The Richland County Sheriff’s Department (RCSD) in South Carolina – the only law enforcement agency that had been with the hit A&E television series “LIVE PD” every week since its inception in 2016 through its conclusion in 2020 – will return this month on a new program, “On Patrol: Live,” produced by Half Moon Pictures and airing on cable channel REELZ.
Set to air July 22, “On Patrol: Live” will follow the same format as “LIVE PD,” tracking police officers and sheriff’s deputies from different agencies in different cities across the U.S. for three hours, while program hosts lend real-time perspective from a central studio location. “LIVE PD” was canceled following Black Lives Matter protests and pockets of nationwide rioting in the wake of George Floyd’s death in May 2020.
“We are looking forward to being part of this new series,” Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said. “A program like this that showcases our work within the various communities we protect and serve only reinforces and heightens the trust we have worked so hard to build in the communities.”
Two S.C.-based law enforcement agencies – RCSD (in Columbia, the state’s capital city, and surrounding Richland County) and the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office in Moncks Corner (near Charleston, S.C.) – are slated to be among the initial five participating departments. Other agencies include Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office in Charleston, West Virginia; Nye County Sheriff’s Office, Pahrump, Nevada; and the Paterson Police Department, Paterson, New Jersey.
“Transparency is an absolute requirement when it comes to policing,” Chuck Archie, a member of RCSD’s Citizens’ Advisory Council, said in a June 8 announcement released by REELZ. “We are a diverse group in every way – race, socioeconomics, politics and so much more – which is why giving local law enforcement the community perspective on issues is so important, and conversely, why it’s so important for the community to be able to see what officers are doing. We see a live show like this as having a positive effect on our process.”
Dan Abrams, who hosted LIVE PD, will join “On Patrol: Live” as will retired Tulsa Police Sgt. Sean “Sticks” Larkin and longtime RCSD Deputy Curtis Wilson, who also co-anchors WOLO-TV’s (the ABC affiliate station) Good Morning Columbia.
“Law enforcement is front and center in the national discussion, and our hope is that showing the work of police officers in a live format will provide viewers with direct access to the work they do,” said Abrams for VARIETY magazine. “I’m thrilled our team is finally back together and excited that Reelz has committed to making this show front and center on their network.”
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According to a fact sheet released by REELZ and Half Moon Pictures this week, “‘On Patrol: Live” maintains a small production crew in each location where departments participate in the show (crews are not featured on the show). The show’s camera crews are a small, unobtrusive team typically consisting of two camera people and multiple fix-mounted cameras. In addition to the live nights on Fridays and Saturdays, “On Patrol: Live’” films with the departments during the week.”
Like “LIVE PD,” the program will air on Friday and Saturday nights from 9 p.m. until midnight. REELZ is available in 70 million homes on DIRECTV, DISH Network, Verizon, AT&T U-verse and Xfinity, Spectrum, and many other cable systems nationwide.
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