I remember when Cops first premiered on FOX. It was unlike anything else on television. Now, it is but one of many law enforcement reality shows on television. But imitators haven't supplanted the original. Ratings still steady after more than two decades, FOX has renewed the show for an impressive 23rd season, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Coming up on its 800th episode, watching stupid drunk people try and run away or string a lie together for the police never seems to get old. Repeats of old episodes even air on cable, where we can see that even with outdated clothes and hair, the suspects still try the same escape tactics and the same lies.
As long as there are still stupid people in the world who do stupid things and think they're going to get away with it, there will be a place for 'Cops.' The only show that has survived the decimation of Saturday nights by the broadcast networks over the past twenty years, FOX will never get rid of it unless the landscape of television transforms completely.
