The long-running reality television series Cops has been permanently pulled off the air and competitor Live PD has gone on hiatus amid protests over police brutality and the death of George Floyd.
The season premier of Cops season 33 did not air as scheduled on Paramount Networks on Monday night, and now the channel says it is pulling the plug on the show for good.
‘Cops is not on the Paramount Network and we don´t have any current or future plans for it to return,’ a spokesperson for the cable channel said in a statement.
Paramount Network owner ViacomCBS made headlines earlier this week when on Monday the company’s cable networks went dark for eight minutes and 46 seconds — the amount of time that a Minneapolis police officer kept his knee on Floyd’s neck before his death.
Paramount Networks has permanently cancelled Cops, the police reality show that has been on the air for 33 seasons, the network said in a statement on Tuesday
It’s not clear whether the company that makes Cops, Langley Productions, would try to find a new home for it. A voicemail at a company phone number was not accepting messages.
The reality show, with its widely known reggae theme song Bad Boys, allowed viewers to ride along with police officers on patrol in various cities.
Meanwhile, A&E did not air new episodes of its mega-hit Live PD last weekend in its usual Friday and Saturday slots, choosing to air episodes of Live Rescue in its place.
‘Out of respect for the families of George Floyd and others who have lost their lives, in consultation with the departments we follow, and in consideration for the safety of all involved, we have made the decision not to broadcast ‘Live PD’ this weekend,’ A&E said in a statement.
A&E’s schedule shows new episodes of Live PD set to air this coming weekend.
However, in a statement, Live PD host Dan Abrams vowed that the series would return to the air soon.
‘To all of you asking whether #LivePD coming back. . .The answer is yes,’ Abrams 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.’
Live PD hosts (from left) Dan Abrams, Sgt. Sean Larkin, and Tom Morris Jr are the faces of the hit A&E series, which did not air last weekend and now hangs in the balance
Live PD is now the No. 1 series on cable on Friday and Saturday nights
Cops launched on Fox in 1989, and is considered one of the originators of the modern reality TV movement. But in recent years, it has also come under fire for how it depicts law enforcement, and for questionable behind the scenes practices.
Reality Blurred’s Andy Dehnart, who wrote a recent piece about police-based reality TV on his website, was the first to report Paramount’s decision to pull Monday’s Cops premiere.
Cops was the subject of a recent podcast hosted by Dan Taberski, ‘Running from Cops,’ which chronicled hundreds of episodes of the show.
Taberski and his team detailed instances where people were coerced into signing waivers and how production allows police to edit and remove anything that might paint them in a negative light.
Police officers with a restrained suspect are seen from the first season of Cops in 1989. Cops aired for 25 seasons on Fox before moving to Spike TV, later renamed Paramount
Cops aired for 25 seasons on Fox, which was still in its infancy when the show first premiered.
The network aired Cops together with America’s Most Wanted on Saturday nights for 14 years. America’s Most Wanted moved to Lifetime in 2011 and was eventually canceled.
Cops, meanwhile, got a new lease on life in 2013 when Spike TV ordered new episodes and paired them with repeats. Spike was rebranded as Paramount Network in 2018.
Meanwhile, Live PD has been a tremendous hit for A&E since its premiere in October 2016.
The show follows cops and sheriffs — live, in real time, as they patrol various cities and counties across the country.
As it turned into a sensation, A&E kept expanding the show’s footprint, and it’s now the No. 1 series on cable on Friday and Saturday nights.
After taking a break in the early spring due to a COVID-19 production shutdown, it returned in April.