Steven Seagal's Reality

Steven Seagal Gets Own Reality Show

Written by Arya Ponto
Monday, 24 November 2008

Ex-film actor turns into a crimefighter, keeping the peace in his neighborhood with the skills only a Hollywood action movie star could possess. Sounds like the plot of a bad B-movie? Well, you're wrong. It's the plot of Steven Seagal: Lawman, a new reality show on A&E.

Every fallen star eventually end up on reality TV. Apparently, even aikido master Steven Seagal is not immune to this. Despite being prolific in the direct-to-video market, Seagal is ready to star in his own reality show in 2009.

One of the (very) few entertaining things that came out of the Hurricane Katrina tragedy was hearing about the celebrities who show up to help out, inadvertently boosting their profile at the same time. We've all heard about Sean Penn and his dinghy pulling people out of their homes, but my favorite anecdote ever was Anderson Cooper's reaction when he spotted the Under Siege star in New Orleans.

From the July 2006 Stuff magazine interview with the Silver Fox:

Q: In your book [Dispatches from the Edge], you mention all the celebrities who showed up in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Does any one encounter stand out as the most bizarre?

ANDERSON COOPER: Steven Seagal. A cop car pulls up, and I'm thinking, 'Weird, that guy looks like Steven Seagal.' Then I realize that it is Steven Seagal. And it's not just Steven Seagal; it's Steven Seagal in uniform out on patrol with the Jefferson Parish SWAT Team. I was oddly transfixed, so I went up to him. He was like, "Yeah, I'm just out here doing my thing. I don't want to make a big deal out of it." The next day I saw him on MSNBC with Rita Cosby. I'm like, 'Oh, okay. Real D.L.'

To Seagal's credit, he didn't just show up on Katrina. Seagal has been an on-and-off deputy for the Sherriff's Office in Jefferson Parish County, where he lives, since the early 90s.

According to Variety, the show will also document his life off the beat, including his music career as a blues guitarist.

"I 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," Seagal said of the new venture.

Blah blah, just promise to Judo chop a drunk driver every week and I'll watch.