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Canceled 'COPS' resumes filming, new episodes headed to international audience

Posted at 12:12 PM, Oct 05, 2020
and last updated 2020-10-05 14:12:35-04

The long-running tv series “COPS” is filming again, however viewers in the US may not get to see the episodes.

Last week, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said two “COPS” film crews were riding with their deputies in September and will be with them through the first week of November.

“We have a longstanding relationship with COPS and Langley productions, and we are pleased they have decided to return, highlighting the outstanding work our Deputies provide to all of you,” the statementfrom the sheriff’s office said.

“They show the hard work and professionalism of law enforcement, despite what some anti-law enforcement activists and those in the media want you to believe,” Sheriff’s Ozzie D. Knezovich is quoted as saying in the release about “COPS”.

The show was canceled on Paramount Network in early June, as demonstrations focused on police tactics and violence against Black people grew in several cities following the deaths of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd, among others.

“Cops’ is not on the Paramount Network and we don’t have any current or future plans for it to return,” a Paramount Network spokesperson said in a statement toVariety in June.

The new episodes being filmed in Spokane are likely destined for foreign markets. A spokesperson from Langley Productions told The Hollywood Reporterthat the episodes being filmed now are to fulfill commitments in international territories where “COPS” still airs.

There is no update on the “COPS” websiteor social mediachannels.

“COPS” began its run on the fledgling FOX network in 1989, being a huge boon for the young network. The program was unique for embedding cameras within police departments, showing the work of officers throughout the US.

But FOX dropped the program amid declining ratings, and was later picked up by Spike, which was later renamed Paramount Network.