‘Cops’ TV series canceled after 32 seasons

"Cops," the reality TV series that follows police in the field, has been canceled, multiple news outlets are reporting.

According to the New York Times, the Paramount Network revealed the news Tuesday as protests continued across the country over George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis police custody on Memorial Day.

"'Cops' is not on the Paramount Network," a company spokesperson said in a statement, adding that the network does not have "any current or future plans" for the show to return.

"Cops" first hit airwaves in 1989. Its first 25 seasons aired on Fox, which canceled the show in 2013. Spike TV, which later became Paramount Network, then picked up the series, according to the Times.

Color of Change, a civil rights group that has criticized "Cops," said in a statement that the show "has miseducated the public and normalized injustice" for decades, Entertainment Weekly reported.

"Crime television encourages the public to accept the norms of over-policing and excessive force and reject reform, while supporting the exact behavior that destroys the lives of black people," Arista Hatch, the organization's vice president, said in a statement to the news outlet.

The group also is calling on A&E to cancel a similar series, "Live PD," according to EW. Although A&E temporarily decided not to air the show last week, host Dan Abrams tweeted Tuesday that the series eventually will return.

"To all of you asking whether #LivePD coming back ... The answer is yes," he wrote. "All of us associated with the show are as committed to it as ever. We are still discussing some specifics but I want to assure the #LivePDNation that we are not abandoning you."

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