Cops will return on Fox News Media’s Fox Nation streaming service. Last year, the long-running series was canceled and the future of the program in the United States has been unclear ever since. Fox Nation has chosen to revive the series as part of a pitch to entice police, firefighters, and other first responders to sign up for the service. The revival will kick off the 33rd season of Cops on Oct. 1 with new episodes following on Friday nights.
All police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and emergency medical technicians are being offered a free one-year subscription to Fox Nation streaming. Fox will also donate up to $50,000 to Answer the Call, an organization supporting the families of New York City first responders killed in the line of duty. Jason Klarman, president of Fox Nation, says these steps along with bringing back Cops are a way of giving back to first responders.
“[Cops is] one of the most iconic brands on television with an incredibly passionate fan base,” he said. “We wanted to show our appreciation to all first responders by combining the launch with a free one-year subscription to give back in a small way to those who place their lives on the line every day to keep us safe.”
Created by John Langley and Malcolm Barbour, Cops originally launched in 1989 on the Fox network. The series followed real-life police officers and sheriff’s deputies on patrol responding to calls for service, investigating various alleged crimes from domestic violence to prostitution and drug possession. The series was also particularly well known for its iconic “Bad Boys” theme song. More than 1,100 episodes had aired by 2020.
Last year, Cops was gearing up to launch season 33 when it was canceled at its then-home at Paramount Network. The decision came about due to widespread protests over the death of George Floyd during an encounter with the Minneapolis Police Department. Its cancelation was only for the United States as Cops episodes would continue to be developed for international and overseas partners.
Klarman also told the L.A. Times: “[Cops is] very acceptable to our audience who are cops and first responders and people from the military. I think they are big fans of the show and they miss the show. Putting it on a streaming subscription service isn’t making it available to everyone but it will be there for the people who desire it the most.”
He added: “It’s on a subscription service. It’s not over the free airwaves. If you don’t like the show, don’t subscribe. Cops shows cops working, and it’s an unvarnished look at that. Part of our vetting process included a review of the offenders to be featured in the new season and ensuring that the shows would be representative of the entire population.”
Along with bringing back Cops, Fox Nation will be launching other exclusive content to entice subscribers. It’s part of their initiative to premiere other programming specifically designed to appeal to first responders, including a new series called Protect and Serve highlighting good deeds by police officers.
Fox Nation offers three subscription tiers for its subscribers. First responders and members of the military will be offered a full year of membership free of charge. This news comes to us from The Los Angeles Times.
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