‘COPS’ has been canceled in the most on-the-nose headline of the day

by Therese Odell, posted in Uncategorized

COPS has been canceled after 32 seasons in response to the protests against police brutality and GOOD FUCKING RIDDANCE. As I was doing a little quick research before writing this for the Chronicle, I came across this piece by a reality show producer who looked into how the sausage of the show was made and discovered this:

“What we found is that “Cops” is edited far more problematically than it lets on, that it consistently presents excessive force as good policing and that its structural reinforcement of racial stereotypes about criminality raises questions about the ethics of continuing to let the show remain on the air. Above all, the questionable legality of several actions taken by “Cops” producers and their Police Department partners should lead every American state and city to assess whether they should allow reality shows about the police to film in their jurisdictions.”

Anyway, there is also a small gallery in there of shows that have been impacted by the protests that I expect will get bigger in the coming weeks.

Director John Ridley called for HBO Max to remove Gone With the Wind from its catalog on Monday, and HBO Max responded by taking the movie down. But! Then a few hours later when people were OUTRAGED! HBO Max explained that the removal is temporary, and the movie will be back with a discussion of historical context.

From an HBO Max spokesperson:

Gone With the Wind is a product of its time and depicts some of the ethnic and racial prejudices that have, unfortunately, been commonplace in American society. These racist depictions were wrong then and are wrong today, and we felt that to keep this title up without an explanation and a denouncement of those depictions would be irresponsible. These depictions are certainly counter to WarnerMedia’s values, so when we return the film to HBO Max, it will return with a discussion of its historical context and a denouncement of those very depictions, but will be presented as it was originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed. If we are to create a more just, equitable and inclusive future, we must first acknowledge and understand our history.

There is no timetable for when it returns or what this “discussion” will look like.

Megyn Kelly has some feelings about this, but I’m not going to include her tweets here because she’s just the worst.

And speaking of assholes, Tucker Carlson is SO MAD at Sesame Street for addressing racism — you know, something that children of color deal with EVERY GODDAMNED DAY. What a fucking tool.

The Grammys have dropped the label “Urban” on two of its categories, finally.

Netflix has removed the Chris Lilley shows Angry Boys, Summer Heights High, We Can Be Heroes, and Jonah From Tonga over his use of blackface. Netflix has also removed the British comedy Come Fly With Me over its use of blackface.

Netflix has created ‘More Than A Moment,’ a collection of films and TV shows telling the black experience.

The Hate U Give is available to stream for free right now.

Ava DuVernay has launched the Law Enforcement Accountability Project (LEAP), to fund projects to change the narrative on police brutality.

Andy Cohen has finally spoken about the Vanderpump Rules firings, insisting that he supports Bravo’s decision. Also, he reminds everyone, he’s not the producer of these shows except in title only.

Lisa Vanderpump’s restaurant Pump has been tagged with Black Lives Matter messages. Good.

MTV has cut their ties with Taylor Selfridge over her racist tweets. Teen Mom OG At Home: Cory & Taylor’s Baby Special was pulled from the schedule yesterday.

Out of respect for Juneteenth, Love, Victor‘s premiere date has been moved from June 19. It will now premiere on Hulu on June 17. Taste the Nation was also set to premiere on June 19, and will now debut on June 18.

NBA star Russell Westbrook is producing a docuseries about the Tulsa Race Massacre.

The creator of The Punisher is trying to take back his symbol from police assholes who use it by organizing a Black Lives Matter benefit:

He also added: “For too long, symbols associated with a character I co-created have been co-opted by forces of oppression and to intimidate black Americans. This character and symbol was never intended as a symbol of oppression. This is a symbol of a systematic failure of equal justice. It’s time to claim this symbol for the cause of equal justice and Black Lives Matter.”

✊🏿

Going Viral

Yeah, I don’t know that production in Los Angeles is going to resume by Friday, guys.

Here’s a nice piece celebrating the news journalists covering the COVID-19 story and frontline workers, thereby becoming frontline workers themselves — many of them women. Interesting time to be a journalist, man.

Good news: the Doctor Who Christmas special has already been filmed so COVID won’t ruin that at least.

Major League Soccer will return on July 8 in Orlando with a tournament.

Emmy-winning Days of Our Lives actress Judi Evans nearly had to have her legs amputated after contracting COVID-19. Fortunately, she is recovering.

Lollapalooza has been canceled and will be held virtually.

AMC thinks it’s time to reopen theaters. Meanwhile, the number of COVID-related hospitalizations in my home state of Texas has jumped 42% since Memorial Day.

The Broken Hearts Gallery is expected to open in theaters on July 10, making it the earliest summer release. We’ll see.

All Other TV:

The Peabody Award winners were announced this morning (the ceremony had to be canceled because COVID-19 is a dick). In the Entertainment category, there were a bunch of deserving winners (the winners in the Documentary, News, Podcast/Radio and Children’s categories are available in the link above):

“Chernobyl” (HBO)

“David Makes Man” (OWN)

“Dickinson” (Apple TV+)

“Fleabag” (Prime Video)

“Ramy” (Hulu)

“Stranger Things” (Netflix)

“Succession” (HBO)

“Unbelievable” (Netflix)

“Watchmen” (HBO)

“When They See Us” (Netflix)

(This reminds me, I need to get around to watching Dickinson …)

You can watch Regina King and Damon Lindelof’s beautiful acceptance speeches here.

Interested in winning a digital copy of Watchmen?

For those of you hoping for a fourth season of Hannibal, here’s the whole long convoluted — but very interesting! — backstory on what has happened, is happening, and why the upcoming CBS series, Clarice, has made a mess of things.

And over in New Zealand:

CAN YOU EVEN IMAGINE THIS RUNNING IN THE STATES? JUST … STOP … FOR ONE SECOND … AND TRY TO IMAGINE IT.

Cancellations

In Development

Casting News

  • Emmanuel Acho is replacing Jason Whitlock on FS1’s Speak for Yourself.

Mark Your Calendars

WATCH THIS

Lenox Hill: Four doctors balance their lives and work in this new documentary series. Premiere.Netflix

What We Do in the Shadows: The vampires try to make do without their familiar in the season finale. 9 p.m., FX

Curon: In this supernatural Italian thriller, a woman returns to her mysterious hometown with her 17-year-old twins and then disappears. This one is on my personal list. Premiere. Netflix

Reality Z: From the sound of it, this is a Brazilian Dead Set. UPDATE: That’s exactly what it is. Premiere. Netflix

OWN Spotlight: Where Do We Go From Here? Part 2: Oprah Winfrey leads a two-night conversation on race and justice that will be simulcast on the Discovery networks. 7 p.m., OWN, HGTV, Food, AHC, Discovery, ID, Science, GAC, DFC, Travel, TLC, Motortrend, DIY, DLC, Cooking, DA

Late Night:

  • Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Lenny Kravitz
  • Late Night with Seth Meyers: Michael Moore, Bel Powley
  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Stacey Abrams, Megan Rapinoe
  • The Late Late Show with James Corden: Gayle King, Adam Lambert
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live: Pete Davidson
  • The Daily Show: The Daily Social Distancing Show
  • Conan: Senator Cory Booker
  • Watch What Happens Live: Tamron Hall, Kandi Burruss

 

WEDS. 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30
ABC Big Hero 6 Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
(new)
CBS Game On!
(new)		 SEAL Team
(repeat)		 S.W.A.T.
(repeat)
CW The 100
(new)		 Bulletproof
(repeat)		 Local
FOX MasterChef
(repeat)		 Ultimate Tag
(new)		 News/Local
NBC Chicago Med
(repeat)		 Chicago Fire
(repeat)		 Chicago P.D.
(repeat)

 

3 thoughts on “‘COPS’ has been canceled in the most on-the-nose headline of the day”

  1. I personally hate it when symbols are coopted for political reasons. Especially ones from history. Point in case the Battle of Gonzales flag is now a guns rights symbol and they’re even using it outside of Texas.

    Reply

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