Cop shows have been staples in American television for a long time, but they’re there to serve a larger purpose than to just provide entertainment. People gravitate towards cops shows, both scripted and not, for a variety of reasons. Whether it be for the story, for people do love true crime and facts surrounding histories crazy, most heinous stories, or whether viewers watch because for some reason watching a fictional cop take down a fictional perpetrator makes them feel safe, cop shows have entered the zeitgeist of American popular culture and are seen on every channel, at all hours of the day.
In the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests following the death of George Floyd, many have called into the question the integrity and necessity of cop shows on television. Both police dramas and comedies play a role in how society views police authority and the portrayal of characters in the wrong light can just as easily feed into perpetuating institutional racism and police brutality. The responsibility of cop shows is to entertain, but also serve society in the best possible way.
Inclusion
Looking back into cop show history, racial divides are formed between characters that most often reflect the climate of the country at the time. The heroic, authoritative brave white cop takes down an arrogant, often minority perpetrator for their crime committed against what seems like always a white woman. Although this is not true for every show, the pattern of procedural crime shows is simple to follow and predictable virtually every time. It almost seems like network propaganda, recruiting future cops based on what they think the job is like, which actually is not a bad thing. If police forces had more potential officers to choose from, the weed-out process would be far greater and more of those “good apple” cops would end up as police officers. When starving for people to become cops, departments often times turn a blind eye to potential liabilities that lie before them.
What cop shows today aim for is more obvious and better for both the longevity of the show and the societal education viewers receive. NBC’s cop comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine has quite a diverse cast which doesn’t feel forced. Starring Andy Samberg, Stephanie Beatriz, and Terry Crews, the show’s squad is a diversified bunch of cops out to entertain a loyal fan base. Inclusion is key and a show like CBS’ S.W.A.T. aims to do the same by portraying Shemar Moore as a black S.W.A.T. team leader in Los Angeles. Having more of a minority presence is key for the longevity of a show, but more importantly, it serves to inspire young people from all walks of life to potentially becomes cops and make a much-needed difference.
Societal Issues
Procedural crime shows have fallen into the trap of portraying the same exact thing just with a loosely different story. They are entertaining and satisfy the viewer because in the end, the perpetrator finds justice and the “good guys” win. But cop shows have the ability to send powerful messages without them feeling too forced. No one wants to watch their favorite cop show turn into a public service announcement, for social media has that covered, but mentioning or even touching on sensitive topics at least starts conversations that may be necessary.
A show like CBS’ Blue Bloods is a prime example of a cop show tackling societal issues. Blue Bloods follows a family of New York City cops at each level of the department; the beat cop, the detective, and the police commissioner. What Blue Bloods contains is many side plots throughout an episode and the police commissioner, Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck), usually handles the overarching issues surrounding the department and the city like race, gender discrimination, and other prevalent topics of the time. While the show provides a source of entertainment, it also plants the seed for conversations to be had surrounding necessary topics that seriously affect American society.
Recent Cancellations
Given the new steps to ensure real change is met, the cop drama from the real streets of America has now come to the screen, with Cops and Live PD being cancelled. With calls to defund the police and nationwide protests now a regular occurrence, these shows have been booted from the air as controversy surrounds the nature of each respective show.
This now calls into question what will happen to other cop shows, such as the many created under Dick Wolf, in particular his globally successful Law & Order franchise. Likely steps will be to continue tackling prevalent issues to date, while also showing law enforcement and the justice system in a new light, offering solutions to problems like deescalating situations instead of immediately jumping into a gun fight. The fate of many cop shows hangs in the balance, but the entertainment industry is not sitting idle while America undergoes a serious makeover.