"'Cops' canceled by Paramount Network in wake of George Floyd death, protests over police brutality"

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The show was problematic in a couple of ways that reality shows tend to be, gawking at people’s odd misfortunes. Can anyone think of a good reason for it to continue? (There might be some. I don’t know. It’s why I’m asking.)
 
Maxirad said:
Has Live PD been problematic as well?
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I’ve never watched that one, so I couldn’t tell you. I do understand that this thread is probably more about the reason and climate in which they are being cancelled. Just, my first thought about Cops being cancelled was hmm maybe it wasn’t good for us anyhow.
 
I doubt they wanted to re-watch all their content for something that could incite complaints or hostility towards the police agencies that worked with them. This isn’t the time to make police work into something for rubber-necking (if there ever was one). Besides, the studio is in a no-win situation, because they couldn’t edit their tape in any way whatsoever that wouldn’t leave them accused of taking sides.

I’d think the agencies that worked with them won’t be wanting reality-TV ride-alongs any more, anyway. It is just a different time.
 
DisorientingSneeze said:
The show was problematic in a couple of ways that reality shows tend to be, gawking at people’s odd misfortunes.
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Good point. This is why I stopped watching American Idol.

Cops and Live PD are both very similar. They entertain by kicking people when they’re down.
 
I had no idea that “Cops” hadn’t been canceled decades ago.
 
I’ve only seen bits and pieces of it on odd occasions but the show came across as gaudy and a little bit like a recruitment video.
 
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I loved “Cops” when it was new and watched it for many years, but after a while it got pretty repetitive and as said above I thought it had been cancelled years ago. Cops + America’s Most Wanted used to be the only two shows I watched every week, several decades ago, but that was before we had two cable networks and a whole bunch of streaming channels full of true crime shows. I think at this point it’s probably run its course and is likely to cause problems for police departments that participate.
 
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“Bad boys, bad boys… whacha goin’ do, whacha goin’ ado when they come for you?”

They should write a new version of the song… “Good cops, Good cops… whacha goin’ do, whacha goin’ do when the mob comes for you?”

:roll_eyes:
 
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I will never understand the fascination with finding entertainment in people having their worst days.
 
No.

Cops shouldn’t be canceled anymore than The Bachelor, My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, Say Yes to the Dress, The Dog Whisperer, American Pickers, 90 Day Fiance and the list goes and on and on.

A big portion of the population is not law enforcement, and a show like Cops shows that portion of the population what a “day in the life of a cop” is like. I’d argue more accurately than what the bachelor portrays dating to be like, and what the dog whisperer portrays retraining a misbehaving dog is like.

I personally don’t watch television anymore. I am too busy and don’t enjoy it. But I do not agree with canceling a show that is otherwise morally neutral because Paramount has succumb to the outrage mob.

And it is disheartening how many people on this forum and my real life seem to be doing the same. There is nothing inherently wrong with disagreement in a civil society. It seems in the course of just a few weeks any disagreement on topics in relation to police officers and racism mean one is unfit for society and must be cast out.
 
Well, others may not see it this way and I can only comment on why I find it entertaining. I find shows like Cops and American Idol (at least the first few episodes of the season where they have the open auditions and make fun of the people who can’t sing) entertaining because they show people at the absolute lows of their life.

This allows people like me to look at them and say, “O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity—greedy, dishonest, adulterous.”

I feel better about myself because no matter how bad things are for me, at least I wasn’t humiliated on television for my terrible singing and at least millions of viewers didn’t see me running through the streets naked and high on crack while being chased by the police.

I understand that people may actually tune in to hear the singing or see police do good works and good on them if that’s the case. I am too much like the Pharisee in the temple and am unable to do so.
 
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ZemD said:
Cops shouldn’t be canceled anymore than The Bachelor, My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, Say Yes to the Dress, The Dog Whisperer, American Pickers, 90 Day Fiance and the list goes and on and on.
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Which is to say the cancellation was long overdue…
ZemD said:
I personally don’t watch television anymore. I am too busy and don’t enjoy it.
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So why on earth do you even care what is run on TV? Did you think that those shows you cited were contributing something positive to the common life, even though you never watched them?

The worst premise of all is “Naked and Afraid.” Oh, good grief. Who believes this stuff and who on earth does not remember that these people are being followed around by fully clothed and well-fed production crews?
ZemD said:
A big portion of the population is not law enforcement, and a show like Cops shows that portion of the population what a “day in the life of a cop” is like.
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There is no reason to believe that there is much reality to be found on what has been called “reality TV.”
Someone who believes otherwise can tell me what they believe their workplace would be like if someone started filming a “reality” television series there. Watching what really happens when people go to work is just not that exciting. (At least a show like “Dirty Jobs” does not pretend that work that needs to be done is particularly exciting.)
 
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I don’t care what is run on TV, but I care immensely that the demands of a mob are being met by local governments, corporations, and the entertainment industry and that people like you are falling all over yourself to shame and insult me for daring not to agree.
 
ZemD said:
I don’t care what is run on TV, but I care immensely that the demands of a mob are being met by local governments, corporations, and the entertainment industry and that people like you are falling all over yourself to shame and insult me for daring not to agree.
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Asking you why you even care was insulting and shaming? I thought my post was giving objective reasons why these shows don’t serve the general good, since they are shows that you have said yourself you don’t ever watch.

How is that is an insult to someone who wants everyone to have room to disagree? I’m not sure I am following your meaning at all.

As for the entertainment industry, why shouldn’t they be free to change their offerings? They’re courting popularity–so what? It isn’t as if someone is being denied anything that anyone needs or ever will need. The producers of the shows aren’t producing what they would call pieces of great art or self-expression. They’re the entertainment equivalent of Twinkies. If the manufacturer quits making something like that, oh well. It isn’t like it was a positive good or that someone passed a law to stop that fluff from being made. The businesses that produced them didn’t see a profit in it any more. Bye, bye. It is not as if there was a human right to have something so trivial. When the producer no longer feels inclined to make it, they are free to just stop. (It isn’t like they’ve got a patent on the concept, either.)
 
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