Called the original reality show, COPS is a gritty and unfiltered look at the seemier parts of our society as seen through the eyes of the men and women who struggle to keep the peace.

Since 1989, camera crews have traveled across the nation and into other countries providing an intimate look at police officers and the nuts and bolts of their day-to-day work.

The brainchild of creators John Langley and Malcolm Barbour, the idea for COPS was offered to the then new FOX television network along with three other show ideas, including America's Most Wanted. FOX asked for a pilot episode and Langley and crew were off to Broward County, Florida for three months, delivering 6 pilot shows and getting the approval of the FOX executives. The rest is history, creating a new genre of prime time television show.

COPS uses a modern adaptation of cinéma vérité, a French documentary style of film making from the early 1920s, where life is shot as it happens, without script, narration or interference. Here, the police officer is narrator, guiding you through the shift and what happens within it, using his or her own words.

A four-time Emmy nominee, COPS offers a whole new perspective on law enforcement.