A New York City judge has intervened to prevent the release of footage filmed by Dr. Phil’s son for a documentary series on the New York Police Department. This decision came shortly after Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration initiated legal action, citing concerns over the ‘life-threatening footage.’
Jordan McGraw, who had been given exclusive access to NYPD operations, aimed to produce an 18-episode series showcasing the department’s remarkable efforts, according to the lawsuit filed on Wednesday in Manhattan Supreme Court.
The access McGraw received was approved during the tenure of former New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
In return for this access, the city was promised ‘reasonable discretion’ over the content to be aired, considering the delicate nature of police work, as stated in the court filings.
However, city attorneys now contend that McGraw disregarded requests to exclude ‘harmful footage’ that could inflict ‘irreparable damage to the NYPD, its officers, and ongoing investigations.’
This contentious footage allegedly disclosed the identities of undercover officers, witnesses, and minors, as well as details about active investigations and even a confidential precinct code.
‘Any of this footage airing threatens to interfere with law enforcement investigations, judicial proceedings, deprive numerous arrestees’ right to a fair trial and cause significant harm to the city and the department, as it would undoubtedly tarnish their reputation and goodwill,’ reads the suit.
Within hours of its filing, Judge Carol Sharpe signed a restraining order banning McGraw from ‘transferring, selling, disposing of, or in any way disseminating and/or distributing any video footage’ unless he removes the harmful content, the New York Post reports.
Meanwhile, McGraw’s lawyers have filed to move the case from New York state court to federal court as they argue that it is a matter of free speech.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration filed a lawsuit on Wednesday to prevent a Texas-based production company from releasing what it classified as ‘life-threatening’ footage
Jordan McGraw, son of television personality Dr. Phil, was granted ‘special’ access to police operations to create an 18-episode docuseries that would ‘highlight the extraordinary work of the NYPD’
The docuseries in question, tentatively called ‘Behind the Badge,’ was greenlit in April 2025 under a contract signed by then-Mayor Eric Adams’ Chief of Staff Camille Joseph Varlack.
It came as Adams’ campaign paid $500,000 for another of Jordan McGraw’s companies, Fairfax Digital, to produce social media ads, and the three-year contract was signed just one day after a federal judge dismissed federal corruption charges against Adams, NBC New York reports.
But Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch was reportedly never on board with the show, which sources familiar with the Adams administration told the Post was a project by two of Adams’ top allies – former Chief of Department John Chell and Kaz Daughtry, who served in top positions in the department and city hall.
‘Everyone was wildly concerned,’ one administration official told NBC New York of the project, claiming Adams was intent on cutting the deal with McGraw and cutting the NYPD out of the decision.
However, the Adams administration seems to have lost control of the production, as Jordan McGraw and McGraw Media allegedly ‘disavowed their obligations’ and attempted to wrest editorial control over the project from the city.
Lawyers for the Big Apple claim that McGraw Media failed to submit proper rough cuts for the majority of episodes for the docuseries.
They say that the production company delivered rough cuts of just four episodes in December. The remaining 14 episodes were described by city lawyers as an ‘unedited footage dump’ that included raw, uncut interviews and segments without audio.
McGraw’s lawyers are now seeking to move the case to federal court as they argue it is a matter of free speech
According to the Mamdani administration’s lawsuit, McGraw included discussions of sensitive operations and the identities of undercover officers, crime victims and witnesses. NYPD officers are pictured standing guard outside the Metropolitan Detention Center earlier this month
City lawyers claim the footage ‘portrayed the nation’s largest police force negatively’
Of the footage that was made available, the city claims, there were discussions of sensitive operations and the identities of undercover officers, crime victims and witnesses, the lawsuit said.
‘Intended to highlight the extraordinary work of the NYPD’ with special behind-the-scenes access, “Behind the Badge” at times portrayed the nation’s largest police force negatively, violating the agreement,’ the lawsuit said.
Officials from the Adams administration sent written feedback twice flagging the issues and a letter on December 31, Adams’ last day in office, sought to quash the project entirely, according to the suit.
In the letter, Varlack told McGraw that the city was ‘no longer able to fulfill its obligations’ to the project.
She noted that under the production agreement he signed, the city reserved the right to nix what it deemed ‘Non-Usable Content,’ including inaccurate or confidential material, footage that revealed investigative techniques and anything that could compromise public safety or public trust.
Among other things, the lawsuit said, the show contained footage of an officer inputting a security code at a police station entrance, discussions of encrypted police communications and the unblurred faces of people who were arrested by police but who have not yet been tried or convicted of crimes.
In her letter, Varlack warned McGraw that releasing any such footage would violate the contract.
But according to the lawsuit, McGraw Media indicated that it would not accept any of the city´s edits and that it intended to distribute the flagged material and was looking for a buyer to air the show.
The contract between New York City and McGraw was signed under then-Mayor Eric Adams
Chip Babcock, a lawyer for Jordan McGraw and McGraw Media, said the lawsuit came as a surprise ‘as publication of any programming was not imminent.’
McGraw Media, he said, ‘had worked with the city to address the edits requested’ and is willing to continue to do so.
He added that the company will now seek to remove the court order as soon as possible, calling it a presumptively unconstitutional prior restraint.
‘It is our position that last night’s order violates the First Amendment’s near total prohibition of prior restraints,’ Babcock told the Post.
Meanwhile, despite his administration apparently trying to end the project, Adams defended McGraw’s work on ‘Behind the Badge,’ writing in a social media post on Wednesday that he ‘brought exceptional talent in revealing the inside story of the dangers NYPD officers face every day.’
‘He and his team meticulously addressed every concern raised by City Hall,’ the former mayor wrote.
‘I’m proud that the work they did tells the real story of our brave police officers. Heroes don´t wear capes, they wear blue uniforms. I understood that. I hope America will get to see that too.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to the Mamdani administration for comment.
