Having been under scrutiny for years, the long-running true crime TV series has been removed from Paramount Network's slate just days after episodes were pulled from broadcast.
- June 11, 2020
AceShowbiz - Long-running true crime TV series "Cops" has been axed amid ongoing Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality and systematic racism.
The popular programme launched in 1989 on Fox, where it ran for 25 seasons and was often paired with another real-life crime show, America's Most Wanted.
In 2013, SpikeTV, which later rebranded as Paramount Network, picked up the series, but officials have now announced the show has been cancelled altogether - after episodes were initially pulled from broadcast on Friday, June 05.
"Cops is not on the Paramount Network and we don't have any current or future plans for it to return," a network spokesperson confirmed to Entertainment Tonight on Tuesday.
Cops has been under scrutiny for years, since a 1994 study found that the show associated black people with violent crime much more frequently than it did with white people.
Following the cancellation, Color of Change, a nonprofit civil rights advocacy organisation dedicated to strengthening the political voice of black Americans, celebrated the move, with a spokesperson telling the publication the show has been "pushing troubling implications for generations of viewers".
In addition to "Cops" being shelved indefinitely, A&E's top-rated program, "Live PD", is also off the schedule during the period of social unrest.
