On Patrol: Live has been on the air for slightly over a month, and it’s clearly a smash hit. Some fans are saying it’s better than Live PD. But not everyone is pleased about this success. A&E claims that REELZ cloned Live PD to lure in the millions of Live PD fans.
In the lawsuit, A&E says Big Fish Entertainment produced a copycat of Live PD. Using the same format, hosts (Dan & Sticks), and some of the same departments (Richland, Berkeley, Nye, Volusia). A&E claims that On Patrol: Live is a blatant rip-off of Live PD, and they want a judge to not only fine REELZ but also completely shut down On Patrol: Live. The full legal document is available below.
Inferior Product??
In its lawsuit, A&E’s lawyers claim that REELZ is damaging its brand by airing an inferior show. In section 108, A&E refers to the technical glitches in Episode 1.
REELZ has also diminished AETN’s Marks and its brand by using them in connection with inferior television programming (as exemplified by the technical issues that delayed REELZ from airing the premiere episode of the infringing series for 70 minutes).
Abandoned Fans
Original fans of Live PD will undoubtedly be a little angry with A&E over this lawsuit. Many fans felt that A&E and completely abandoned them, removing the show from TV and the Internet in all forms. And now, two years later, A&E wants to shut down a similar show that has become extremely popular with their former viewers.
At this time REELZ and Dan Abrams have not officially responded. But REELZ did offer a comment to TMZ, saying that remains committed to On Patrol: Live.
Does A&E really want to maintain the Live PD show, or are they just trying to jail an up-and-coming competitor? Fans will have to wait in limbo to see if a judge pulls On Patrol: Live off the air. Most fans will undoubtedly be hoping that Dan and REELZ get away with a warning.
This is outrageous. A&E completely sold out law enforcement!! They should be completely boycotted.
Yes sir I was thinking the same thing!
I haven’t watched A&E since they cancelled Live PD.
Same here. A&E had their chance. They could have brought PD Live back anytime. They didn’t want the show. Dan Abrams tried so long to get them to bring it back. I, for one, will not go back to watching their channel! It is THEIR OWN FAULT. It is NOT Reelz fault!
Sue A&E for liable and obstruction.
All A&E has now is garbage. And they redo the First 48 hours in every way possible but it is still the same old shows.
Absolutely got that right!
A&E is closing their own network down because it is clear fans no longer watch their network. This is without a doubt the best show out there…so happy REELZ picked up Dan and the rest of the law enforcement departments. This shows the real life scenarios our law enforcement have to deal with and most of the time it is not pretty plus it also shows the real life assistance law enforcement gives to residents on patrol.
A&E canceled the show. Let’s cancel them!!!
Fuck A&E, you motherfuckers are the ones who took it off of the air for a completely stupid fucking reason!
GEEEEEEEEE……..go figure……so A&E took a real sh** kicking when they went woke and pulled LivePD off the air because they were cowards, and stabbed tens of thousands of fans in the back.
SO SINCE THEN they have taken a real ratings beating, and now that their mistake is coming back to bite them on the ass, they are having a hissy fit.
Well, “Go Woke, Go Broke” really IS a “thing” isn’t it?
Give ’em hell, shut A&E down and hit ’em where it hurts – IN THE BANK!!
Well, “Go Woke, Go Broke” really IS a “thing” isn’t it? This phrase says it all!
I’m not even sure what “woke” is supposed to mean. I think many use it to refer to liberals, but that is inaccurate.
I consider myself very much a progressive and I believe supporting law enforcement is part of being progressive. I think the ” defund the police” movement was adolescent thinking and just plain stupid from the beginning. Too bad the media latched onto it as a sound bite.
A&E may not realize that many in the black community also support law enforcement and rejected the “defund the police” politics.
Please ……. Not again! Fight it fight it fight it…..please!
A&E CHOKED and BAILED on Live PD. Reelz got some balls and has a BLOCKBUSTER. Wah, Wah, Wah, A&E.
Are you kidding me A&E???? You cater to the criminals taking over downtown Portland and destroying it!!! Shutting the freeways down with this protesting baby culture of fools then you have the nerve to try to cancel this show you’re just a bunch of money Grabbers! It’s a completely different show why are you wanting the canceling of this show is it because you’re jealous and you’re greedy??? I mean it was totally wrong what happened to George Floyd but really you have to shut down a program that people are enjoying as entertainment because there’s too much sensitivity &… Read more »
How can we help? I love this show. They are mad that we have the wonderful hosts that we have. I boycotted Absolutely & Egregious immediately, including Top Dog.
I love having officers who became friends return, and am enjoying meeting new one. Are they suing COPS and London PD too? Jerks.
Me Too!
A&E fucked us. They can go fuck themselves.
A&E: Jealous a little?????
Total BS on A&E’s part. They’re sorry losers pure and simple.
I’m curious to know if BLM activists are behind this lawsuit. They were critical of Live PD and I suspect they were instrumental in cancelling it on A&E.
They are doing more harm than good in their causes by controlling networks via blackmail and cancellations.
I doubt they have watched the show. If they did, they would find a level of transparency not found on network news videos of police and the community.
I will stop watching A&E!!
A&E is blaming the wrong people with a lawsuit. They should accept responsibility for making such a lamebrained decision in cancelling Live PD, by yielding to political pressure from a small group of uninformed activists.
Everyone should completely boycott A&E until they drop this stupid lawsuit. Do not watch anything on their channel. Not even and advertisement for chewing gum.
A&E is jointly owned by Hearst and Disney. Not only should we boycott A&E, but cancel Disney+ as well.
How outrageous that A&E now wants to stop OnPatrol! They took off the best show on tv for no good reason and disappointed millions of us. I used to wait for the weekend to watch Live PD. If someone called when it was to come on I would say I can’t talk now. Even the first airing of OnPatrol had some technical problems and my first thought was A&E is doing this because they made the stupid mistake of taking LivePD off and ending up with nothing but storage wars and hoarding shows. UGH. Now they are really mad because… Read more »
Boycott A&E until they drop this outrageous lawsuit. Do not go on their channel for any reason. Not even for a chewing gum commercial.
If a&e wants a big boycott they are asking for one! Sore losers… They’re like a dude that leaves his girl then she finds someone and they’re happy.. He then bag mouths her and him trying get her back.. Or make everyone miserable in the mean time. Sad. They (a&e)on thin ice is they mess this up for the fans again!
for the people that have been and still in the line of work as law enforcement and let alone volunteers that served this country. Regardless of how or what ways they served or provided protections up and including treating medical wise. this is a huge shame on all of those people. as they only try to make this world a better place! not just a better place but one that people will remember and Respect. It is a shame that this has come down to the way it should be. honor ,dignity ,respect for everybody plus our country. That is… Read more »
and I hope they air some of these comments as everybody is entitled to their opinions or thoughts!!
YES LET’S CANCEL A&E.
This is such B.S. A&E pulled the show off the air. They could have re started it but their fear of backlash would make them look bad. I won’t watch anything on A&E ever again if this gets pulled off the air. In fact I will stop watching A&E shows today. Their network dropped the ball and if they succeed their ratings will drop even more.
This is outrageous! I stopped watching A&E when they cancelled Live PD. I’m glad I did. Inferior product? They are the inferior product now! They’re just jealous that their ratings went elsewhere. No judge will side with them in this. And if they do, it’s because they’ve been bought out by A&E. I’m canceling A&E, who’s with me?! I love this show & will do anything to support it, it’s hosts & the LEO’s.
I stopped watching any shows associated with A&E when they shut down Live PD. Screw them! They shut us out when it was most important to show all the GOOD that law enforcement does. But no, they chose to support the “defund” idiots! Let A&E die on the vine. Good riddens.
Just crazy that A & E is doing this. They cancelled you so why complain now. I myself do not watch A & E. I only watched you all on that channel. Let us all know if there is something we can do to help. We do not want to lose you again. I look forward to Friday and Saturday nights. Thanks for doing what you do for us.
A&E had their chance and let BLM and current B*** S*** events of the day to misguide them, Thank you REELZ for a bigger and better product. I’m looking forward to an extended viewing over the Labor Day Weekend. I do not watch A&E any longer but I do watch REELZ
I love On Patrol. A&E took it off before. They are angry they don’t have it anymore. I watch every episode. There is nothing wrong with it.
A & E had their opportunity to renew it but they chose to bow to racist pressure and not do so. Their loss. Absolutely outrageous. Now they’re crying. Too bad, too sad.
Disney owns 50% of A&E, so this lawsuit should not be surprising. Cancel A&E and Disney, too.
Really? So Dan Abrams and Sticks were just to say yeah someone else can do this just as good? Not!!!! Do the people at A&E really need to act like that? They are the ones who decided to cancel and didn’t want to ruffle someone’s feathers the wrong way by keeping it on. What they didn’t want people to see is what goes on in real life!! If it’s not shown, legal or not, it’s not happening (just like the government)!
This is what I sent the A&E Corporate office this morning: To A&E TV: Your efforts to censor and destroy the REELZ program On Patrol: Live are despicable. Your moral cowardice in cancelling Live PD two years ago was evidence that you kowtowed to the anarchist defund the police culture rot. REELZ did a great service to the nation by lifting up the image of law enforcement in plain view, nothing can be more “transparent”. Your efforts to kill the program suggest you remain under the spell of progressive politics. You made a very bad business decision by terminating the widely acclaimed program; destroying… Read more »
Great post!
A&E suing? Are you kidding me!!!
They are crying now because REELZ has all the audience that A&E had it 2 years ago. Why you cancelled the show then? You had plenty time to bring the show back and you did not do it!
So, accept your responsibility in cancelling LIVE PD.
Nobody in my house haven’t watched A&E since they cancelled LIVE PD.
A&E cancelled the show, and Dan an the production team made a very similar show. The Live PD brand is dead, as people will boycott any similar product they would attempt to return if they get On Patrol cancelled. A&E might has well make a settlement with the new show and move on.
A&E can’t be serious w/ this BS lawsuit?? They said FU to all of the shows millions of fans, the police departments they follow, the hosts, producers, & everyone else associated w/ the show when they dropped it b/c they didn’t have a strong enough backbone to produce an edgy show in today’s world!! A&E u are a bunch of weak minded pu@%!es who couldn’t stand up to the pressure of the BLM folks. So instead u chose sides of the few & screwed the millions & u dropped a great show! Dan Abrahams worked sooo hard to get Live… Read more »
What a total crock of horse crap! If A&E didn’t cave in to those BLM miscreants when they decided to cancel Live PD in order to not “offend” all the cop-hating A-holes out there then On Patrol Live would have never needed to materialize in the first place!
Sour, sour grapes! Too bad A & E, you did it to yourself and now you’re paying the price!
I can’t get REELZ because of COX Please help me find a way, this is driving me up the wall! I am a devoted fan, please let me in? Judi Harris
“A&E claims that REELZ cloned Live PD to lure in the millions of Live PD fans.” I think these people at a&e ought to be ashamed of themselves for this lawsuit. I absolutely loved LivePD & watched faithfully every Friday & Saturday evenings as did many others. REELZ chose to pickup On Patrol:Live for a reason. A&E knew this show was in planning, the similarities were very close & basically the same departments were being filmed. Now ya’ll wanna whine & pout because this show is a hit for REELZ? Tough luck. I think we all should prepare a class… Read more »
Any judge in his/her right mind will hopefully not waste time with this outrageous suit; A&E dumped it so TOO BAD, TOO SAD.