They really liked it. Last month, A&E ordered 100 more episodes of Live PD, with shows airing Friday and Saturday nights during the summer. Big Fish Entertainment president Dan  Cesareo talks about what makes the new show, cable’s top unscripted crime series, resonate with viewers. 

Cynopsis: What are viewers surprised by when they watch the show?

Dan Cesareo: I think viewers are most surprised by the unexpected and the immediacy of the viewing experience. There’s nothing like it on television.  Every other law enforcement show on television is shot over the period of weeks, edited for months, and might not air for over a year.  This is happening right now. Viewers all across America are on a live ride-along from the safety and comfort of their living rooms. The level of transparency Live PD offers is unlike any other police series on television has ever presented. It is a live, unfiltered and unedited depiction of what a broad spectrum of law enforcement officials experience on regular basis while patrolling their respective communities.  

 When an officer from a participating police department gets a call, we act as a natural extension of body-cams and dash-cams that officers are already using, and never know what will transpire. We do operate on an industry standard news delay to ensure that nothing broadcasted will be too graphic for viewers or in any way inhibit operational procedures such as protecting information pertaining to an ongoing case. That said, we are making calls on the fly and there is no rundown or schedule that we are working from as there would be with any other live series on television.

It’s such a different experience for the viewer because not only are they ostensibly participating in a ride along from the comfort of their own couch, but they are also provided context and analysis for the given situation, whether it’s someone being pulled over for a traffic stop or on a high-speed chase. 

Cynopsis: How is it likely to affect their perception of law enforcement?

Cesareo: While we were developing Live PD, it was essential to us that the show not push any agenda, and that we weren’t setting out to craft a specific narrative for the public. The show is simply a vehicle for transparent documentation of the interactions between law enforcement and citizens, which allows viewers to bear witness to these moments and make their own judgments.

The major difference between our show and the thousands of interactions that are posted online or on social media on a daily basis, is that we are capturing these situations from beginning to end and providing not only top tier production quality so viewers can see and hear everything that is happening as it’s happening, but also the added expertise of our in-studio talent such as host Dan Abrams and analysis from Tom Morris Jr., to better understand what is occurring and why.

I think seeing the day-to-day work that officers do, whether it’s the mundane or something high-intensity, and having the opportunity to see a complete story is beneficial to all.

Cynopsis: How do you decide which departments to follow? Do they generally say yes?

Cesareo: When we first began developing Live PD, it was fundamental to the content to provide an accurate and fair representation of policing across America, and that means providing a cross-section of what that looks like. Whether we are in a big city or an unincorporated location, rules and regulations vary state to state and seeing that kind of diversity is key to what the show is all about.

Whenever we open a dialogue with a new department or municipality about participating on the show and allowing us access, we discuss the commitment at length to ensure the experience works for all parties involved. Production’s embed is pretty extensive as we prepare brief pre-taped packages from earlier in the week for reference and updates on previous events, and are then live with our field teams on the ground for three hours every Friday and Saturday night.

It’s definitely a bold choice to want to put your work on television on such a consistent basis, and we’ve been really grateful that not only have the departments involved been so open, but that many other departments are proactively reaching out to participate as well.

Cynopsis: How much has the show evolved since the October 2016 premiere?

Cesareo: We knew at the outset of production that no matter how many technical rehearsals we did, a show like this had never been done before, and that because it was live it would take a little time to find our rhythm. A&E has been an incredible partner in giving us the space to determine the pace of the show, how long we would stay with a given story and when to transition to another department or situation. I’d say the biggest shift since our premiere has been finding the right rhythm in managing those transitions, and with 100 more episodes ordered – which will take us up to 142 episodes through 2018 – that only gives us more room to continue to refine our process.

Additionally, it’s been amazing to see how viewers have discovered the show since premiere. The show was a big leap of faith for everyone involved, and it’s incredibly exciting and humbling that it is now the top unscripted crime series on cable and the #1 original cable program on Friday and Saturday nights.

Cynopsis: What kind of viewer engagement has Live PDexperienced?

 Cesareo: The ways that the audience has engaged with Live PD has been a phenomenon in itself and developed completely organically. I think the transparency of the content and the platform that the show has provided for an informed conversation about what is being seen has really resonated with viewers.

Week after week we see such an investment in the series from people on social media, who are so committed to the show and responding to what they are seeing from all across the country. And, twice in the past three weeks, Live PD was the #1 show in all of television on Saturday night. We absolutely support the dialogue that the series has inspired among viewers, and it’s such a powerful combination of debate, support, emotion and critical commentary that shows you just how closely they are watching.

What’s been really fascinating is the communication that is happening between law enforcement and the public at large through social media as viewers continue to become more familiar with the featured officers. 

I think we’ve tapped into something not only timely, but incredibly substantive and we at Big Fish are thrilled to continue to be a part of it.