In a homecoming of sorts, Cops, which the Paramount network abruptly cancelled in June 2020 in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd and the resulting nationwide protests, is coming back.
Fox News is adding the longtime law enforcement reality show to its Fox Nation streaming subscription service effective October 1, with new episodes of the reboot dropping every Friday thereafter.
First-responders are set to receive a one-year free subscription, and Fox Nation plans to donate $5 for each new subscriber to the Answer The Call first-responder charity.
“The Fox broadcast network was Cops‘ original home, airing the program regularly since 1989, before it moved to Spike TV/Paramount Channel in 2013,” The Hollywood Reporter recalled.
So could this be a precursor to the the return of fan favorite Live PD?
Panicky A&E network executives similarly cancelled the show after Floyd died in Minneapolis police custody, which subsequently resulted in a murder conviction for now-ex-cop Derek Chauvin.
Former Live PD host Dan Abrams continues to be optimistic, although he has made similar statements before.
In a September 9 blog post, Abrams provided another update for Live PD Nation.
No one was more disappointed or frustrated when Live PD was taken off the air than me and I desperately want to see the show return. Now. With policing in the news more than ever, I believe showing America the more day-to-day aspects of what it’s like to be a police officer in this country is more important than ever.
Before I go any further, let me just re-iterate that I don’t own Live PD and have no current financial stake in the franchise so my power is limited. Even so, I along with the producers of the show, have been doing everything possible to bring Live PD, or something just like it, back on the air.
To that point, there has — and continues to be —significant interest within the industry to bring the show back. If I could say more without potentially hurting the larger cause here I promise you that I would. But when I tweeted at the beginning of this year that I was confident that Live PD was coming back in 2021, it wasn’t just wishful thinking. With that said, I will admit that I’m incredibly dismayed that it’s not back already.
So here is what I am promising all of you: I am going to continue to serve as a vocal advocate for Live PD…
Abrams, who has various other gigs, then put in a plug for his new show on the little-watched NewsNation channel.
Live PD scored big ratings in a mostly three-hour format. Given the enthusiastic Live PD Nation viewership base, a paid streaming service that let the cameras continue to roll even beyond three hours a night could presumably cash in.
As this blog has noted previously, Live PD Nation will never accept a watered-down, PC Live PD 2.0 that is turns out to be Live Social Workers or the equivalent.
Best shows on the television. SOOO much better than this LGBTQRS crap with “inclusive” families and “woke” “social Justice” garbage. People who cancelled them are gutless cowards and lost millions of viewers and sponsors lost out too. Many boycotts and alternate products got sold.