Long-running police documentary show Cops has been canceled by Paramount Network. Cops premiered on Fox in 1989 and aired for 25 seasons before Spike TV acquired the title in 2013; Spike TV later rebranded as Paramount Network in 2018. The show’s new season was set to premiere last night, but Paramount announced the premiere would be pulled following nationwide protests against police brutality. Paramount Network meanwhile joined other ViacomCBS channels in a tribute to George Floyd last week. “Cops is not on the Paramount Network and we don’t have any current or future plans for it to return,†a network spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter.
The future of Live PD, a police documentary show aired by A&E, is uncertain. A&E had announced that new episodes of Live PD would be pulled off air, but continued to air reruns of the show last week. Live PD is now specifically under scrutiny for filming the 2019 death of Javier Ambler, a black man from Texas who died after being repeatedly tased by police. A&E did not provide the video footage of Ambler’s death to investigators, according to Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore. A&E later claimed they “never got a request for video footage from investigators†and “no longer have any video.â€