Reelz will distribute an additional 90 episodes of its On Patrol: Live police documentary series. 

The series' third season will continue to document in realtime the everyday work of police officers on patrol, said the network, according to Reelz. The network last February greenlit a similar 90-episode order for the show's second season.  

“We are thrilled to renew the program for another year and to see viewers come together on Friday and Saturday nights as On Patrol: Live chronicles police on patrol in communities across America,” Reelz CEO Stan E. Hubbard said in a statement.

Added Abrams, who hosts the series alongside Sgt. Sean “Sticks” Larkin (ret.), Deputy Sheriff Curtis Wilson and other guest experts: “There would be no OPL without #OPNation – more than just a dedicated audience interested in the work of law enforcement, these engaged viewers often reach out to help with the show’s ‘Missing’ and ‘BOLO’ (“Be on the Lookout”) segments and they make real contributions in aiding communities and families. It’s one of the most gratifying parts of working on On Patrol: Live and we’re so glad the show will continue.”

On Patrol: Live is produced by Big Fish Entertainment's Half Moon Pictures division, with Abrams, Dan Cesareo, John Zito, Lucilla D’Agostino, Paul Gordon and Joe Venafro serving as executive producers. 

On Patrol Live's third season announcement comes six months after a U.S. District Judge dismissed a motion brought by Big Fish Entertainment to dismiss an A&E copy infringement lawsuit against Big Fish and Reelz over whether On Patrol: Live mirrors A&E's Live PD series, which the network ended in 2020.

Reelz will continue its On Patrol: Live documentary series through January 2024 with the addition of 90 new episodes, the network said Tuesday.

The series, which follows law-enforcement officers on patrol in real time, debuted on Reelz last July, two years after its predecessor, Live PD, was canceled by A&E in the wake of protests against the police after the murder of George Floyd. 

Also: A+E Networks Sues Big Fish, Reelz Over ‘Live PD’

The weekly series, which airs Friday and Saturday nights, averaged nearly 4 million viewers in live-plus-seven-day Nielsen ratings, helping the network boost its primetime audience by 270% among adults 25-54 in 2022, Reelz said.

“The growth Reelz experienced in 2022 was remarkable by any measure and since the July 22 premiere of On Patrol: Live, our audience has increased every month and we expect that trend to continue into 2023 and beyond,” Reelz CEO Stan E. Hubbard said in a statement.  “On Patrol: Live viewers come together to create a massive, engaged audience for three amazing hours every Friday and Saturday night.”

Also: Stan Hubbard: Reelz’s ‘On Patrol: Live’ Won’t Be a ‘Woke’ ‘Live PD’

The series is co-hosted hosted by Dan Abrams, retired police Sgt. Sean “Sticks” Larkin  and Deputy Sheriff Curtis Wilson. On Patrol: Live is executive produced by Abrams, Dan Cesareo, John Zito, Lucilla D’Agostino, Paul Gordon and Joe Venafro. ■

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. ■

The former network home of Live PD will will jump back into the live crime genre as A&E debuts courtroom-themed series Court Night Live on August 10.

The series, produced by Live PD creators Big Fish Entertainment, will focus on civil cases from across the country litigate live from pop-up courtrooms in Philadelphia, Tampa and Chicago in front of a gallery of community members, according to the network.

Court Night Live comes two years after A&E cancelled Live PD – which followed law enforcement officers on patrol in real time – in the wake of protests against police brutality stemming from the death of George Floyd. Reelz last month debuted On Patrol: Live, an offshoot of Live PD.

Also: Stan Hubbard: Reelz's 'On Patrol: Live ' Won't Be a 'Woke' 'Live PD'

Court Night Live, hosted by Vinnie Politan and Judge Greg Mathis -- with analysis from retired Judge Vonda Evans -- will give viewers an opportunity to have their voices heard as they vote on the verdicts in select cases in real time via text message. A&E added that pending civil court cases have jumped over 30% over the last few years, with some people waiting over a year to get to trial.

“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,” A&E executive vice president and head of programming Elaine Frontain Bryant said in a statement. “Court Night Live gives viewers a chance to experience public trials live in the virtual courtroom gallery on air.” ■

Reelz’s much publicized Friday night launch for its On Patrol: Live series was delayed for more than one hour due to technical issues, according to network officials.

The three-hour series, a reboot of A&E’s canceled series Live P.D., was supposed to debut at 9 pm (ET), but viewers who tuned in instead saw re-runs of another law enforcement-themed series, Jail: Las Vegas, as well as commercials promoting the network's upcoming programming.

On Patrol: Live was back on the air around 10:15 pm (ET), according to the network.

“On premiere night of On Patrol: Live, Reelz experienced a technical difficulty that delayed airing of the show at its scheduled time," the network said in a statement. "We are back up and running and will be airing tonight’s show in its entirety, from the beginning and commercial free. We apologize for the delay and hope everyone enjoys the debut of On Patrol: Live”!

Series executive producer and co-host Dan Abrams also confirmed in a Friday night tweet that the show would be shown commercial free in its entirety. “OK, so bad news we had nothing on air for 75 minutes or so … the good news is I’m told the show will be played in it entirety and commercial free!,” Abrams said in the tweet.

Also: Dan Abrams: The Time is Right for 'On Patrol: Live'

The three-hour live show, which follows several police departments from across the country on patrol in real time, airs on Reelz Fridays and Saturday nights. The series is co-hosted by Abrams, former Tulsa Police Department Sgt. Sean “Sticks” Larkin and Deputy Sheriff Curtis Wilson.

Also: Stan Hubbard: Reelz's 'On Patrol: Live' Won't Be a 'Woke' 'Live PD'

The live exploits of police officers from around the country return to television Friday (July 22) as Reelz launches On Patrol: Live, a series from the producers of the former A&E series Live PD.

As with Live PD, which was canceled by A&E in 2020 in the wake of protests against police brutality stemming from the death of George Floyd, ABC News chief legal affairs correspondent Dan Abrams will serve as executive producer and host of Reelz’s three-hour On Patrol: Live show. He‘ll be alongside former Tulsa Police Department Sgt. Sean “Sticks” Larkin and Deputy Sheriff Curtis Wilson. The series will follow the efforts of police officers on patrol across the country in real time. 

Reelz’s launch of On Patrol: Live adds to its lineup of controversial, police-themed shows such as Cops and Cops Reloaded.

Abrams, who is also founder of the Law&Crime Network and host of Dan Abrams Live on NewsNation, recently spoke to Multichannel News about his expectations for On Patrol: Live, his disappointment with A&E’s cancellation of Live PD and the current environment for unscripted, police-themed television programming. Here’s an edited version of the discussion. 

MCN: Do you think the political and social environment in the country surrounding law enforcement that helped lead to Live PD’s cancellation two years ago has changed heading into On Patrol’s launch? 

Dan Abrams: Yes, I do think the environment has changed. My perspective hasn't changed from the beginning, but I think that the perspective in the country has changed. I think that there is a recognition again about the challenges of being a police officer, and polls show that the vast majority of Americans support police in the country. I think that certainly helps a little, but I think an argument could have been made that it would have been nice if the show was on a year ago. 

MCN: How did On Patrol: Live end up on Reelz?

DA: We had been talking to a number of potential partners about a live police show, and Reelz just stepped up in a bigger way than others did. They just were more committed to the project and the fit was just better. Over the last couple of years, I've been approached by a number of networks about possibly doing a live police show, and this just ended up being by far the best fit.

MCN: How is the show similar to Live PD and how will it differ?

DA: Just like Live PD, this is a live police show that will be covering police departments in real time. It’s going to be different in the sense that we’re going to have citizen ride-alongs, which hadn’t been part of the [Live PD] show. We’re going to work with different [police] departments from those that were involved in Live PD. So it’s definitely going to be a new show, but I think the fans of Live PD are certainly going to enjoy it.

MCN: Given Live PD’s ratings success, how disappointed were you that A&E pulled the plug on the show?

DA: I was very disappointed that Live PD was pulled. I understand the decision on the part of A&E — I wasn’t angry at A&E, but I was very disappointed.

MCN: Having said that and given the uptick in crime across the country, are you approaching the production of On Patrol: Live any differently than you did Live PD?

DA: Look, I think policing is policing. I don’t think we’re gonna see sort of a fundamental difference in the amount of police activity. The people who appreciated Live PD, I think, wanted to watch the police in real time. I think that there were certainly a lot of people who supported the police and who wanted to watch the show from the police officer’s perspective, but I think there were also police critics who wanted to watch the show. There were elements on the show where things would happen and people would disagree with what the police did. I would expect that that will happen as well with this show, but I don't think there’s going to be a fundamental difference in terms of ‘policing’ that we see now rather than two years ago.

MCN: Beyond Live PD, how is Law&Crime faring in a very competitive television environment?

DA: Law&Crime is doing great. We have three arms to the business: the production arm, where we produce content for a whole host of networks; then there’s the website, lawandcrime.com; and there’s the live network, which is now available on Dish, Verizon and a number of major cable services, in addition, to all the major OTT platforms, and it’s really exploded. The business was going great, and then the [Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard defamation trial] happened, and that sort of catapulted things to a different level, especially in the YouTube world. That added a new element to things, so overall the business is thriving. ▪️

Reelz has set July 22 to launch On Patrol: Live, a new series from the producers of the former A&E series Live PD.

On Patrol: Live, which will air live over three hours every Friday and Saturday night,  follows the blueprint of Live PD and chronicles in real time the exploits of police officers on patrol across America. On Patrol Live launches two years after A&E cancelled Live PD in the wake of protests against the police after the murder of George Floyd. 

Former Live PD on-air hosts Dan Abrams, Sean Larkin and Curtis Wilson will reunite to host On Patrol: Live and will provide minute-by-minute live analysis, according to the network. Also, the show will feature “Citizen Ride-Alongs,” which will give local residents a chance to ride with officers, as well as “Citizens On-Set,” which invites community members into the studio as guests. 

Also: Stan Hubbard: Reelz's 'On Patrol: Live' Won't Be a 'Woke' 'Live PD'

“Preparations to launch On Patrol: Live are well underway and we are thrilled to be airing just one month from now,” Reelz CEO Stan E. Hubbard said in a statement. “The production's complex logistics and technical sophistication are like producing a Super Bowl every Friday and Saturday night, and we're thrilled to do it to deliver the excitement that only live television can.’ 

Added Abrams, who also serves as executive producer, “We’re a month out from premiere and I can't wait to be in studio with Sticks and Curtis as we bring this new live policing show to viewers across the country.” ■ 

Reelz hopes this summer’s launch of On Patrol: Live, from the producers of the former A&E series Live PD, will help lure new viewers to the independently-owned cable network.

The series, which will follow police officers on patrol in real time, will provide the 15-year-old Reelz network with important and appealing live programming on Friday and Saturday nights, CEO Stan E. Hubbard said. On Patrol: Live comes two years after A&E canceled its ratings-strong Live PD in the wake of protests against the police after the murder of George Floyd.

Former Live PD host Dan Abrams will serve as host and executive producer for On Patrol: Live. Reelz has yet to set a specific premiere date for the series, which will join other police-themed series such as Cops and Cops Reloaded on the 40 million-subscriber service.

Hubbard recently spoke to Multichannel News about the strategy behind creating On Patrol: Live, as well as the value of live programming for linear cable networks in a crowded multiplatform television industry. An edited version of the discussion follows.  

MCN: Why do you feel a live law-enforcement show fits well with the Reelz brand?

 Stan Hubbard: Our brand has evolved like all brands, but we are about real people, real stories and real celebrities. Some of our top shows like Autopsy: The Last Hours of …, where we dig into the last hours of a celebrity's life, do really well for us. So bringing in some law enforcement programming is a natural fit. When Live PD, Cops and all programs like it were dropped a couple years ago by most of the networks, it opened up some different opportunities. For the last year or so we've had Cops and Cops Reloaded on Reelz. We've more recently added Jail to the mix; that fits nicely in our brand. Based on the success of those programs we're a top-10 growth network. Then, when you get viewers coming for those things, they stay to watch our other programs that still define who we are. I think On Patrol: Live is a perfect fit for what we're doing and for us it's perfect programming in today's environment where live is what keeps viewers from drifting off to streaming and other platforms on a regular basis.

MCN: Why do you think the time is right now to bring a live law-enforcement show back to TV, and are you concerned about receiving any backlash? 

SH: When we brought Cops, Cops Reloaded and Jail to the network, we didn’t receive any backlash. What we heard from viewers were thank yous for bringing this back and not being afraid of it. We’re in 2022 and we as a country are divided politically, socially and culturally in so many ways. I hope at some point we get over that, but there are going to be some voices that say, what you are doing isn’t right, and there are going to be voices that say thanks for bringing it back and helping me find your channel. I think we’re a responsible network and a responsible company, and we do what we think is right. We did other things that people told us we shouldn’t have done and it worked out just fine. We picked up the Miss USA Pageant [in 2015 after NBC dropped the Donald Trump co-owned pageant] when it needed a home 11 days before it was going to air. We picked up the [A&E-dropped] Kennedys series [in 2011] when everybody said it was too hot to touch, but once it aired it wasn’t a really big deal and it was a really good program. 

MCN: What will viewers see with On Patrol: Live? 

SH: With the show, the viewer gets to participate in being with those officers as they are doing their job, given what policing has become in 2022. We're going to get out there and show it, and it’s going to be transparent. We're adding some interesting elements to the show with some viewer ride alongs and responses. It’s not gonna be a woke program — we're not trying to bow to anybody. This is going to be a real live look at the state of policing in 2022 and beyond.

MCN: Do you see an opportunity to extend the Reelz brand beyond linear TV? 

SH: We’re streaming now. You can go to Samsung TV and other distributors and get our app, but it’s not the live network. As an independent, we can’t risk trying to go around our distributors. If we were one of the big six programming companies, we could do it. As an independent, Reelz is trapped in linear TV. We know what helps distributors keep their linear subscribers and keep viewership on their system instead of going off to streaming is live TV. We’re not going to compete for NFL football or pro hockey, but we are bringing six hours of really-high-profile live TV every week to those systems, and I think it's going to help subscribership. It’s going to give people a reason to stick around on their cable, satellite and telco systems. I'm hopeful that we're gonna find some more distributors who want to melt down some of the tiers they have us on or others that don't carry us. We’re probably punching above our weight for an independent, but we’re going to do it. ￭

After A&E decided to cancel its top-rated show, Live PD, in the wake of nationwide protests over police brutality, Sony Pictures Television has followed suit and asked TV stations to pull the show’s syndicated spin-off, Live PD Police Patrol, which SPT distributes. TV stations are taking the show off their air this week, a SPT spokeswoman confirmed.

Live PD Police Patrol premiered in syndication in fall 2019. In the week ended June 7, the most recent full week for which national household ratings are available, Live PD Police Patrol averaged a 0.9 live plus same day national household rating, according to Nielsen Media Research.

A&E made the decision to cancel Live PD on Wednesday, June 10. Besides general concern around police treatment of Black people, such as the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, Austin media outlets also had reported that the show had pulled, and then erased, video of the death of Javier Amblin, a Black man, during a police stop in March 2019. 

RELATED: A&E Cancels 'Live PD'

A&E had just renewed Live PD a month prior for 160 more episodes. Earlier last week, Paramount Network canceled Cops, which had been on the air for 33 seasons, airing on Fox for the first 25. 

Live PD was hosted by ABC legal analyst Dan Abrams, who up until Deadline reported that the show was officially canceled had been tweeting that the show was coming back. 

“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,” Abrams tweeted last Wednesday.

The show followed police departments across the country in real time as they went out on patrol. Live PD was executive produced by Big Fish Entertainment, with executive producers Dan Cesareo, Lucilla D’Agostino and John Zito. 

A&E has cancelled Live PD, the high-rated documentary series that follows police from around the U.S. on patrol in real time.

The cancellation comes as protests against police brutality have swept the country, stemming from the death of George Floyd as he was in the custody of the Minneapolis Police Department on May 25.

“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. “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.”

The three-hour series, which follows police departments “on a typical Friday and Saturday night” across the country, is hosted by Dan Abrams, along with Tom Morris Jr. and Sgt. Sean “Sticks” Larkin providing analysis. The show uses dash cams, along with fixed rig and handheld cameras, to capture the work of a mix of urban and rural police forces.

Live PD’s cancellation came on the heels of Paramount Network’s axing of long-running law enforcement series Cops.

Big Fish Entertainment produced Live PD, which premiered in 2016, for A&E Network.

For its fourth season, Live PD drew 1.8 million viewers, per A+E, with some 672,000 of those watchers aged 18-49.

A&E Network has canceled Live PD, the network confirmed Wednesday.

The cancellation comes as protests against police brutality have swept the country, stemming from the death of George Floyd as he was in the custody of the Minneapolis Police Department on May 25.

“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. "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.”

Related: Pluto TV Still Streaming ‘Cops’ After Paramount Network Cancellation

The series, which follows police departments "on a typical Friday and Saturday night" across the country, is hosted by Dan Abrams with Tom Morris Jr. and Sgt. Sean ‘Sticks’ Larkin providing analysis.

Live PD's cancellation came on the heels of Paramount Network's axe of long-running law enforcement series Cops.

Big Fish Entertainment produced Live PD, which premiered in 2016, for A&E Network.

Continuing protests across the country sparked by the Memorial Day killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis while in police custody has spawned the creation of several cable network specials and a reassessment of some shows currently on cable and streaming service lineups.

Tonight (June 10), Discovery Network channels will air the second of a two-part special Where Do We Go From Here? A Conversation Led By Oprah, featuring Oprah Winfrey as she speaks directly with a large range of African-American thought leaders, activists and artists including writer/director Ava DuVernay, actor David Oyelowo and politician/activist Stacey Abrams about systematic racism and the current state of America, according to Discovery.

“I don’t recall a moment quite like this one, because we find our nation on a precipice and true tipping point,” Winfrey said during the opening of yesterday’s episode, which was simulcast across 18 Discovery Inc.-owned networks. “Is this the moment that will finally change the country, where people recognize systemic racism for the problem and evil that it is?”

The two-day special follows on the heels of A&E’s June 8 special, The Time is Now: Race and Resolution, which aired commercial free across A+E Networks-owned A&E, History, VICE TV, Lifetime, FYI and LMN, and generated a spirited discussion surrounding systemic racism, implicit bias, economic inequality, and cases of police brutality.

Law&Crime Network last Thursday launched two daily shows -- Justice & Peace and Keeping the Peace that cover issues from the perspective of protesters and law enforcement officers respectively, according to the network.

Meanwhile, BET is planning a June 19 Presidential Forum in which both President Donald Trump and Presumptive Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden have been invited to face Black America for the first time on national television to address their concerns. BET said both parties have been contacted but would not reveal if either has accepted.

Along with the content additions, some networks have also pulled shows in response to protests over Floyd’s death. Paramount Network has reportedly cancelled the reality series Cops after a more than three-decade run amid growing calls for law enforcement reform across the country.

In addition, A&E Wednesday cancelled its popular and most watched series Live P.D. -- which follows the actions of law enforcement officials in as many as eight cities. The network said in a statement: “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.”

Upstart streaming service HBO Max Tuesday reportedly removed the classic 1939 film Gone With The Wind after an Los Angeles Times op-ed piece by 12 Years a Slave writer John Ridley criticized the Academy Award-winning film -- which takes place on an Atlanta plantation -- as one that “glorifies the antebellum south.”

Undoubtedly additional programming will be created -- and some existing content will be examined and scrutinized --as the industry and the country come to grips with continuing reaction to George Floyd’s death at the hands of police, while attempting to outline a path forward toward finding a resolution to the issues and injustices raised in its aftermath. 

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

A&E’s new live documentary series Live Rescue garnered 1.4 million total viewers in its premiere Monday night, marking the network's best series premiere in more than two years, according to the network.

The April 22 premiere episode of the series -- a spinoff of A&E and Big Fish Entertainment's Live PD series -- also drew 665,000 viewers in the adult 25-54 demographic, making it cable's top non-fiction launch of 2019 in the demo, according to Nielsen. 

Live Rescue, which follows first responders from across the country as they respond to emergency rescue calls in real time, is A&E's most watched series launch since Leah Remini: Scientology & the Aftermath premiered in November 2016.

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

A+E Networks' core brands are driving ratings by creating content that is appealing to their respective audiences, according to A+E Networks president of programming Rob Sharenow, who recently sat down with Multichannel News for a video interview. 

"We're really leaning into what our viewers want and expect from us, and delivering," he said. 

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.

Lifetime tonight will premiere a new primetime block of true crime-based programming, which is not surprising since the genre is making a killing with female viewers.

Networks, from true crime-branded cable outlets such as Investigation Discovery and Oxygen, to general-entertainment services like Lifetime, TV One and Reelz Channel, are reeling in female viewers attracted to dramatic re-enactments of often grizzly crimes — mostly committed by and against women — that are often as thrilling and more unpredictable than fiction-based scripted series.

Women are the majority of viewers for shows in virtually every subgenre of the category, from live trials to story-driven tales of murder for love to documentaries on injustices within the criminal system, according to network executives.

“People don’t think of women as watching crime dramas, which is a stereotype, and this proves that crime can pay with male and female viewers,” said Marc Berman, editor of TV industry website Programming Insider. “That’s been one of the major misperceptions in our business.”

Investigation Discovery currently tops cable networks in drawing adult women 25-54 on a total day basis, according to network executives. General manager Kevin Bennett said ID’s 650 hours of original genre content skews 60% female, with shows such as Homicide Hunter: Lt. Joe Kenda and Deadly Women, as well as news magazines such as The Real Story With María Elena Salinas — drawing even higher shares of women viewers looking to watch as crimes are solved or to get the story behind a sensational crime.

Related: ID Orders Season Three of ‘People Magazine Investigates’

“All ID viewers are drawn to the high stakes stories of human nature — the twists and turns of a case and the ability to play along and solve the mystery,” Bennett said. “Because it’s real people and real stories you always have that emotional storytelling, and that’s what ID tries to bring consistently.”

All About the Stories

While many of the stories depicted within the true crime category deal with very bloody, grisly acts of violence, Bennett said that what appeals to women are the stories that lead up to the crimes, as well as the justice that is meted out to the perpetrators.

“We are not about car chases and gunfights — we’re really about the emotional impact that these stories [offer] people and also about the mystery side of things,” he said. “These are real stories, so there is a real emotional connection.”

Oxygen has posted double-digit ratings gains among women viewers in total-day ratings since adopting an all true-crime format last summer, according to Nielsen.

Related: Oxygen Greenlights Eight Series Amid Transition to Crime Genre

Executive vice president of programming and development Rod Aissa said shows such as Snapped — now in its 23rd season — as well as upcoming series In Defense Of appeal to women viewers because they tend to get emotionally invested in the victims and sometimes the perpetrator, with audience memebrs often feeling they could find themselves in the particular situation depicted on-screen.

“A lot of women are watching because of the narrative and storytelling that exists in the true-crime stories, and the stakes couldn’t be any higher,” he said. “Women also invest in the victims, so at its best a true crime show is about the pursuit of justice for a victim and they allow the audience to invest in the women in a significant way.”

That doesn’t mean that men are left on the outside looking in at the genre. Aissa said men tune in when the subject matter pertains to their interests, particularly if it’s sports-themed.

The second installment of Oxygen’s two-part March docuseries Aaron Hernandez Uncovered — which profiled the former New England Patriots tight end who in 2017 committed suicide in his jail cell while serving time on a murder conviction — drew more than 1.25 million viewers and set records for a network true-crime program across all adults 18-49 and 25-54.

“There is an opportunity to grow the audience from just strictly female into some other co-viewing opportunities,” Aissa said.

While the audience for Reelz skews majority female, network executives said the genre can draw co-viewing opportunities with the right subjects.

“There certain types of crime stories you can do — if you’re going to do an historical story on Bugsy Siegel, that’s most likely going to attract male viewers,” said Steve Cheskin, senior vice president of programming. “But when you do stories that involve romance triangles or cases where children are involved like the [convicted murderer] Jodi Arias or [accused child murderer] Casey Anthony cases, you get an emotional connection.”

For Reelz, shows such as Copy Cat Killers and Murder Made Me Famous have often pulled in a 70% female audience. Cheskin added that the storylines in those docudramas can be so intense and involving, the genre often mirrors the appeal of scripted programming. “Many of the crime stories and the procedurals on cable and broadcast networks tend to skew female, so it isn’t surprising that these shows would follow that track, except that these are real stories instead of something that’s made up.”

Lifetime will take a stab at the genre beginning tonight (June 18) with a “Justice for Women” true crime-themed programming block hosted by Gretchen Carlson and anchored by the premiere of Live PD Presents: Women On Patrol. The series, a spinoff of sister network A&E’s Live PD docuseries, follows women law enforcement officers from around the country.

Related: How Twitter Engagement Has Cemented ‘Live PD’ as the ‘Cops’ for a New Millennium

Lifetime executive vice president and head of programming Gena McCarthy said the new true crime-themed unscripted series — combined with original films based on real-life crime cases — provides a unique approach to the genre.

“True crime is one of those classic perennial genres with inherent drama, high emotion, compelling twists and turns in the narrative, huge personal stakes and, ultimately, a big puzzle to solve,” she said. “Women love solving all of that and Lifetime women have a long legacy of really enjoying that content from the movies that we’ve done and continue to do based on ripped-from-the-headlines stories.”

If the true crime block — which also features the fourth season premiere of Escaping Polygamy — clicks with viewers, Lifetime will dive deeper into the genre with more scripted and unscripted content, according to McCarthy.

Spreading the Wealth

Other female-skewing and entertainment-based networks are stepping into the genre with content that will appeal in particular to female viewers:

• TV One earlier this month debuted Evidence of Innocence, which profiles true stories of individuals wrongly convicted of crimes.

• The Weather Channel this fall will premiere Storm of Suspicion, about crimes where weather played a central role to the narrative and investigation. While TWC’s audience splits evenly between male and female viewers, network senior vice president of content and programming Nora Zimmett said the true-crime nature of the series will most likely draw more female viewers to the channel.

“True crime has become an incredibly popular genre across media spaces; not only linear television, but podcasts and works of literary nonfiction are exploding,” she said. “We think this show will appeal to both sexes but would not be surprised if there were to be greater interest from women, given that research has shown that more women than men gravitate to the true crime genre.”

Related: True Crime Confidential

Upstart Law & Crime network, which launched in March, said women make up 60% of the audience tuning in for a slate of predominately live trial coverage.

Women viewers are willing to sit through the trial process and listen to witness testimony to determine guilt or innocence for themselves, network editor in chief Rachel Stockman said.

Stockman said women are more apt to talk about trials on social media: They make up 75% to 80% of the participants within the network’s digital platform and sites.

“Live trials are the biggest soap operas there are,” Stockman said. “You’re with the jurors watching this play out and you’re playing armchair detective trying to figure out how all of this plays out.”

The fervor for true-crime content among audiences in general, and in particular among women, isn’t likely to decline in the near future, according to executives. A recent Oxygen study showed that the percentage of viewers interested in the genre has grown significantly over the past year, with 46% of respondents saying they’re becoming more interested in true crime programming, up 33% year over year, senior vice president of strategy insights and research for NBCU’s Lifestyle Networks Dave Kaplan said.

He doesn’t think the rash of new players in the genre will create oversaturation across the various distribution platforms.

“I think that speaks to the fact that the genre is evolving and that there’s more diversity and content from a number of players,” he said. “People are getting to know the genre in new and different ways, and as a result is sparking this wave of interest. Some networks focus on the investigative/law enforcement side of it, others focus on the actual criminals themselves, others focus on the victims. From what we’re seeing the demand keeps growing, and the supply isn’t necessarily enough to sustain the demand.”

Lifetime in June will launch a spinoff from A&E’s successful series Live PD that will shine a light on female officers.

The 20-episode series, Live PD Presents: Women On Patrol, will follow female law enforcement officers around the country including departments in Jackson, Wyo.; Wilmington, N.C.; Tempe, Ariz.; and Stockton, Calif., as well as officers featured on Live PD, said network officials. 

Live PD producers Big Fish Entertainment will produce the spinoff series, which will debut June 4, said the network.

Related: How Twitter Engagement Has Cemented ‘Live PD’ as the ‘Cops’ for a New Millennium

Also premiering on that date is the fourth season of unscripted series Escaping Polygamy, which follows the lives of sisters Andrea, Jessica and Shanell, who daringly left The Kingston Clan, a powerful polygamous group based in Salt Lake City, Utah, known as “The Order.” 

In the upcoming season the sisters help followers of other polygamous groups escape, including those in The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and the Apostolic United Brethren, according to network officials.

Escaping Polygamy is produced by RIVR Media, with Dee Haslam, Rob Lundgren, and Lori Stryer serving as executive producers.

On the heels of its successful Live PD crime docuseries collaboration, A+E Networks is again teaming with legal TV commentator Dan Abrams to launch a new true-crime network built around live court coverage.

The Law & Crime network taps into the former Court TV programming model of featuring predominately live coverage of ongoing criminal court cases from around the country during the daytime hours, along with original analysis and talk/documentary programming in the evening, Abrams said.

‘Thirst for Real Content’
“It’s a 24/7 live trial network,” said Abrams, who worked at Court TV during the 1990s and currently serves as a legal analyst for ABC’s Good Morning America. “I see that there is a real hole in the marketplace — there’s a thirst for live content and for real content.”

The network features a team of lawyer anchors who will cover and analyze the daily court proceedings, as well as other original programming to balance out the schedule, Abrams said.

A+E Networks owns an unspecified minority interest in the network, and Abrams said the network will tap into the company’s resources to build awareness and distribution for the channel, though he would not provide specific details.

“They’ve been a great partner so far in helping with everything from distribution to possible acquisitions and growth,” he said. “That investment has allowed us to take it from proof of concept to becoming a full fledged network.”

The network is in discussions with MVPDs but has yet to reach any distribution deals.

Law & Crime is launching into a very crowded television marketplace that features a number of cable networks dedicated to the true-crime category, including Investigation Discovery and Oxygen.

Related: Oxygen to Rebrand as a True Crime Channel

Abrams said Law & Crime’s plan for live programming would separate it from other networks trying to launch and build an audience.

“I think we’ll have a lot easier time than the others because we’re the only game in town when it comes to live trials,” he said. “Every other network I’ve seen pitched is offering some version of either talking-head TV or repurposing content that’s already available elsewhere. We’re offering nine to 12 hours of live programming a day, so we’re immediately distinguished from the rest of the pack because we’ve got so much original, live programming.”

Abrams, who said he will appear on the network on occasion, said his work on A&E’s Live PDunscripted series served as a partial inspiration for Law & Crime. The series, which Abrams co-hosts each week as it follows several police departments around the country in real time as they respond to incidents, is the network’s most watched unscripted documentary series.

Related: ‘Live PD’ Draws Viewers, and Not All Watch Live

“Seeing people wanting to watch the story unfold as it does on Live PD showed me that people are interested in the programming,” he said. “What people want is more of the actual documentary-style programming, news programming, or in this case, live trial programming.”

Showing Live Court Video Now
The network also hopes to offer a streamed over-the-top version within the next month, and network officials are currently talking to various streaming platforms to gain distribution. Abrams said there are no distribution deals to announce yet. The network’s lawandcrime.com website currently offers live court video of high-profile criminal trials along with legal analysis.

“With the ability to have OTT channels, we’re seeing a lot more on-demand viewing, and that comes from an audience that’s passionate about the programming,” he said. “We expect to tap into that passion with Law & Crime.”

When your most popular new show is called Live PD, you wouldn’t think there would be many viewers tuning in on a delayed basis or watching reruns.

But A&E has found that its unscripted series can be arresting, whether viewed live or not.

Seeking to reverse long-term ratings decline, earlier this year, A&E, part of A+E Networks, shifted its programming strategy, eschewing scripted dramas like Bates Motel and Longmire and sticking to unscripted and nonfiction programming.

Related: The Unscripted TV Issue >Reality TV’s Got Game

The move came at a time when more and more networks — not to mention streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video and even digital companies like Facebook, YouTube and Apple — are ramping up their original programming efforts.

Much of the ensuing stampede of original programming has been scripted dramas, leading to questions as to whether the current era of peak TV has really met a peak.

Related: A&E Sets ‘Undercover High’ Documentary Series

“We seem to be bucking the trend,” said Elaine Frontain Bryant, who was named executive vice president and head of programming for A&E earlier this year. “We’re doubling down and just doing nonfiction with A&E, within our part of the AETN network. It’s working for us. And we’ve been climbing in the rankers ever since.”

MCN Original Video: One-on-One in 2 With A&E's Elaine Frontain Bryant

More Time on the Beat
Driving A&E ratings resurgence is the real-life police series Live PD. Live PD now airs live as it happens on A&E for six hour a week.

Related: A&E’s ‘Live PD’ Sets Series Ratings Record

The documentary series was the No. 1 unscripted series in 2017. It returns for season 2 on Oct. 6. A&E recently announced a 100-episode order from producer Big Fish Entertainment.

But A&E is finding that Live PD also draws a surprisingly large audience when it is not live. “Our buzziest shows in live-same-day also are the most successful in the time-shifted way, as well,” Bryant said.

And while scripted shows, with their big-name stars, get the bulk of attention, nonscripted shows attract passionate audiences as well.

“There is a direct correlation because they cut through,” Bryant said. “It’s really about the show. Good shows cut through. It’s not just about scripted.”

“Nonfiction can cut through the way scripted can. And among time-shifted or on-demand shows, 31 of the 50 highest ranked were non-scripted it just shows that that’s what people want to watch too,” she said. “For us, the ones they’re watching live, they’re also taping and watching them later too.”

Related: Finding Viewers ‘Behind Bars’

Since its launch, Live PD has been a phenomenon. Season one averaged 1.6 million total viewers in live-plus-7 viewing. The series hit a high of 2.4 million total viewers on July 15. Viewership increased 136% from launch and the series more than doubled A&E’s ratings in its time period from a year ago.

Hosted by Dan Abrams, with analysis from Tom Morris Jr., Live PD uses dashboard, fixed-rig and handheld cameras to capture the work of urban and rural police forces from around the country on typical Friday and Saturday nights.

“I think with Live PD, it’s new and fresh and exciting every single week, and that’s the draw. You don’t know what’s going to happen around any bend, any corner, and that is what taped shows cannot provide anywhere. And so even if nothing happens, there is the possibility that anything can at any moment,” Bryant said.

A&E launched Live PD with two hours a week. Then it moved it up to three hours. Now A&E’s schedule ls live with Live PD for six hours. The show has turned A&E’s low-rated Friday and Saturday nights into its most viewed evenings.

“We were doing very painful, low-rated repeats,” she said. “It’s been a real shot in the arm for us.”

Plays Well on Replay
But wait there’s more, as they say in the ads.

A&E launched a cut-down show, Live PD: Police Patrol, consisting of the highlights from the live coverage. And people tuned into that.

Airing in primetime Friday nights, it’s A&Es second-best-performing show in total viewers and adults 25 to 54 when Live PD isn’t airing. It’s performance improved 31% from its premiere to its finale.

And despite a six-day delay, nonlinear viewing of Live PD on A&E’s app and website rose 483% to 132,000 adults 25-54. That was something of a surprise. “We didn’t think they would repeat, and they are repeating,” Bryant said. “And that’s exciting. Anecdotally, I could tell you I was in Texas over Easter weekend on a beautiful Saturday. I was like, ‘Hey family, let’s go hide Easter eggs,’ and they were like, ‘No, we’ve got to watch this show.’ And I said that was last night’s episode. It’s a repeat.”

In addition to Live PD, the network has gotten boosts from other nonfiction series including Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, 60 Days In and The Murder of Laci Peterson.

A&E’s ratings have been up for six straight months through August among total viewers. In August, A&E was the No. 5 ad-supported cable network among adults 25-54, No. 6 with adults 18-49 and No. 9 with total viewers.

Lifetime will look to revolutionize the TV dating genre tonight (July 27) with its new series Date Night Live, which follows as many as nine dates on a live basis across several cities. The show will be hosted by comedian Michelle Collins, radio personality Bethany Watson and relationship coach Paul Brunson, who will provide commentary on each live date as the cameras bounce from city to city to capture all the fun and exciting – or potentially awkward -- moments between couples.

Lifetime’s executive vice president and head of programming Liz Gateley recently spoke to me about the series, which is produced by Big Fish Entertainment -- the creators of A&E’s hit series Live PD. 

Here’s what Gateley and Lifetime want you to know about Date Night Live.

It breaks the mold of traditional dating shows: "This takes a completely new spin on the dating and relationship world. It takes the producers' hands out of it and lets people really experience what dating is like in America. We're really looking for interesting people with relatable backstories, whether its a single, divorced mother who's going out on her first date in a long time or a gay man who's been in the closet most of his life who's now just started dating and is putting himself out there for the first time. There are so many relatable stories like that where you really hope people find love."

The show looks to cover a lot of ground, but does not exploit the participants.  "The liveliness of it all is what excites us. It’ll be like following a golf match where different players are playing on different holes; you have to ping pong back and forth to keep everyone up to speed on what what's going on. Our producers have to listen in to what's really going on during the date; something can turn really quickly based on that. We've so far been able to have in our testing situations people that really are truly looking to find a spark or a connection, and it's been remarkable. They're a bit conscious of the cameras at first, but just like anyone you're shooting, the cameras go away after a couple of minutes. You can tell they're nervous at first, but then they might be nervous because of their date as well."

The show looks to showcase the dates from beginning to end:  "Within the two-hour show we catch some dates at the beginning and some dates in progress – for most dates it takes a good hour and half to get through dinner so we follow the dates throughout. We’ve had some stoop kisses and some make out sessions in our test dates but nothing where it got too racy ... we will keep it appropriate for cable television. We do want some fun and excitement and we've had some funny things happen, but nothing too crazy. We'll have to make any decisions [on what to show and not show] on the fly."

RELATED: What A&E Wants You To Know About 'Live PD'

A&E has extended the season of its unscripted series Live PD to 21 episodes, the network said Wednesday.

The series, which follows live six police departments as they patrol their respective communities, is averaging 1.1 million viewers (Nielsen Live+7 ratings) since launching this past October, according to network officials. In addition, the network will offer two Saturday episodes on Feb. 4 and Feb. 11, said A&E.

“We’re proud to be the destination for a series that is not only at the cutting edge of technological achievements but is also bold in nature,” said Elaine Frontain Bryant, Executive Vice President & Head of Programming, A&E Network in a statement. “By presenting an unfiltered look at how our country is being policed and prompting the thought-provoking conversation that follows, we’ve tapped into the cultural zeitgeist in a way that no other show has before.”

A&E  on Oct. 28 will shine a light on the work of police officers in a new and provocative series that is sure to raise a few eyebrows.

The eight-episode Live PD series will provide live and unfiltered coverage of police officers over a two-hour period as they patrol several of the country’s urban and rural cities. The series comes as the country continues its debate over policing tactics in light of several recent and controversial shootings of unarmed black men.

Series host Dan Abrams and Dallas Police Detectives Rich Emberlin and Kevin Jackson will guide viewers as the show simultaneously follows live the actions of police officers in six different cites via dash cams and handheld cameras. While there will be a "slight" delay in the live telecast, A&E says viewers will be able to take an inside look at each live incident that occurs during the telecast.

 I recently spoke to A&E executive vice president and head of programming Elaine Frontain Bryant about what the network hopes to accomplish with the series.

Here’s what Bryant and A&E want you to know about Live PD.

Live PD is reality programming in its truest form: “This is bold and innovative. We have six police departments from six different and diverse cities around the country – diverse in region and demographics -- coming together to do a live show. We’re embedded with the police departments to give a view of what’s going on in America regarding police and crime. The series is trying to help us understand what’s really going on out there. There’s a conversation about ethics and policing and we’re kind of opening our world to it.”

It seeks to provide a neutral look at policing: “We’re aware of the potential for controversy. The reason that we’re doing it is so people can see for themselves.  I think anything can happen. We can see a police officer's reactions to a situation and that reaction can be totally perfect, or, in that moment, maybe make a mistake. We’re there really just shining an omniscient light as they patrol our country."

A&E hopes the show prompts further dialogue on the issue: "A&E is one of the only networks that really want to join a conversation or start a conversation about what’s happening in America. This shows a play-by-play of what’s going on in America and what’s being discussed everyday on the news. We’re doing the series in an NFL Red Zone style – we have a studio with six different cities, and we will go in where the action is happening. What I want to accomplish is to join the conversation by saying ‘OK America, this is what everyone is talking about … let’s see six typical American cities on a Friday night.'"