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‘Live PD’ Star Dan Abrams Hints at Wanting the Canceled Police Drama to Return

Dan Abrams, a former producer and host of “Live PD,” took to Twitter recently, expressing a desire for the show’s return. Well, he didn’t say it in as many words. But it definitely seems like what he was getting at.

Airing on A&E, “Live PD” started in 2016. In the face of challenges related to COVID-19 and protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death, the show’s producers thought it would be best to put the show on hold in early 2020. But then, following a report that a camera crew from “Live PD” had filmed Javier Ambler’s death while he was in police custody, A&E decided to cancel the show.

In June of 2020, the AP News reported a statement from the network.

“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,” A&E said. “And with that, we will be meeting with community and civil rights leaders as well as police departments.”

Dan Abrams voiced his disappointment with the cancellation in a Tweet back when the news first came out. So his recent tweet doesn’t come as much of a surprise.

The reality crime drama was in the same vein as “Cops.” But it jumped around from live broadcasts of police officers’ encounters with the public. The format proved wildly popular.

The ‘Live PD’ Presenter Isn’t the Only One Who Wants to See the Show Return

So we know Dan Abrams wants to see “Live PD” return. But so do many of the show’s fans. Referred to as Live PD Nation, scores of people called for a boycott of A&E‘s network after the show was canceled.

In July of 2020, The Wall Street Journal reported that A&E had lost over half of its prime-time viewership from the same time in 2019. That’s a lot of people. Apparently, “Live PD” drew roughly 1.9 million viewers on average during its Friday and Saturday night shows. After the show stopped airing, those prime-time numbers dropped to roughly 500,000 viewers.

Looking at the data, it’s no wonder Dan Abrams wants to see the show return. And there is clearly plenty of desire from the audience out there. It’s just a matter of whether or not the network wants to risk putting itself in the middle of even more controversy, given the sensitivity of the show’s subject matter.