Times are changing…

Cops, the longest running TV show in history, has had the plug pulled on it by Paramount Network. The show, which was one of the first shows to give the world an in-field perspective of law enforcement, leaves behind 32 seasons. The move comes after the murder of George Floyd by four Minneapolis police officers, and the subsequent protests around the world in response.

“Cops is not on the Paramount Network and we don’t have any current or future plans for it to return,” a network spokesperson said.

The show has faced criticism over the years for it’s alleged glorified police aggression and it’s profiting from suspects’ wrongdoings. According to podcast Running From Cops, the officers would actually at times coerce suspects into signing releases to be filmed and featured on the show.

The show debuted in 1989 and had one of the longest runs in American television history. But it’s not the only policing show to come under fire, with the A&E network pulling episodes of Live PD, which also follows officers in real-time. It’s had a slightly worse rap compared to it’s predecessor however, as in March 2019 Javier Ambler was killed in Austin Texas while Live PD cameras were recording. Ambler was a 40-year-old African American postal worker and father of two who had his high beams on while driving home from a poker game.

Cops ran on the Fox network for 25 years until 2013, when Spike TV (now Paramount Network) picked it up, where it has remained on until now….