Five summers ago, we were told to wear masks, compelled to take vaccines, prohibited from looking at certain statues (which were helpfully torn down), and scolded for enjoying any movie or TV show that presented law enforcement officers empathetically or humanely. The May 2020 death of George Floyd not only birthed the so-called second “Summer of Love,” but, in the pop culture realm, it resulted in the cancellation of the widely popular reality TV shows Cops and Live PD and an industry-wide reconsideration of police-oriented entertainment. Few endeavors could signal virtue as pointlessly or gratuitously.
As late as October of that year, the Hollywood Reporter surveyed various TV writers about “how they would address the current moment if they wrote a cop show.” The responses ranged
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!