Another Reality TV Show We Can Forget
Paging Hollywood.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors recently gave the green light to a reality show about the Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau. Cameras will follow the captain and eight detectives on and off the job.
The show, tentatively called "Bulldogs: LASD Homicide," is still in the concept stage. The producers have not yet sold it to a network or cable channel.
"I know the sheriff thinks it's a great idea," said Homicide Bureau Capt. Ray Peavy. "Our goal is to get cases solved."
Any time a case gets publicized, he said, the greater the possibility that it will be solved.
"What we get is an opportunity to showcase unsolved cases," Peavy said. "The citizens of L.A. will have an opportunity to give us more information to get killers off the streets."
Tim Gibbons, one of the executive producers, said viewers also will gain a better understanding of what homicide detectives go through.
"I'm calling it a reality drama, because we want to go into the lives of these homicide guys," Gibbons said. "We want to see the world through their eyes."
The county supervisors approved the agreement with Los Angeles-based Invasion TV Inc. on Jan. 9.
Under the contract, producers will develop the show at no cost to the county, which will get
5 percent of the license fee and 10 percent of the producer's profits in the series.
The contract doesn't allow filming in jails.
The show also has the blessing of Sheriff Lee Baca.
"The sheriff believes that it is good publicity for the sheriff's department and that it will not only help recruitment but also help the public understand the difficult challenges facing law enforcement," said Steve Whitmore, senior media advisor to Baca.
The Sheriff's Department has been a popular subject for reality TV recently.
"The Academy," which follows several cadets undergoing training, is filming at the sheriff's academy in Whittier, Schrader said.
