Steven Seagal: Lawman

Steven Seagal: Lawman is an American reality television series that aired on A&E for its first two seasons and Reelz for its third. It stars actor, martial artist and musician Steven Seagal performing his duties as a reserve deputy sheriff in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana (season 1–2) and Maricopa County, Arizona (season 3). It premiered on December 2, 2009.

Steven Seagal: Lawman
Genre	Reality
Starring	Steven Seagal
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	24 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	David McKillop Harvey Wilson Jake Laufer John X. Kim Neil A. Cohen Phillip B. Goldfine Steven Seagal
Producer	Binh Dang
Running time	22 minutes
Production companies	ITV Studios Steamroller Films
Release
Original network	A&E (2009–10) Reelz (2014)
Original release	December 2, 2009 – February 13, 2014[1]
External links
Website

"I've been working as an officer in Jefferson Parish for two decades under most people's radar", said Seagal in the premiere episode, "The Way of the Gun". "I've decided to work with A&E on this series now, because I believe it's important to show the nation all the positive work being accomplished here in Louisiana—to see the passion and commitment that comes from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office in this post-Katrina environment."[2] Seagal's current rank of Reserve Deputy Chief is largely ceremonial.[3]

History

According to Seagal, in the late 1980s, Jefferson Parish's longtime sheriff, Harry Lee, asked Seagal to train some of his deputies in martial arts.[4] The actor further claimed that the success of these classes led to Lee asking Seagal to join the department as a reserve deputy.[5] The LA Times article goes on to suggest that a black and white photo, purportedly showing Seagal's swearing in as Deputy in the 1980s, in fact showed the actor some 20 years older than would have been consistent with his claim. Additionally, the article notes that the Peace Officer Standards & Training organization, which accredits police officers, had no record of Seagal being certified.[4]

Production

On April 14, 2010, The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office announced that production of second season episodes had been halted due to a lawsuit filed against Steven Seagal on April 12, 2010 by his former personal assistant, Kayden Nguyen. Nguyen claimed Seagal committed sexual harassment, illegally trafficked women for sex, failed to prevent sexual harassment, retaliated against her, wrongly terminated her employment, and made false representations about her employment. Nguyen also alleges that she was also asked to join Seagal's harem, which included two Russian women; Nguyen was to be a replacement.[6] On April 13, 2010, Seagal's attorney Marty Singer said that the lawsuit was "... a ridiculous and absurd claim by a disgruntled ex-employee who was fired".[7] Nguyen sued for over one million dollars.[8]

Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand announced he would not launch an investigation into Nguyen's accusations unless she filed a criminal complaint against him with the Jefferson Parish sheriff's department.[9] She never filed a complaint and on July 15, 2010, Nguyen dropped her lawsuit. Six days later, it was announced on the A&E website's message board that new episodes of Steven Seagal: Lawman would begin airing in October 2010,[10] but no specific date was given.

Season 3 production

In February 2011, A&E announced that the series would begin production on Season 3 episodes.[11] Two episodes were scheduled to be aired beginning on January 4, 2012.[12] The episodes were announced by A&E, who created Facebook page for the series and listed in the TV guide. Shortly before the episodes were to be aired, the web and Facebook pages about the series were removed. A&E made no announcements about the sudden suspension of Season 3 or whether there would be a third season. A&E didn't answer inquiries, letters, or emails from fans.[13]

It was announced on May 16, 2013, that the third season would air on Reelz starting in January 2014. Episodes from the first two seasons began airing on June 6, 2013.[14] Season 3 premiered on January 2, 2014 with the airing of two new episodes. A third new episode aired on January 9, 2014. Five additional episodes for Season 3 have yet to be aired.

Episodes

Season 1 (2009–10)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date
1	1	"The Way of the Gun"	December 2, 2009
The team capture an armed carjacker after a car chase and tackle a convicted felon carrying a pistol. Seagal also teaches a fellow team member shooting techniques.
2	2	"The Deadly Hand"	December 2, 2009
After chasing a suspect with a gun, Steven Seagal teaches his team of sheriff's deputies some self-defense and weapons retention techniques. They deal with a brawl in a parking lot They detain the suspects, one resists. Later the team encounters two men with a gun.
3	3	"Killer Canines"	December 9, 2009
The team attend a burglary-in-progress They call in the K-9 Unit. Later,they apprehend a man who broke into a woman's house while running away.Later we see Stevens guard dogs
4	4	"Too Young to Die"	December 9, 2009
The team get a call to the scene of car accident involving a two-year-old. Later, Steven deals with a teenager hiding a sawed-off shotgun. While off-duty, Steven visits the New Orleans Children's Hospital cancer ward and throws a benefit concert to raise money for the hospital.
5	5	"Firearms of Fury"	December 16, 2009
The team arrest a suspect who has a loaded .44 magnum and are called to the scene of a young man shot with a shotgun. The team train with a computerized crime simulator and "real world" shoot house. Later they deal with a dangerous incident at a traffic stop.
6	6	"The Student Becomes the Master"	December 16, 2009
A man is beaten up by an intruder and the team sort it. Later, the time has come to induct the new sheriff, Newell Normand.
7	7	"To Live or Die"	December 23, 2009
The team deal with two men are robbed and shot. Later Steven and his partner Johnny help rebuild a home for a family who lost everything in Hurricane Katrina.
8	8	"Medicine Man"	December 30, 2009
The team deal with a chase, Colonel John Fortunato hurts his knee. Steven takes him to a Chinese acupuncturist.
9	9	"Crack War"	January 6, 2010
The team, responding to routine disturbance call and find a large stash of drugs.Later, Steven and the guys cheer for a fellow officer as he competes in a best legs contest to raise money for a local drug rehabilitation center.
10	10	"A Parish Under Siege"	January 13, 2010
The team deal with a near fatal car accident and they find a bottle of rum in a car belonging to two men. And later, the squad meets up with SWAT to help deal with rodents that are undermining the Parish's levee system.
11	11	"Street Justice"	January 20, 2010
The team investigate allegations drug use at a local motel and find crack cocaine. they deal with two similar incidents. The next day Steven teaches martial arts to a group of young people to aid community development.
12	12	"Narc Force"	January 27, 2010
The team join with the narcotics unit for an undercover sting on a drug dealer,however three suspicious young men prove themselves to be law-abiding citizens, Steven invites them to a Sheriff's office picnic where he and the SWAT team demonstrate an hostage rescue.
13	13	"Ruthless Judgment"	February 3, 2010
The team visit the scene of a man killed in a drive-by. Minutes later they attend to another shooting: a man found dead in his car. Later they catch four young men out late.The next night they find two of them carrying drugs.

Season 2 (2010)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date
14	1	"They Drive by Night"	October 6, 2010
In this tension-filled episode, Steven Seagal and his JPSO team spot an out-of-control car heading straight for oncoming traffic. They can only watch helplessly as a horrific head-on collision unfolds before their eyes.
15	2	"Blade Master"	October 6, 2010
Steven Seagal engages with his inner samurai as he tests out a rare Japanese sword. Out in the street, a routine traffic stop turns into a dangerous high-speed chase.
16	3	"Crossfire"	October 13, 2010
Bullets fly in Jefferson Parish. First, Steven Seagal and his team respond to two shootings only minutes apart and discover that dangerous gunmen are running loose.
17	4	"The Perfect Target"	October 13, 2010
When team Seagal runs across a man waving a gun on a highway, they discover that the gun is fully loaded--and so is the driver.
18	5	"On Dangerous Ground"	October 20, 2010
When Steven Seagal and his team get called by the narcotics unit to raid a suspected drug dealer, what they find surprises everyone.
19	6	"Gimme Shelter"	October 27, 2010
Steven Seagal, a protector of the vulnerable and the helpless, befriends a rescue pitbull at a local shelter and makes it his mission to save him from being euthanized.
20	7	"The Innocents"	November 3, 2010
21	8	"Under the Influence"	November 10, 2010

Season 3 (2014)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date
22	1	"Drug Warriors"	January 2, 2014
23	2	"Righteous Justice"	January 2, 2014
24	3	"Cops and Cons"	January 9, 2014
25	4	"Above the Border"[15]	TBA
26	5	"The Knife's Edge"[16]	TBA
27	6	"Ancient Secrets"[17]	TBA
28	7	"Blood in the Sand"[18]	TBA
29	8	"Sensei and Student"[19]	TBA

Reception

The debut episode drew a network record 3.4 million viewers.[20]

Critical reception to the series was mixed.[21] Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle praised the show for being "compelling", and praised Steven Seagal for keeping his law enforcement career largely a secret "... even when his career could have used a boost".[22] However, Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger excoriated the series and its star: "... with his new reality show ... Seagal has cemented his position as an accidental comedy savant. It's easily the funniest thing he's done since the climactic speech from On Deadly Ground (his infamous directorial debut about evil oil companies polluting the Alaskan wilderness), and one of the more entertaining additions to the Has-Beens On Parade reality subgenre".[23]

Questions over Seagal's law enforcement credentials

Steven Seagal claims to hold certification by the California Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) commission. However, according to a Los Angeles Times commentary critical of the claims, neither the California nor Louisiana POST organizations have records of Seagal's certification.[3] But in the state of Louisiana, POST accreditation is not required for people holding certain positions in law enforcement if they are partnered with a POST-accredited officer.[24]

Home releases

• Season 1 (2010, Australia, 2 discs)

1. "The Way of the Gun"
2. "The Deadly Hand"
3. "Killer Canines"
4. "Too Young to Die"
5. "Firearms of Fury"
6. "The Student Becomes the Master"
7. "To Live or Die"
8. "Crack War"
9. "A Parish Under Siege"
10. "Street Justice"
11. "Narc Force"
12. "Ruthless Judgment"

(Due to a production error, episode 8 ("Medicine Man"), was not included on the set.)

• Season 2 (2011, Australia, 2 discs)

1. "On Dangerous Ground"
2. "Crossfire"
3. "The Perfect Target"
4. "The Innocents"
5. "Under the Influence"
6. "They Drive by Night"
7. "Gimme Shelter"
8. "Blade Master"

References

1. "STEVEN SEAGAL LAWMAN (REELZ)". Retrieved 25 October 2016.
2. Manuel-Logan, Ruth (December 3, 2009). "Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office: Steven Seagal a Real-Life Badass 'Lawman'". bvblackspin.com. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
3. Glover, Scott (December 2, 2009). "Steven Seagal gets to play cop". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
4. Glover, Scott (December 2, 2009). "Steven Seagal gets to play cop". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 5, 2009.
5. Lowry, Brian (November 30, 2009). "Steven Seagal Lawman". Variety. Retrieved December 5, 2009.
6. "Kayden Nguyen (NEW PICTURES): I Manipulate Men, Says Steven Seagal "Sex Toy" Accuser". Cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
7. Scott, Elizabeth (April 13, 2010). "Steven Seagal Named In $1m Sex Lawsuit". Sky News.
8. "Steven Seagal Sued for Sex Trafficking, Assault". Foxnews.com. 2010-04-07. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
9. "Steven Seagal's TV Show – Suspended By Cops". Tmz.com. 2010-04-14. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
10. "Steven Seagal Sex Harassment Charges Dropped". CBS News. July 15, 2010.
11. "Steven Seagal Lawman Begins Production on Season Three in Maricopa County, Arizona". Seat42F. February 22, 2011.
12. "Steven Seagal Lawman Episodes on A&E". TV Guide. January 4, 2012.
13. "Lawman — Season 3 - January 2012". Steven Seagal By The Fans For The Fans. November 26, 2011.
14. "Lost Season of "Steven Seagal Lawman" to Air on Reelz". The Futon Critic. May 15, 2013.
15. "Steven Seagal Lawman: Above the Border". Zap2it. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
16. "Steven Seagal Lawman: The Knife's Edge". Zap2it. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
17. "Steven Seagal Lawman: Ancient Secrets". Zap2it. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
18. "Steven Seagal Lawman: Blood in the Sand". Zap2it. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
19. "Steven Seagal Lawman: Sensei and Student". Zap2it. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
20. Levine, Stuart (December 3, 2009). "Seagal's 'Lawman' sets record for A&E". Variety. Retrieved December 5, 2009.
21. Walker, Dave (December 2, 2009). "'Steven Seagal Lawman' draws mixed reviews from TV critics". NOLA.com. Archived from the original on January 20, 2018. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
22. Tim Goodman (2009-12-02). "'Steven Seagal: Lawman' full of possibilities". Sfgate.com. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
23. Alan Sepinwall/The Star-Ledger. "'Steven Seagal: Lawman' review — Sepinwall on TV". NJ.com. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
24. "LCLE: POST Certification of Reserve Officers". la.us. February 3, 2010. Retrieved February 5, 2010.