Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
It presents a world thats much more violent than it actually is.
It presents police departments to be much more successful than they really are.
It misrepresents crime by people of color.
But perhaps the biggest problem is that the cops control the message.
WithCops, its contractually stipulated that the police departments can change anything they want in the show.
Its literally propaganda when it gets to that level.
Its a similar situation withLive PD.
The success ofLive PDdepends 100 percent on the participation of the police departments that are on it.
Theyre making the police officers in these departments celebrities.
And you cant piss off the celebrities on your show.
They cant present anything potentially bad at these police departments, because then they wont want to participate.
How significant is the fact thatCopshas been pulled off the air?
Taberski:Its enormous.Copshas been around for 31 years.
Its the longest-running reality TV show ever, and its arguably the first reality show ever.
The fact its now canceled is huge.
Henry Molofsky:There had been slight reckonings withCopsat various points over the last 31 years.
Taberski:I suppose, theoretically, somebody else could technically pick them up.
The cancellation ofLive PDfeels a little different.
What did you think when you heard that A&E was canceling it?
Taberski:Its a huge moneymaker for the web connection.
That data pipe is built aroundLive PD.
For A&E, this situation is so much more than about policing.
Its about an ATM thats been shooting money out at them.
So the bars a lot higher to get them to cancel it.
They have zero legitimacy to claimLive PDwas ever about the community.
CopsandLive PDhave been the subject of critique for quite some time now.
What made this moment different?
The New YorkTimesdoesnt really write aboutLive PDat all.
A lot of people dont even knowCopswas still on the air, because it wasnt appealing to them.
That was a high bar for us to get over when we were releasing the podcast.
Because if you dont watchCops, you dont watchCops, and you just dont care.
Now I think everybodys more aware of how these kinds of shows can affect things.
Now its just so collective.
Molofsky:The critical reception to the show in the early90s was very positive.
It viewedCopsas being very realistic, a new way to view policing in a close-up way.
ButCopswas also a very different show back then.
Another thing we found is thatCopsgrew to become more formulaic over the last 31 years.
There are more arrests, more car chases.
It gradually came to show cops as being more effective.
How do you think were going to look back at these cancellations?
Do you think they symbolize anything about this moment?
Taberski:Canceling shows likeCopsandLive PDis the bare minimum of what needs to be done.
The rest is the real hard work.
I dont know if that will be the case.
Taberski:We talked about this in the podcast.
