Dan Abrams has acknowledged that his prediction was off in terms of a timetable for the return of the popular Live PD reality program, the absence of which he admitted has created a void in his professional career, after it was abruptly cancelled in June 2020.
He stills maintains, however, that Live PD 2.0 could be just around the corner.
Media personality/entrepreneur Abrams has a side hustle as an anchor on the NewsNation channel, and on that that platform, which many of you probably never heard of or don’t watch, and on that platform he gave Live PD Nation an update. Here is what he said:
At the beginning of this year, I said on Twitter that I felt confident that Live PD or something like it would be back in 2021. I recognize that provided concrete hope for those of you who have been eagerly awaiting the show’s return. No one was more disappointed or frustrated when Live PD was taken off the air than me. And I desperately want to see the show, or something just like it, return.
With police so often dominating the headlines, I believe showing a national audience the more day-to-day aspects of what it’s like to be a police officer in America is more important than ever…Now, I’m sorry to say that it turns out I was wrong about 2021, but I want to be really clear: It was not just wishful thinking. I’ve been approached by numerous networks to discuss doing a Live PD-type show with many of the same departments. So I was confident something would come through.
So maybe I’ve lost some credibility here based on my 2020 prediction, but there are a lot of conversations going on about bringing the show back, and I feel very good about its chances in the near term. Now I don’t own Live PD, I didn’t produce it, I was a producer; I wasn’t the production company, but I’m feeling good about where we are, and every one of the conversations includes you. All of your passion as part of the Live PD Nation is always part of the conversation. I know how committed all of you are to the community and to having the show come back.
So let me get personal with you for a moment, Before Live PD, I’ve been on the air in very high-profile roles as a national news anchor and correspondent for over 20 years. But nothing in my professional career has compared to being a part of Live PD. We became a family. Those of us on the set, the producers, the crews, both in studio and those who were out with the officers. Of course, most importantly all of you. Together, you, we, had something truly special that I had never had in my professional life. I want it back. So rest assured that I will continue to fight the fight as best I can…
Abrams’ impassioned shout-out to Live PD fans came at the end of a reunion with co-hosts Tom Morris Jr. and Sean Larkin, along with several fan favorites from the show including three Richland County, S.C., Sheriff’s deputies, and former El Paso officer Andrea Zendejas. “Sticks” Larkin has since retired from the Tulsa, Okla. PD after 25 years but not before he was promoted from sergeant to lieutenant.
If Live PD does reemerge, this blog will resume providing summaries of each episode, along with video clips. In the meantime, click here for more content.
As this blog has noted previously, Live PD Nation will never accept a watered-down Live PD 2.0, however, that seems like Live Social Workers or the equivalent.
Watch the NewsNation episode embedded below (Abrams’ remarks start at about the 38-minute mark):
