‘Cops’ Revival Picked Up by Fox Nation

“Cops,” a staple of broadcast TV that featured various U.S. police officers as they made their runs in cities across the nation, will get a new turn as a show on Fox Nation, the streaming-video service backed by Fox News Media.

Fox Nation intends to launch a 33rd season of the show on October 1, when it will unveil four new episodes. Plans call for Fox Nation to drop a new episode of the series weekly on Friday nights. Fox Nation will also show 15 episodes from the show’s 32nd season. As part of the launch, Fox Nation will offer a free one-year subscription to police, firefighters and emergency responders.

“‘Cops’ is one of the most iconic brands on television with an incredibly passionate fan base,” said Jason Klarman, president of Fox Nation, in a statement.

Shows featuring police arresting people who are disturbing the peace or in the midst of violent incidents have enjoyed solid viewership for years, but the format has come under scrutiny in recent years, particularly as the nation grappled with the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd while in custody of police in Minneapolis last year. A+E Networks canceled the popular “Live P.D.,” a reality program that generated solid ratings by tracking police officers in near real-time in various parts of the country, in the summer of 2020. “Cops,” which had been airing on ViacomCBS’ Paramount Network, was canceled at about the same time. Paramount had been running the show since 2013, after Fox opted to stop running it.

More to come…