“Cops” has been an enduring fixture of reality TV ever since Fox first introduced it in 1989 — following police officers and sheriff’s deputies on real calls for everything from domestic disputes to drug deals.
It opened with the iconic “Bad Boys” reggae song from Inner Circle — “Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do when they come for you.”
Well … not any more.
“Cops” is no longer.
The Paramount Network confirmed on Tuesday that it had removed the reality show from its schedule, as protests nationwide call for police reform. Late last month, the network had temporarily cut the show from its schedule.
“‘Cops’ is not on the Paramount Network and we don’t have any current or future plans for it to return,” a spokeswoman for the network said.
It’s a needed move for the show that moved to Spike TV in 2013. Spike later became Paramount.
Cops has faced scrutiny over the years for the way it depicts suspects and police tactics. A podcast called Running From Cops detailed how officers would sometimes coerce subjects into signing releases to be filmed for the show, and that crewmembers have carried weapons and assisted police.
And “Live PD” is apparently on life support.
The future of Live PD, a police documentary show aired by A&E, is uncertain. A&E had announced that new episodes of Live PD would be pulled off air, but continued to air reruns of the show last week. Live PD is now specifically under scrutiny for filming the 2019 death of Javier Ambler, a black man from Texas who died after being repeatedly tased by police. A&E did not provide the video footage of Ambler’s death to investigators, according to Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore. A&E later claimed they “never got a request for video footage from investigators” and “no longer have any video.”