With the nation protesting police violence against unarmed black Americans, sparked by the recent killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Tony McDade, David McAtee and countless others, multiple TV networks have decided to hold back on their live police programming. Per Variety, Paramount Network will delay the intended June 8 season 33 premiere of the flagship police documentary show Cops, while A&E will hold back on new episodes of its show Live PD, previously set to air its 300th episode on June 6. Paramount has taken down all material related to Cops on its website and hasn’t detailed further plans for the series. Earlier in the week, the network joined other ViacomCBS channels in going dark for eight minutes and 46 seconds, the amount of time Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd’s neck to kill him.
Meanwhile, despite its announcement, A&E is currently airing a Live PD marathon, according to Reality Blurred’s Andy Dehnart. A&E said in a statement, “Out of respect for the families of George Floyd and others who have lost their lives, in consultation with the departments we follow, and in consideration for the safety of all involved, we have made the decision not to broadcast ‘Live PD’ this weekend,†noting that it will reschedule with episodes of Live Rescue, which follows firefighters and paramedics. Live PD counts Lana Del Rey’s ex-boyfriend Sean “Sticks†Larkin among its analysts, and spawned a 2018 spinoff show, Live PD Presents: PD Cam, hosted by Larkin.