Cops is making a comeback and it’s being rebooted courtesy of Fox News Media.
It has been announced that Fox Nation has ordered new episodes of Cops following its cancellation by Paramount last summer. The streaming service has ordered new episodes for season 33 of the show while also picking up 15 episodes from season 32.
The long-running reality series, which follows police officers as they go on parol and respond to calls, was canceled by Paramount last year following the public outrage after the death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer. The outcry led to not only Cops being canceled, but also the cancellation of A&E’s Live PD as protests against police brutality brought increased scrutiny to how police are represented in popular media and on entertainment programming. Fictional shows that featured cops in the forefront also made an almost instant effort to change how they depict the characters on their shows in response to the protests. Another reality-based cop show, Body Cam, was quietly taken off the air on the ID Channel and it just recently returned with new episodes.
Cops resumed production last fall and, at the time, producers with Langley Productions said it was to fulfill contractual obligations for markets outside of the U.S. It would appear that this Fox Nation deal is now a part of the production restart.
Cops was broadcast on Fox, beginning in 1989. The series was then moved to Spike TV/Paramount in 2013 where it continued to air until its cancellation. The new Cops will debut on Fox Nation on October 1, 2021, with new episodes debuting thereafter on Fridays.
Live PD host Dan Abrams has also hinted that his series, which was canceled by A&E, could also be eyeing a comeback, similar to Cops. Abrams says, “Myself along with the producers of the show, have doing everything possible to bring Live PD, or something just like it, back on the air. To that point, there has, and continues to be, significant interest within the industry to bring the show back. If I could say more without potentially hurting the larger cause here I promise you that I would.”
Are YOU happy to see Cops make a return?