Those days of Steven Seagal playing policeman in Maricopa County several years ago will finally come to television screens -- somewhere.
The Steven Seagal: Lawman show, which was filmed for two seasons in Louisiana and aired on A&E now has a "lost" third season. This one was filmed with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and is set to air starting tonight on a channel most people probably haven't even heard of.
Arpaio's press team has been circulating a flyer promising "controversial" episodes for this season featuring Seagal and Arpaio's boys in beige.
Seagal's presence has indeed been controversial, and you don't need to see a TV show to tell you that.
First off, Seagal came out to Arizona after resigning from the Jefferson Parish (Louisiana) Sheriff's Office, as he was facing an internal-affairs investigation there.
This IA investigation stemmed from a lawsuit from Seagal's then-assistant for the show accusing him of sex trafficking and creating a hostile work environment. (The complaint eventually was dropped).
That scandal apparently was no problem for setting up season three under the, um, leadership of Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
It wasn't long before another lawsuit came about, this one after the MCSO set up the dog-and-pony show -- with tanks and all -- to bring Seagal along on the arrest of a single cockfighting suspect.
The lawsuit contains claims of an absolute circus taking place in the made-for-TV arrest, including a claim that Seagal barged into the property on a tank, crashing through a gate. That moment actually may be included in a trailer for season three that we found on A&E, which decided to suspend the show before the final season aired.
The lawsuit was dismissed by a federal judge after Llovera got rid of his attorney and gave up.
Anyway, the show will finally air on a channel called Reelz. If you have Cox cable, you don't have the Reelz channel.
It reminds us of Arpaio's last foray into reality TV, a three-episode run of a show called ""Smile . . .You're Under Arrest," on the Fox Reality Channel, which doesn't exist anymore.
Add a federal judge's effectively banning Arpaio and MCSO's racial-profiling practices and the several multimillion-dollar settlements paid out thanks to Arpaio and MCSO's tactics, and we sure don't need a TV show to see "controversial" MCSO practices.
The flyer advertises that the show airs tonight at 8 p.m., no time zone specified.
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