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What is Live PD, and why does it capture so much attention each weekend?

By Brittany Frederick

Live PD host Dan Abrams (left) and analysts Sean Larkin and Tom Morris (center and right) in studio. Photo Credit: Courtesy of A&E
Live PD host Dan Abrams (left) and analysts Sean Larkin and Tom Morris (center and right) in studio. Photo Credit: Courtesy of A&E /
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What is Live PD? Learn everything you need to know about A&E’s hit TV show, including Live PD synopsis, Live PD cast, and how to watch Live PD.

Live PD is a smash hit for A&E, trending on Twitter and burning up TV ratings every Friday and Saturday night. But what is Live PD, and why should you be watching it?

Live PD is exactly what its name describes: a live television show that follows the work of police departments for three hours on both Fridays and Saturdays. Each episode normally features six departments and roughly a dozen officers, with the specific locations and officers always changing every episode, so each broadcast is fresh and new.

Three people comprise the Live PD cast that TV audiences see every week. ABC News legal analyst and Mediaite founder Dan Abrams serves as the host, introducing each episode and keeping the show moving from one location to the next (while also being the source of hilarious puns and the occasional Dad joke).

He’s joined in the show’s New York studio by two analysts who help break down what the viewers are seeing and discuss topics that come up throughout the night. They are Tom Morris Jr., who is a retired Washington D.C. special policeman, and Sergeant Sean “Sticks” Larkin, who continues to be a part of the Tulsa Gang Unit during the week. Before he became the second analyst, Sticks was one of the featured players on the show.

Occasionally, a third analyst will join Dan, Tom and Sticks in studio, usually one of the officers who are currently in the rotation.

Whoever is in each episode, every installment is worth watching. The show gives TV viewers an unedited look at what police have to go through, whether it’s serious (like car chases and assaults) or not so serious (may we introduce you to the many animals who’ve turned up). And all of the police officers have great personalities, from the no-nonsense Officer Andrea Zendejas in El Paso to Indiana’s Denver Leverett, who’s earned the nickname Human Lie Detector.

It’s eye-opening, but it’s also by turns exciting, suspenseful, scary and downright hilarious. And it all changes every night because it’s live.

So now that you know what it is, are you ready to watch Live PD? You can catch new episodes on Fridays and also Saturdays at 9:00 p.m. ET on A&E. The network airs repeats through the week, particularly on Fridays in the lead-up to new episodes, and you can also catch up on the A&E app. But get caught up now, because new episodes return June 1!

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