ATLANTA — In 2020, A&E was riding high with a hugely successful “Live PD” series where live cameras followed cops on patrol in different cities, an unedited version of “Cops.” But after the George Floyd murders and a reckoning on police brutality and race, A&E felt pressured to drop the show.
The cable network has been trying to fill that huge programming chasm ever since. Last month, A&E launched “Court Night Live,” where three real judges adjudicate small claims cases in “pop-up courtrooms” in a bar in Philadelphia, downtown Chicago and a mall in Tampa, Florida. In some cases, the viewers get to vote on who wins: the plaintiff or the defendant.
The weekly show is now airing at 8 p.m. ET Wednesdays on A&E and was recently expanded from two to three hours.
