Right now, the most-watched TV show in the US is...
"The Big Bang Theory"
The most expensive?
"Game of Thrones"
But what about the longest-running primetime show, apart from news?
It isn’t “The Real World”,
or “Law and Order”.
Nope, not even “The Simpsons”.
It’s a show that’s hardly changed
since it started in 1989.
Yep.
It’s "Cops".
The reality show where they
follow police around with cameras.
“He’s running, he’s running!”
And, really, that’s kind of all there is to it.
But it’s stayed on TV for over three decades.
Why?
The show has plenty of action,
but a team of producers from the podcast "Running From Cops" found that
the driving force behind the show’s popularity,
isn’t visible on camera.
It’s what’s happening behind it.
“Picket team leaders, please join the line!”
In 1988 television writers across the US went on strike.
“Producers cannot deny the strike is having a negative impact.”
“It shows no sign of ending.”
That meant TV channels started looking for shows that wouldn’t require union writers
“Welcome to Fox!”
Fox had recently started a TV channel and Stephen Chao
was an executive in charge of finding new material.
Fox network didn’t really have
much of a personality at that stage.
And so, I was like, ‘Ok here’s your chance.'
If you can make something good,
we’ll promote it on the stations
and, if it’s really good, it'll get drafted by the network.
At Fox, he took a meeting with John Langley,
who was selling an idea for unscripted TV.
He showed me this tape of a live drug bust
and it was fantastic!
"Come here, take her!"
After seeing the material, Fox signed on to make "Cops"
and this footage comes from the first episode.
“This is where they smoke their crack.”
That emotion was so powerful and then you saw
the emotional ‘Poomph!’ that it gave to you.
You’d go, ‘Ok, I’m not going anywhere else.'
“Go! Go! Go! Go!"
"Get your hands up!"
"Get down!"
From the start, the show’s raw style made this a cheap production.
"Clear! Clear! Clear! Clear!"
It didn’t require actors or writers
and the entire show was shot on handheld cameras.
“We have a 99 on a white male”
"Cops" wasn’t fancy.
And when it premiered in 1989, it didn’t look like anything else on TV.
“You’re in love with me?”
“New Phil Collins!”
“Jello pudding snacks!”
“Police you m**********r! Get on the ground!”
Cops was a gritty look at crime during the American War on Drugs.
A few months after Cops premiered,
President Bush went on live TV
holding a bag of crack cocaine.
“It’s as innocent looking as candy,
but it’s turning our cities into battle zones
and it’s murdering our children.”
"Cops" was a full dose of reality,
with cameras showing the real thing
up close and personal.
This felt like you were with the cops
and they weren’t hiding any secrets from you
“Stop resisting and lay on your stomach.”
But that feeling...
...doesn’t match the reality behind the scenes.
In fact, that was kind of part of the art of John,
which is, he made you feel like you were inside,
but in fact it was, on the other hand,
approved by the police department.
Since the first season of the show,
which was shot in Florida,
the police on Cops have
used that control to build their public image.
“We’re here just to look for some drugs
and clean up the bad people off the street.
You don’t mind that do you?”
Nick Navarro, the sheriff of Broward County,
was featured that first season.
Sheriff Nick Novarro was ultimately anticipating
that he would want to be re-elected and he thought that,
'If I use "Cops", what a good platform that would be
to get me more votes”.
"Cops" made Navarro the county’s “showbiz sheriff”
and although he lost the next election,
his popularity gave producers a model for
convincing other agencies to go on the show.
The next season, cops moved to Portland, Oregon,
where they featured Sergeant John Bunnell.
"How heavily involved are you in narcotic trafficking?"
In the years COPS began filming in Portland,
videotape of Rodney King being beaten by police
sparked outrage in Los Angeles
and rioting swept through the city the next year.
Two years later, Cops hit the streets of L.A.,
where they had been trying to convince
the L.A.P.D. to let them film for years
and didn't get access until
a newly appointed police chief invited them.
“I don’t know if you’ve seen this gun before."
"This is the gun.”
At the time, a member of the Mayor’s police commission defended his decision to let "Cops" film.
Saying that, "The department,
since the Rodney King incident in particular,
has had a very negative reputation,"
So it made "sense for the department to
receive some positive coverage."
Over the next three decades, this pattern continued.
"Cops" moved from city to city, helping shape a positive image for law enforcement agencies
throughout the country.
In 2013, police in Omaha, Nebraska
were fired for using excessive force.
The next year, the police chief
invited "Cops" to come film.
While in town, a crew member was killed
during a police shootout and the chief was asked
why he brought "Cops" to Omaha in the first place.
“We had some rough times."
"And we had an issue that occurred about a year and a half ago that we’ve overcome and
we’ve become a very professional strong organization.
I wanted to "Cops" to come in so that they can see the Omaha Police Department."
In 2014, killings by officers in
Salinas, California led to protests.
“To send a message to Salinas Police,
after four officer-involved shootings this year.”
The next year "Cops" was filming in Salinas.
“You need to be smarter about your choices, ok?”
After Cops wrapped filming in Salinas, the police chief described the show as
For decades, "Cops has allowed police to control their appearance on TV,
while they try to achieve their own goals in reality:
whether that’s trying to gain votes, cleaning up a reputation or recruiting new officers.
But while police officers continued to use this model,
many of the viewers that watched "Cops" in the 1990s
had stopped tuning in.
After 25 years, Fox eventually cancelled "Cops"
and it moved to a new channel,
but that doesn’t mean viewers are losing interest
in police-sanctioned reality TV.
“This is Live PD!”
"Live PD" is a TV show on A&E where camera crews
embed with police units to broadcast
live events as they’re happening.
"Show me your hands!"
When the show launched in 2016,
“Watch cops, live!”
the trailer responded directly to calls for increased police accountability.
“Being able to see exactly what the police are doing
and how they are doing it is beneficial to everyone."
The format of "Live PD" makes it possible
for police officers to come off as
less polished than on "Cops".
“I’m gonna f*****g tase you!
Get on your face!
Get the f**k on your face!”
Doing it live might be a way to increase transparency,
but at its core "Live PD" is just another way
for police to shape an identity on television.
“…we have narcotics…”
Like "Cops", law enforcement agencies invite "Live PD"
to come film with them and it’s that connection
that connection that will continue to be the driving force behind these shows.
In 2018, the most-viewed show on DVR was "Live PD".
Hey, thanks for watching.
In this video we worked with a podcast called “Running From Cops” in order to make this happen
and if you have any questions about
what happens after the cameras stop rolling,
the stories behind people who signed releases to be on the show,
or anything else related to "Cops",
then you have to check them out.
They spent over a year researching the show,
travelling the country to interview people who have been on it,
and also compiled data about how the show portrays crime in the US.
It’s called “Running From Cops” and it’s available
on iTunes or wherever else you get your podcasts.
Thanks!