TV show Cops cancelled amid unrest over George Floyd death
10 June 2020, 10:07
Popular documentary TV show Cops has been dropped after 33 seasons on air amid protests across the globe around police reform.
The Paramount Network confirmed on Tuesday that it had removed the reality show from its schedule. Late last month, the network had temporarily cut the show from its schedule.
The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis has sparked a global movement, setting off hundreds of protests and efforts to change criminal justice policy. Mr Floyd, a black man, was held down for nearly nine minutes by a white police officer who had his knee on his throat.
"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 on Tuesday.
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It was not immediately clear whether Langley Productions, which makes Cops, would try to find a new network to broadcast the show.
The reality show, which was shown on British TV and which featured a well-known reggae theme song of Bad Boys, allowed viewers to ride along with police officers on patrol in various cities.
It ran on the Fox network for 25 years until 2013, when Viacom-owned Spike TV picked it up. The show remained on the air after Spike was re-branded as the Paramount Network in 2018.