access to Apollo artifacts from the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum as part of a six-part series, Apollo’s Moon Shot, premiering June 16.

In addition on July 7, the network will air a one-hour documentary The Day We Walked On The Moon, which relieves the 24 hours surrounding the mission through revelations of the men and women who witnessed the historical event, said the network. 

Big Fish Entertainment has signed NBA All-Star Chris Paul to an exclusive television and production partnership deal, the parties announced Thursday.

The deal call for Paul's Oh Dipp!!! Productions to create content across multiple platforms, including unscripted, scripted, digital, premium documentaries, and short-form content, Big Fish executives said. Paul, the Houston Rockets point guard who's been a nine-time NBA All-Star and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, will serve as executive producer and may also host or star in upcoming Oh Dipp!!! series and projects.

Paul and Big Fish — which produces A&E's Live PD series — collaborated in 2017 on a three-part ESPN docu-series, Chris Paul’s Chapter 3, which followed his journey to the Rockets.

RELATED: Big Fish Rides 'Live PD' Wave

“There were so many creative synergies in working together the first time that this partnership felt like a no-brainer," Big Fish Entertainment president Dan Cesareo said in a statement. "We’re thrilled to utilize the boundless resources we have as part of the MGM family to give him and Oh Dipp!!! the platform to develop exciting IP and allow viewers, and longtime fans alike, the opportunity to enjoy content from his singular point of view.”

Added Paul: “I’m thrilled to have found the right partner to collaborate and create wide-ranging content across all mediums. I look forward to sharing my passion for storytelling and bringing audiences together through entertaining, inspiring and unique programming. There’s no limit to what we can accomplish together, and we’re excited to have already hit the ground running.”

A&E has once again partnered with Live PD producers Big Fish Entertainment to create a new live documentary series.

The new series, Live Rescue, follows first responders from across the country as they respond to emergency calls in real time, according to network officials. The eight-episode series debuts April 22 and will be hosted by journalist Ashleigh Banfield.

RELATED: Big Fish, Dan Cesareo Rides 'Live PD' Wave 

Live Rescue follows A&E and Big Fish’s successful documentary series Live PD, which follows live the actions of law enforcement officials in as many as eight cities.

Live Rescue is produced by Big Fish Entertainment, with Dan Cesareo, Lucilla D’Agostino, John Zito, and Jordana Starr serving as Executive Producers along with Elaine Frontain Bryant, Shelly Tatro, and Sean Gottlieb.