Film crews are hard to hide on the subway.
SEPTA said a production company is making a TV docuseries for A&E on the work of the transit police, shadowing officers in Philadelphia as they patrol trains, buses, and streets.
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SEPTA riders posted a flurry of photographs, questions, and comments on social media platforms after sightings of TV crews.
An email was sent to SEPTA employees last week explaining what’s behind filming they might see on the system.
The documentary will ”offer viewers a unique perspective of SEPTA law enforcement, allowing the audience to get to know some of the men and women of SEPTA’s 200-plus strong police force,” the internal message said.
SEPTA says it looks forward to having the transit police being in the spotlight, noting their challenging job, a sharp drop in violent crime on the transit system, and a crackdown on fare evasion and anti-socialbehaviors like smoking in stations and on vehicles.
The production company has editorial control but has SEPTA’s permission to embed with police units. The transportation authority says it is not receiving any compensation from the production.
SEPTA senior press officer John Golden said the eventual series will not be so-called reality TV.
“There is nothing scripted about this,” he said, and the action as crews follow officers is not staged. It also is not focused only on arrests or confrontations.
The docuseries project was first reported Thursday by news site Philly Voice.
Alastair Cook, cofounder and owner of Double Act Productions, emailed that he was traveling and not able to immediately discuss the show.
The company, headquartered in the Brixton district of London, has produced dozens of documentaries and fact-based dramas for outlets like A&E, the BBC, National Geographic, and Discovery+.
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A representative for A&E Global Media did not respond to a request for comment.