Live PD has gone from reality TV to real world phenomenon

Live PD is a reality TV hit, but the A&E series is also having significant effect, both good and bad, off screen. Learn more in the latest Deeper Cut.

When Live PD premiered on Oct. 28, 2016, it caught lightning in a bottle. The show has become a huge reality TV hit—but three seasons and almost 200 episodes later, there’s also consequences in the real world, as we’ll explore in this week’s Deeper Cut.

The A&E series has become a staple on Friday and Saturday nights. Its hashtag regularly trends on Twitter, and an Inscape survey in December declared it the most-watched TV show of 2018 in all but one category.

It’s not hard to see why. It’s addictive and even thought-provoking television. Audiences have the chance to watch police departments interact with the public and handle calls live, from the crazy (complaints about Christmas lights and chocolate fountains) to the very serious (shootings and a rumored abduction).

The officers and deputies who have been featured on the show are memorable personalities, from Lt. Danny Brown in the Richland County Sheriff’s Department and his ability to always locate drugs on scene, to Officer Jill Marshall in the Warwick Police Department and her endearing approach to policing. And don’t forget the numerous K-9 units who make viewers’ hearts melt every time their dogs appear.

It’s harnessed the same kind of popularity as Cops, only on steroids. Instead of showing TV fans an edited, condensed version of being a police officer, Live PD is public service nearly unfiltered, showing as much as it can squeeze into a three-hour block twice a week.

Yet as Live PD has captured the public’s imagination, there have been real-world effects—some of them quite serious—of the show’s popularity.

First, the good: a number of excellent law enforcement officers have been promoted or awarded after appearing on the show. Richland County deputies Kevin Lawrence and Chris Mastrianni were both promoted to investigator, following Live PD showing the outstanding work that they’d been doing every day. Mastrianni in particular became a hero in 2017 after Live PD cameras caught him getting a child out of harm’s way after a car chase.

The show has also inspired a greater awareness of, and understanding about, law enforcement. Its promotional tagline is “America, this is your ride-along,” and that’s been true as viewers have been able to see officers performing every facet of their jobs. From routine traffic stops, to high-stakes arrests, to mundane activities like changing a flat tire, Live PD presents the most complete picture of policing that’s ever been on TV.

And it’s hard not to smile when, thanks to the show’s incredible reach, people will ask “Is this Live PD?” or want to interact with officers. Many departments have even hosted watch parties where they’ve raised money for charity. It’s clear that the series is helping to change the public’s attitude toward cops.

Plus, A&E is using the series as a platform to help close cases. Each week, there are “Crime of the Week” and “Missing” segments that spotlight open investigations, and Live PD has found missing kids and wanted suspects. Last March, the show located a girl who’d been missing for almost two years.

Unfortunately, it hasn’t all been positive. Some cities featured on Live PD have walked away from the show, following complaints from city leaders or other notables that claim showing live police calls as they happen is putting their area in a bad light.

At least one lawsuit has resulted from situations that aired on the series. Warwick made headlines in August when a city councilwoman was pulled over for DUI, and viewers questioned if she was released because of who she was.

And the added attention to the departments seen on the show means that their difficulties get more publicity, like when a Pasco County corporal who’d appeared on Live PD was fired after an off-duty car accident where he behaved erratically.

Then there’s the just plain creepy: the show has made celebrities of the people who appear on it, and that’s led to some unwanted attention. Pasco deputy Nick Carmack, a fan favorite, allegedly has had fans harass his girlfriend and show up at his parents’ home.

There’s also the question of how Live PD impacts the prosecution of cases that it documents, as the video and any related information would potentially be used in court.

Concerns aside, the Live PD phenomenon isn’t slowing down any time soon. A&E renewed the program for a whopping 150 episodes in September; for comparison, that would be almost seven seasons of a regular broadcast TV show.

The network has also started merchandising the series, and other shows are trying to copy it. (See: Discovery’s short-lived Border Live, MD Live, and the upcoming Animal ER Live, the latter being produced by the folks who make Live PD.)

It’s not uncommon for reality TV to create success stories—one only needs to look at how many people have become celebrities thanks to reality shows, or even social media. But it is rare to see a series having a tangible impact on how society operates, and affecting it in such a wide variety of ways. Policing and the way police interact with the community has long been a hot-button issue, and this series has created an accessible platform for it by making it entertainment.

Even if you don’t want to be part of that discussion, Live PD has plenty to offer. It makes Cops look boring because it puts audiences in the moment and lets viewers see the entire story. There are so many moments that wouldn’t be out of place on a scripted TV show, like the aforementioned flat tire that Williamson County’s Lt. Grayson Kennedy had to fix because a motorist cut him off while he was trying to race to a crime scene, forcing him to jump a curb to avoid them.

Or the delightfully meta moment where a man, in the middle of being questioned on Live PD, had his mother arrive at the house—because his father called after seeing him on Live PD. Or there’s host Dan Abrams and his various puns and dad jokes, often made funnier by the show’s graphics team putting an equally snort-worthy line on the lower third.

Only on this show would you hear someone describe assault with flour as “battery without [the] batter.” Of course, it’s likely that this show is the only place you’d see someone being assaulted with baking ingredients, too.

Live PD has become a reality TV success because it has all the ingredients of a hit TV show—plot twists, excellent characters, and surprises, except they all happen to be unscripted. And there’s no denying the positives it’s contributed, helping to catch criminals, rescue missing children, and support law enforcement.

There are negatives, but those are things that will have to be worked out, because there’s just no precedent for dealing with most of them. As long as the series, its producers and fans can find ways to handle the less desirable side effects, this show will be part of the TV landscape for a long time to come.

Live PD season 3 is airing Fridays and Saturdays at 9 p.m. on A&E. Find the latest Deeper Cut every Wednesday in the Entertainment category at FanSided.