(Video from 1/15/20)
Before you ask, yes, “Cops” was still on TV. But not anymore.
Paramount Network, which pulled reruns of the long-running series in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd, canceled the show Tuesday. The show’s 33rd season was originally scheduled to premiere June 8.
“Cops is not on the Paramount Network and we don’t have any current or future plans for it to return,” the cable channel said in statement.
The reality show, which premiered March 11, 1989 on Fox, gave viewers a gritty window into the work of police officers on patrol in various cities. But the show was often criticized for glorifying police, while presenting a racially skewed view of violent crime.
Color of Change, a civil rights advocacy organization, urged Fox to drop the series in 2013 and did so again with Paramount Network this week amid the growing movement against racial injustice and police brutality.
“For more than 30 years, Cops has miseducated the public and normalized injustice,” Color of Change vice president Arisha Hatch said in a statement to Entertainment Weekly. “Crime television encourages the public to accept the norms of over-policing and excessive force and reject reform, while supporting the exact behavior that destroys the lives of Black people. Cops led the way, pushing troubling implications for generations of viewers.”
The group is also asking A&E to cancel “Live PD,” one of the most-watched programs on cable. The live show, which follows police officers across the country during a typical night shift in real time, was taken off the air last week “out of respect” for the family of George Floyd, the network said.
But “Live PD” host Dan Abrams, said the show will return.
“To all of you asking whether #LivePD coming back… The answer is yes,” he tweeted. “All of us associated with the show are as committed to it as ever. We are still discussing some specifics but I want to assure the #LivePDNation that we are not abandoning you.”
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