Reelz reboots Big Fish police reality series Live PD two years after A&E cancellation

Live PD was cancelled by A&E after the death of George Floyd

US cablenet Reelz is reviving police reality show Live PD two years after it was cancelled by A&E Network in the wake of protests against police brutality sparked by the killing of George Floyd.

The new-look show will be called On Patrol: Live and will be made by the same producer of the original, MGM-backed Big Fish Entertainment, albeit in a tweaked format.

Live PD was a ratings winner for A&E Network but was cancelled in 2020 after it emerged the show had been filming when a black man named Javier Ambler died in police custody in Austin, Texas, last year. Footage of the incident never aired and was later deleted.

In addition to Live PD, long-running US reality series Cops was cancelled by Paramount Network after 32 seasons, while HBO Max temporarily removed Gone With the Wind from its service.

Floyd, an African American, died when white Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into his neck for almost nine minutes while attempting to arrest him.