Network Says Cops Won't Be Coming Back

After 31 years on TV, Cops has been ordered to turn in its badge. Paramount Network, which removed the reality show from its schedule during nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd, says it won't be coming back. "Cops is not on the Paramount Network and we don’t have any current or future plans for it to return," a network spokesperson tells the Hollywood Reporter. The show aired on Fox for 25 seasons before moving to SpikeTV, Paramount's forerunner, in 2013. A new season had been set to debut on Monday.

Cops, which often featured police stings or chases, was already facing criticism for dubious practices chronicled in the "Running From Cops" podcast, Variety reports. Dan Taberski looked at how police officers sometimes coerced suspects into signing releases for the show—and at how producers allowed law enforcement to remove anything they didn't want the public to see. The A&E Network has also pulled episodes of LivePD, though the show hasn't been canceled as yet, reports the Guardian. (More television stories.)