Dan Abrams

Daniel Abrams (born May 20, 1966) is an American media entrepreneur, television host, and author. He is currently the host of '' On Patrol: Live'' on Reelz, and ''The Dan Abrams Show: Where Politics Meets The Law'' on SiriusXM's P.O.T.U.S. channel. He is also the Chief Legal Analyst of ABC News. In 2021, he became the host of the primetime show Dan Abrams Live on NewsNation, which had its last episode in February 2025.

Abrams was the host of '' Live PD'' on the A&E cable network and created and hosts '' Court Cam'', a Law&Crime production on A&E. He was formerly an anchor of ''Nightline''. Abrams also worked as the chief legal correspondent and analyst for NBC News and general manager of MSNBC and was a substitute anchor for the same network.

Early life

Abrams was born and raised in Manhattan, New York City; he is Jewish,one of two children of Efrat Abrams and Floyd Abrams, a First Amendment lawyer. His younger sister, Ronnie Abrams, is a is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Abrams received a bachelor's degree in political science from Duke University and a J.D. from Columbia Law School.

Career

Television and Broadcasting

Abrams started his career working at Court TV, where he covered the O. J. Simpson case, the International Criminal Court from the Netherlands, and the assisted-suicide trials of Dr. Jack Kevorkian from Michigan.

In 1997, Abrams left Court TV to serve as a general assignment correspondent for NBC News where he was later named Chief Legal Correspondent. Abrams then began hosting '' The Abrams Report'' in 2001. After 5 years, he accepted the top managerial position at MSNBC, which he ultimately left in order to concentrate on his program ''Live with Dan Abrams''. This show would eventually be revamped and renamed ''Verdict with Dan Abrams'', which aired until August 21, 2008.

In March 2011, Abrams left NBC to become the Chief Legal Analyst for ABC News and a substitute anchor on ''Good Morning America''. In 2013, Abrams became the network's Chief Legal Affairs Anchor, as well as an anchor of ''Nightline''. He stepped down from his full time role as ''Nightline'' anchor in December 2014 to focus on his expanding media businesses, and returned to his freelance role as the network's Chief Legal Analyst.

In 2016, Abrams became the host of Live PD. Aired on A&E, the show offered live coverage of on-duty police. Live PD was canceled on June 10, 2020, in the wake of protests against police brutality following the murder of George Floyd.

In 2018, A&E named Abrams co-host of '' Grace vs. Abrams'', in which Abrams and legal commentator Nancy Grace debated high-profile crime cases. The following year, Abrams signed on to produce and host ''Court Cam'', a new show that took viewers inside America's courtrooms.

In 2021 Abrams joined NewsNation to host a nightly prime-time show called ''Dan Abrams Live''. On December 19, 2024, Abrams announced that he would end his show effective in February 2025, though he would remain with the network. He told viewers that “it’s impossible to keep devoting the time needed for this show while also running and growing my other businesses.”

In 2022 Abrams became host and executive producer for '' On Patrol: Live'', a new show on Reelz following the same format as A&E's cancelled '' Live PD''.

Business initiatives

In September 2009, Abrams started Mediaite, a news site he described as "appreciating the celebrity of the media." The site combines analyses of politics through a media lens.

That same year, Abrams launched ''Gossip Cop'', a website devoted to correcting the record on celebrity gossip. In 2019 ''Gossip Cop'' was acquired by Gateway Blend.

In 2010, Abrams launched SportsGrid, a website offering a mix of sports news, video clips and other media tracking both sports and the media world surrounding it. SportsGrid was acquired by Anthem Media Group in a stock and cash deal in 2013.

In 2011, Abrams Media started ''The Mary Sue'', a partner site to ''Geekosystem'' with the goal of "highlighting women in the geek world, and providing a prominent place for the voices of geek women." Abrams folded ''Geekosystem'' into ''The Mary Sue'' in 2014. On November 17, 2021, ''The Mary Sue'' was sold to GAMURS Group.

Abrams started ''LawNewz'', a legal news website which also live streams trials as part of its online network, in 2016. The new live trial network, promoted as the new Court TV, launched on February 24, 2017, with A&E Networks taking a stake in the site. In 2017, ''LawNewz'' was rebranded to ''Law&Crime''. In October 2023, Abrams sold Law&Crime to video content startup ''Jellysmack'' for a reported $125 million.

In 2024, Abrams launched Bottle Raiders, a media business and app with aggregate ratings for fine liquors and personalized tasting events.

Writing

In March 2010, Abrams published the Washington Post bestseller ''Man Down: Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt That Women Are Better Cops, Drivers, Gamblers, Spies, World Leaders, Beer Tasters, Hedge Fund Managers and Just About Everything Else''. He then co-wrote a series of books about forgotten trials. In 2018, he released his second book, ''Lincoln’s Last Trial: The Murder Case That Propelled Him to The Presidency.'' The book was a New York Times bestseller and received the 2018 Barondess/Lincoln Award.

Abrams’ third book, ''Theodore Roosevelt for the Defense: The Courtroom Battle to Save His Legacy'', was published on May 21, 2019, followed by ''John Adams Under Fire: The Founding Father's Fight for Justice in the Boston Massacre Murder Trial,'' in 2020, and ''Kennedy's Avenger: Assassination, Conspiracy, and the Forgotten Trial of Jack Ruby'' in 2021.

Abrams’ sixth book, ''Alabama v. King: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Criminal Trial That Launched the Civil Rights Movement'', was published in 2022.

Personal life

In June 2012, Abrams had his first child with girlfriend Florinka Pesenti, who was part of the winning team on '' The Amazing Race 3''. They had a daughter in 2021.

Abrams was a co-owner with David Zinczenko of the restaurant The Lion in Manhattan's Greenwich Village neighborhood.

In 2021, Abrams purchased Laurel Lake Vineyards on Long Island's North Fork, which he relaunched in the summer of 2021 under a name inspired by his two children, Ev&Em Vineyards.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Abrams, Dan
1966 births
Living people
Dan Abrams
American chief executives in the mass media industry
American legal writers
American magazine publishers (people)
American television reporters and correspondents
Anthem Sports & Entertainment
Businesspeople from New York City
Columbia Law School alumni
Duke University Trinity College of Arts and Sciences alumni
Jewish American journalists
Jewish American non-fiction writers
Journalists from New York City
MSNBC people
NBC News people
New York (state) lawyers
People from Manhattan
Riverdale Country School alumni
Writers from New York City