Cops, which will end its 25th
season on Fox in May, will move to a new cable home on Spike TV this September,
the network announced on Monday.
Spike will continue to air Cops in its Saturday at 8
p.m. timeslot. The network will also acquire some of the documentary-reality
series' archive episodes.
"Cops is a remarkable series that has been able
to sustain strong ratings well into its third decade, a monumental achievement
in television," said Spike TV president Kevin Kay. "As we continue to
grow and expand our audience, new episodes of Cops, with its loyal
audience of adults 18-49, is the perfect addition to our primetime lineup on
Saturday nights."
Though Cops had been a staple of Fox's Saturday
lineup for decades, the network began pre-empting it last season with live
sports like NASCAR, UFC and Major League baseball.
The series originally premiered in 1989 and has aired more
than 900 new episodes following officers in 140 different cities. It is created
by John Langley, who previously produced Undercover Stings for Spike TV.
Cops
has aired in syndication for the past 20 years and a newversion of the show called Cops Reloaded is being re-cut to air in
broadcast and cable syndication this fall.
