Cops isn’t returning for its 33rd season after all. Days after Paramount Network pulled the latest season of the unscripted series from the airwaves, the network announced the series has come to an end at its current home. First airing on Fox in 1989 and running for 25 seasons, Spike TV resurrected the series in 2013 where it’s been ever since. ViacomCBS renamed Spike TV to Paramount Network in 2018. To date, the series has aired 1,100 episodes over 31 years.
“Cops is not on the Paramount Network and we don’t have any current or future plans for it to return,” a Paramount Network spokesperson said in a statement.
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ViacomCBS first announced they had temporarily pulled episodes doing to the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests being held around the world. A&E offered a similar statement last week in regards to Live PD, an unscripted series formatted after Cops, though it’s broadcast live on-air.
“Out of respect for the families of George Floyd and others who have lost their lives, in consultation with the departments we follow, and in consideration for the safety of all involved, we have made the decision not to broadcast ‘Live PD’ this weekend,” A&E said in a statement.
Deadline reports A&E is still weighing the option of whether or not to bring the series back to air. Live PD is a much newer show than Cops, first airing on A&E in 2016. The series has aired four seasons over four years for a total of 296, typically in a sought-after primetime slot on Saturday nights.
A&E describes their channel:
A+E Networks® is a collection of culture brands that includes A&E®, HISTORY®, Lifetime®, Lifetime Movies™, FYI,™, Vice TV and BIOGRAPHY®.
We are in the story business and just as the industry and art form have evolved, so too have we. Since our founding in 1983 with just two cable channels, we have grown into a multi-platform, multimedia, multi-genre content creator. Our brands have points of view we proudly champion and defend. We got to where we are by being great listeners, innovators and idea movers, specializing in the human experience.
To learn more about the Black Lives Matter movement and how to support the non-profits involved with you, you can use the resources located here.
