Police and Media Access

New York City has sued producer Jordan McGraw and his company McGraw Media for breach of contract over an unfinished NYPD reality series, "Behind the Badge," and secured a temporary court order barring them from selling or releasing any of the footage. The three‑year production deal, signed in April 2025 under then‑Mayor Eric Adams, gave Dr. Phil McGraw’s team unusual behind‑the‑scenes access to crime scenes and police operations, but the city alleges that rough cuts were largely unedited footage dumps that improperly revealed sensitive tactics and the identities of undercover officers, crime victims, and witnesses, and at times portrayed the department negatively in ways the contract forbade. The Adams administration pulled the plug on the project hours before handing City Hall to Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and the new suit says McGraw has since disavowed his obligations and tried to seize editorial control, creating a risk of "immediate and irreparable harm" if the material is aired. McGraw’s lawyer calls the order an unconstitutional prior restraint, says no broadcast was imminent, and insists the company had been working with the city on requested edits and remains willing to do so; on Thursday the defense moved to shift the case from New York state court to federal court. The fight underscores a broader tension over how much editorial control governments can claim when they invite TV producers inside police agencies, and whether city concerns about reputation and operational security can justify gagging a finished or near‑finished program.