Daniel Abrams (born May 20, 1966)[1] is an American media entrepreneur,[2] television host,[3][4] and author.[5][6][7] He is currently the host ofOn Patrol: Live onReelz,[3] andThe Dan Abrams Show: Where Politics Meets The Law[8][9] on SiriusXM's[8][10]P.O.T.U.S. channel. He is also the Chief Legal Analyst ofABC News.[11] In 2021, he became the host of the primetime show Dan Abrams Live onNewsNation, which had its last episode in February 2025.[12]
Abrams was the host ofLive PD on theA&E cable network and created and hostsCourt Cam, a Law&Crime production on A&E.[13] He was formerly an anchor ofNightline. Abrams also worked as the chief legal correspondent and analyst forNBC News and general manager ofMSNBC and was a substituteanchor for the same network.[14][15]
In 1997, Abrams left Court TV to serve as a general assignment correspondent forNBC News where he was later named Chief Legal Correspondent.[23] Abrams then began hostingThe Abrams Report in 2001.[24] After 5 years, he accepted the top managerial position at MSNBC,[24] which he ultimately left in order to concentrate on his programLive with Dan Abrams. This show would eventually be revamped and renamedVerdict with Dan Abrams,[25] which aired until August 21, 2008.[26]
In March 2011, Abrams left NBC to become the Chief Legal Analyst for ABC News and a substitute anchor onGood Morning America.[27] In 2013, Abrams became the network's Chief Legal Affairs Anchor, as well as an anchor ofNightline.[28] He stepped down from his full time role asNightline anchor in December 2014 to focus on his expanding media businesses, and returned to his freelance role as the network's Chief Legal Analyst.[29]
In 2018, A&E named Abrams co-host ofGrace vs. Abrams, in which Abrams and legal commentatorNancy Grace debated high-profile crime cases.[31] The following year, Abrams signed on to produce and hostCourt Cam, a new show that took viewers inside America's courtrooms.[32]
In 2021, Abrams joinedNewsNation to host a nightly prime-time show calledDan Abrams Live.[33] On December 19, 2024, Abrams announced that he would end his show effective in February 2025, though he would remain with the network.[34] He told viewers that “it’s impossible to keep devoting the time needed for this show while also running and growing my other businesses.”[35]
In 2022, Abrams became host and executive producer forOn Patrol: Live, a new show onReelz following the same format as A&E's cancelledLive PD.[36]
In September 2009, Abrams startedMediaite, a news site he described as "appreciating the celebrity of the media".[37] The site combines analyses of politics through a media lens.[38]
That same year, Abrams launchedGossip Cop, a website devoted to correcting the record on celebrity gossip.[39] In 2019,Gossip Cop was acquired by Gateway Blend.[40]
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 byAnthem Media Group in a stock and cash deal in 2013.[41]
In 2011, Abrams Media startedThe Mary Sue,[42] a partner site toGeekosystem with the goal of "highlighting women in the geek world, and providing a prominent place for the voices of geek women".[43] Abrams foldedGeekosystem intoThe Mary Sue in 2014.[44] On November 17, 2021,The Mary Sue was sold toGAMURS Group.[45]
Abrams startedLawNewz, a legal news website which also live streams trials as part of its online network, in 2016.[46] The new live trial network, promoted as the newCourt TV, launched on February 24, 2017, with A&E Networks taking a stake in the site.[47][48] In 2017,LawNewz wasrebranded toLaw&Crime.[49][50][51] In October 2023, Abrams sold Law&Crime to video content startupJellysmack[52] for a reported $125 million.[53]
In 2024, Abrams launched Bottle Raiders, a media business which aggregates ratings for fine liquors and non-alc brands with personalized tasting events.[53][54] Bottle Raiders was rebranded as The Daily Pour in 2025.[55]
In March 2010, Abrams published theWashington Post bestsellerMan 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.[56] 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.[57][58] The book was aNew York Times bestseller and received the 2018 Barondess/Lincoln Award.[59][60]
Abrams’ third book,Theodore Roosevelt for the Defense: The Courtroom Battle to Save His Legacy, was published on May 21, 2019,[61][62] followed byJohn Adams Under Fire: The Founding Father's Fight for Justice in theBoston Massacre Murder Trial, in 2020,[63][64] andKennedy's Avenger: Assassination, Conspiracy, and the Forgotten Trial of Jack Ruby in 2021.[65][66]
Abrams’ sixth book,Alabama v. King: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Criminal Trial That Launched the Civil Rights Movement, was published in 2022.[67]
In June 2012, Abrams had his first child, a boy, with girlfriend Florinka Pesenti,[72] who was part of the winning team onThe Amazing Race 3.[73] They had a daughter in 2021.[74]
In 2021, Abrams purchased Laurel Lake Vineyards on Long Island's North Fork,[75] which he relaunched in the summer of 2021 under a name inspired by his two children, Ev&Em Vineyards.[76]
