Saw a promo for this over the weekend and imagined a reality show that would have Seagal, whose career hasn’t been setting Hollywood on fire lately, working as a Beverly Hills cop, or mall cop, or whatever. Turns out, Seagal has been “a fully commissioned deputy” for the sheriff’s office of Jefferson Parish, La., for more than 20 years but “has never sought attention for his work,” A&E says. “Steven Seagal Lawman,” premiering Dec. 2, will “allow fans to ride shotgun with Seagal as he and his hand-selected elite team of deputies respond to crimes-in-progress,” the cable network says. And about his movie career? He just finished shooting Robert Rodriguez’s “Machete,” due out next year. Here’s the full release.

New York, NY – October 20, 2009 -  A&E presents “Steven Seagal Lawman,” a new Real-Life series that will chronicle martial arts expert and international film star Steven Seagal’s extraordinary life in law enforcement on Wednesday, December 2nd at 10PM ET/PT on A&E with back-to-back episodes.
Seagal’s movies have grossed more than $2 billion worldwide.  He is an expert martial artist with a 7th-degree black belt in aikido.  Along with Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, he is considered one of the film industry’s greatest action stars. But it turns out that Steven Seagal isn’t just an action hero in the movies. For almost 20 years, Seagal has been working as a fully-commissioned deputy with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana.  In fact, in addition to going out on patrol, Seagal is an expert marksman who has worked with their SWAT team and has instructed Jefferson Parish officers in firearms and hand-to-hand combat.
“I’ve been working as an officer in Jefferson Parish for two decades under most people’s radar,” said Seagal, “I’ve 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 the New Orleans area – to see the passion, commitment and fine police work that comes from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office in this post-Katrina environment.” 
Until now, Seagal has never sought attention for his work with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. However, over a span of almost two decades, he has regularly gone out on patrol and worked major cases.  Each thirty-minute episode will allow fans to ride shotgun with Seagal as he and his hand-selected elite team of deputies respond to crimes-in-progress.  Then, when Seagal goes off-duty, the cameras will continue following him as he pursues his many ventures – including musical performances and philanthropic efforts – in Jefferson Parish and New Orleans.
Steven Seagal is best known for playing the invincible action hero character that defined his career in such films as Above the Law, Hard to Kill, Under Siege (1 & 2) and blockbuster hit Exit Wounds.  He just finished shooting the new Robert Rodriguez film “Machete” which will hit theatres in 2010. Steven co-stars with Robert DeNiro, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez and Danny Trejo. His familiarity with his signature roles stem from a long personal history with Eastern culture in both studying martial arts as well as practicing Buddhism. He is also a recording artist and guitarist, is founder of Steven Seagal Enterprises that markets his own all-natural energy drink “Steven Seagal’s Lightning Bolt” and is a dedicated philanthropist and activist for environmentalism and animal rights.