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Law & Crime Network acquires “Cops: Reloaded”

The logo of the television series "Cops: Reloaded." (Courtesy image, Graphic by The Desk)
The logo of the television series “Cops: Reloaded.” (Courtesy image, Graphic by The Desk)

The Law & Crime Network has acquired the television rights to the reboot of the Fox reality crime series “Cops,” the company announced in a press release on Thursday.

The show, “Cops: Reloaded,” remixes clips from the long-running Fox series produced by Langley Productions. Law & Crime is the latest channel to offer the show; previously, it aired on Reelz Network, Paramount Global’s CMT and Nexstar Media Group’s WGN America (now NewsNation).

“Cops: Reloaded is the perfect addition to our content library,” Rachel Stockman, the president of Law & Crime Network, said in a statement. “We have a robust and rapidly growing fan base that’s highly interested in content surrounding law enforcement, so we are eager to continue to deliver them more of what they want to see.”

During its initial run, “Cops” was one of the most-watched programs on network television. It generated some criticism toward the end of its run after it was revealed the show allowed partner law enforcement agencies to co-edit the series, which increased the sensationalism at the expense of reality.

Fox dropped the show in 2013 after a 25-season run, only for it to find a new home at Paramount’s Spike TV (now Paramount Network). It ran for five years on Paramount cable channels before the company pulled new and repeat episodes after a white Minneapolis police officer murdered unarmed Black man George Floyd during a confrontation, triggering a national outcry against police brutality.

The show eventually found a new home at the streaming service Fox Nation, where it continues to run today. Clips from that program aren’t usually included in Cops: Reloaded, the show Law & Crime Network acquired this week.

The acquisition of Cops: Reloaded builds on a long-standing partnership between Law & Crime Network and Langley Productions: Several months ago, the channel secured the broadcast rights to the show “Jail,” which ran on Spike and Paramount Network until 2019.

As with Jail, Law & Crime Network says it will put excerpts from Cops: Reloaded on its digital media platforms, including its YouTube channel, which helped Jail get 31 million views.

Law & Crime Network is owned by Dan Abrams, who also owns the website Mediaite and is a chief legal affairs commentator for ABC News (Abrams also has his own hourly program on NewsNation). The channel is available on a wide variety of streaming services, including Philo, Vidgo and Fubo TV.

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About the Author:

Matthew Keys

Matthew Keys covers the business of broadcast and streaming TV, radio broadcasting, social media, technology and telecommunications. A journalist for over 15 years, Matthew previously worked at Thomson Reuters, KGO-TV in San Francisco, KTXL in Sacramento and McNaughton Newspapers. He received 9 California Journalism Awards between 2018 and 2020, and is a member of IRE (Investigative Reporters and Editors).
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