After its year-long hiatus, “Cops” is returning to Fox this fall.
Fox News Media will air the 33rd season of the “documentary reality legal program” on Fox Nation, Fox News’ streaming platform, on October 1st. As part of the return debut, four episodes will be included in the initial release, with additional episodes scheduled for every Friday night.
The long-running favorite was taken off the air by Paramount Network (formerly Spike TV) in 2020, in the wake of the death of George Floyd by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. “Cops” was not the only casualty of the national mood of the moment, with A&E’s “Live PD” also getting yanked from the air. Critics also complained that the show glorified police violence and unfairly portrayed racial minorities.
Among those who hated the show was Deirdre Fishel, director of “Women in Blue,” about women serving on the Minneapolis police force. Fishel called the legacy of Cops “toxic” during an interview with Yahoo Entertainment and said “it showcased a very aggressive approach. To have some young kid watching Cops and think, ‘Wow, that’s what being a police officer is,’ means you’ll get someone who is attracted to policing because of those interactions.”
Fox Nation president Jason Klarman issued a statement regarding the decision to bring back the long-time crowd-pleaser:
“Cops is one of the most iconic brands on television with an incredibly passionate fan base. We wanted to show our appreciation to all first responders by combining the launch with a free one-year subscription to give back in a small way to those who place their lives on the line every day to keep us safe.”
The popular show has been around since March of 1989 when it originally aired on then-young Fox TV network. It has received four primetime Emmy nominations and earned the American Television Award for best Reality-Based Program in 1993. Fox canceled the show in 2012 after Color of Change agitated in the wake of Trayvon Martin’s death, but it was picked up by what was then Spike TV and continued until caving once again to anti-police sentiment in 2020.
The announcement caused some of the expected hysterics from the left on Twitter:
So @FoxNews backs the police when they’re murdering African Americans for a simple traffic stop! But not if their being attacked, beaten, or killed by white MAGA domestic terrorists? 🤬 #MAGATerrorists https://t.co/IiyiLeH9jn
— Jules B 🌊🌊🌊 (@JulesB1983) September 13, 2021
It’s a horrible horrible show and I judge anyone who watches it
— Santiago (@santiagoj83) September 13, 2021
Including the inevitable sermonizing from the blue checkmarks:
“Cops” is classist trash dedicated to dehumanizing poor people and especially poor black people for ratings and profit. They’ve been caught framing people for crimes they didn’t commit. Just pure exploitation. https://t.co/DhUqfk7VZh
— Krystal Ball (@krystalball) September 13, 2021
The Los Angeles Times devoted an entire podcast to discussing the “cruel” 32 seasons of “Cops” and why it was “banished,” and primed its readers to ready the pitchforks in a reminder to get angry for “blowback:”
Fox Nation has acquired 33 new episodes of the series some of which were being filmed at the time of its cancellation, plus 15 more from the previous season.
More on how the acquisition is likely to generate blowbackhttps://t.co/4HegEfLVM9
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) September 13, 2021
Others, however, were hoping for a return of other yanked police reality shows like “Live PD.”
Awesome! LivePD too? @LivePDNation
— Michelle Roy 🇨🇦 (@Ms_Michelle_Roy) September 13, 2021
The show primarily focuses on city police but has also featured state and federal agencies, along with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, as well as the United States Marshals Service.
As part of the promotion for the returning show, Fox is also offering one free year of Fox Nation service to active first responders such as police, EMS, or firefighters. In addition, Fox has pledged $5 for each new subscription between Monday and September 20th to Answer the Call, an organization dedicated to the financial support of New York City firefighters killed while performing their duties.
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