Yahoo Sports On Patrol: Live executive producer answers burning questions about the new version of Live PD
It's a premiere day two years in the making. Tonight Reelz will debut On Patrol: Live, a new police docuseries from the team behind Live PD. Hosted by LPD veterans Dan Abrams, retired Tulsa police officer Sean "Sticks" Larkin, and new co-host Curtis Wilson, OPL will follow officers from seven police departments around the country every Friday and Saturday night from 9 p.m. to midnight.
Running the show from the OPL control room tonight is former Live PD exec producer John Zito, who has been working with Abrams and his fellow producers to get a new show off the ground since LPD was canceled in 2020. EW reached Zito by phone to get the full story about how On Patrol: Live came to be, how it will differ from Live PD, and why police departments are so willing to let cameras follow them around in 2022.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Live PD was taken off the air in June of 2020 — how soon did you start working to get a show like it back on the air?
JOHN ZITO: We had interest in the show from the moment it went on a sort of indefinite hiatus with A&E. But I'd say over about the past year or so, the conversations have been in earnest, with us getting genuine offers and interest from others.
What kind of questions or concerns did the networks have when you talked to them about putting together the new show?
One of the reasons that we are with Reelz is because they believe in the show in its original format and what the show was all about … We very much felt that the show was required at precisely the time that it was taken off the air, that the show would be that forum to have these conversations about law enforcement in a very difficult time in America.
We were taken off the air at the time because there was this belief that the show was "copaganda" and was too pro-law enforcement — but for people who watched the show, we felt that it was very much not the case. A lot of people who criticized the show had never actually seen the show before… We still feel that the show is that precise forum where these conversations are had about law enforcement in America. Reelz believed in the show from its earliest iteration and understood that it addressed all these things. And when talking to other interested parties about the show, there was not a lot of talk about bringing back the show in a completely different way. The original concept of the show is what everyone was interested in.
So far you have seven departments signed on for On Patrol: Live. What do you look for when choosing a police department for the show?
We always look for regional diversity, that's the big thing. We always want to make sure that you've got urban, you've got rural, you've got South, you've got Midwest, East West — we want to show the diversity of the country, which is very often reflected in law enforcement and the communities they serve as well. We want to give that snapshot of the country. We're going to be with the Paterson Police Department [in New Jersey], is a very different profile than being out in Nye County, Nevada. Those are deeply contrasting environments.
What kind of questions do the police departments have for you?
Oh, it's a huge commitment for these departments. We have ultimate editorial control over what appears on the air. So we sit down in a room with the police department and say, "Hey, we're gonna rig a bunch of your cars with cameras. We're going to have some camera people running around and capturing everything you do in real time, unedited. And ultimately what makes air is at the production company's discretion." [laughs] The departments do get to weigh in on certain things — [anything that] would compromise operational security and things like that.
What's in it for them is the transparency and the accountability. All the departments that we talk to and who want to do the show, they believe in the background and the training of the men and women in uniform that are with their agencies. There might be some foibles here and there, there might be some moments that aren't perfect and pretty, but on balance, you're going to see what these officers are up against. The community is ultimately, typically sympathetic to what they're seeing.
That's why the format of the show is so unique. No other show has three hours devoted to seeing these calls. Nothing is reduced to a 30-second interaction. You get to see what often is some rather mundane stuff… These law enforcement officers, they have to wear so many different hats. They have to be social workers, they have to be marriage counselors — there are so many different things that they have to do as well as just doing the regular calls that we typically see.
When Live PD first started, it was only on for two hours on one night… and we didn't know how we could sustain this, but then we soon realized that these more mundane moments that you see, these humanizing moments, are compelling. You get to see from the moment the call comes in to the first interaction with people and then to how it resolves.
I also want to add that while the production company has the ultimate last say on all editorial, naturally we are going to respect if there are things that could compromise ongoing investigations or confidential informants and things like that. But ultimately, [the departments] are participating because they believe in their men and women in uniform, and their communities get to see what they all deal with and how it all does genuinely go down.
On Patrol: Live will have a segment called Citizen Ride-Alongs. What can you tell us about it?
We have talked about how this show will be different, and [this segment] absolutely addresses the times that we're in. The show is authentic, it's real, it's transparent — so it's not just about the departments. It's also about the communities they serve, and this is an opportunity to bring those people into the show.
How will you choose the participants?
It'll probably be on-air solicitation. But ultimately, we are only going to do this with departments that already have ride-along policies in place for members of the public. And we're going to adhere to their standards for safety and security. This is another element of what law enforcement does, because [many of] these agencies do allow for citizens to ride along, so we're documenting that as well… Then that person gets to come in on set and discuss that experience.
Will they be able to discuss everything they saw, even if something didn't end up on air?
Sure, absolutely… There are no prohibitions as to what they can or cannot talk about. There are going to be no restrictions on what they can share.
On Patrol: Live will have its home-base studio in Jersey City. Can you tell us anything about what the set-up will look like?
It's gonna be a bit grander, I have to say. [laughs] It's gonna be a nice studio, a nice set — it'll be a bit of a surprise.
Right before Live PD was canceled, it came under fire for destroying footage of an incident where an Austin man died in police custody in 2018. Dan Abrams told us that On Patrol: Live will have a more flexible retention policy, especially when producers have footage of extraordinary circumstances. What can you tell us about that?
The [30-day] retention policy is in place. There's only so much content we can hold on to at any given time, but obviously in situations where something is particularly sensitive, we're going to hold on to that footage until we can have that transparently resolved and addressed. It's always going to be on a case-by-case basis… We're never going to be exploitative. We're never going to show something that is traumatic, out of respect to all parties concerned, but we would try to find a way to air the footage in a responsible and respectful manner to address the situation.
On Patrol: Live will of course reunite Dan Abrams with Sean "Sticks" Larkin, but there's a new co-host in the mix — what can you tell us about Curtis Wilson?
He's going to be fantastic. The fact that Tom's not coming back was a tough one — we just couldn't get the schedule to work. But I still hope that we do see Tom on the show in some good capacity as a guest, or a cameo. If there's ever a chance to get him on again, we'd love to do that.
Tom was the first person to mention Curtis's name [as a possible replacement]. Curtis is just a tremendous people person, he's such a gentleman, and he just has the experience. I think he's going to bring a dimension to the show that is going to be special. We've already noticed in some of the rehearsals and the meetings we've done that the chemistry is there [with Dan and Sticks].
On Patrol: Live premieres tonight, July 22, at 9 p.m. on Reelz.
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