Cops, the reality TV show, has been canceled
The long-standing reality TV show was canceled.
Paramount Network
Paramount Network has canceled Cops, a long-standing reality TV series, ahead of season 33, which is set to premiere on June 15. (Disclosure: Paramount Network is owned by ViacomCBS, the parent company of CNET.)
“‘Cops’ is not on the Paramount network and we have no current or future plans to return,” said a spokeswoman for the network.
The show, which premiered on Fox 31 years ago in 1989, had recently been removed from Paramount’s schedule in response to the murder of George Floyd, who was killed in police custody.
Fox canceled cops in 2013 after a campaign by the civil rights group Color of Change asked the network to stop the show.
According to Color of Change, the network, producers of the show, and advertisers have “developed a winning model for distorted and dehumanizing representations of black Americans and the criminal justice system” (via the New York Times).
It also says the show “offers a heavily filtered version of the crime and criminal justice system – a” reality “where the police are always competent, criminal heroes and where the bad guys are always caught.”
A few months after the show was canceled in March, Paramount Network, then known as Spike TV, started recording in May. The show was the 1000th episode in 2017.
“This is the right move and I want to be one of the first to award Paramount,” said Rashad Robinson, Color of Change’s Executive Director, in response to the recent cancellation. “We want to see more.”
“This cop reality shows that the police are being glorified, but will never show that the scale of police violence is not a reality. They are PR weapons for law enforcement. Law enforcement agencies do not need PR. They need accountability in this country.”
Color of Change tweeted on Tuesday: “Crime TV plays an important role in promoting distorted representations of crime, justice, race and gender within culture. Cops has been a leader and has been worrying for generations of viewers.”
“Crime TV plays an important role in promoting distorted representations of crime, justice, race and gender within culture. #Cops has been pioneering and has a worrying impact on generations of viewers.”
– ColorOfChange (@ColorOfChange) June 10, 2020
The organization continued, “Crime shows like cops have a huge impact on the way the public thinks about criminal justice. By misrepresenting this system, these shows turn against overdue reform efforts.”
