'COPS' Canceled By FOX After 25 Years: 'Bad Boys' Going To Spike

For a quarter century, John Langley's "COPS" program, which follows actual law enforcement officers in their daily work, has entertained and at times educated the public on FOX television. Considered to be the first reality program, "COPS" was reportedly originally a documentary series geared to boost then-fledgling FOX broadcast networks' appeal in March 1989. Since then, catching the "Bad Boys" that Inner Circle refers to in the show's theme has never seemed to become stale to viewers.

"COPS" is leaving FOX after being canceled by the network. It will move to Spike-TV, a cable network geared toward its ratings bread & butter, the young male demographic. A staple of FOX's Saturday night lineup, it preceded "America's Most Wanted", a program that featured John Walsh broadcasting names, stories and images of the FBI's most wanted fugitives.

Walsh's young son, Adam, was mysteriously abducted, and later allegedly killed by serial killer Ottis Toole, who admitted to then retracted his involvement in Adam Walsh's killing in 1981. Toole later died in prison of liver failure in 1996.

John Walsh's newfound advocacy for victim's rights led him to launch "AMW", which complimented its lead-in program, "COPS". Walsh and the "America's Most Wanted" team later moved to Lifetime Network and has since been canceled.

Langley and the "COPS" crew hope to find success with Spike, which recently picked up another FOX crime documentary series, "World's Wildest Police Videos." Host John Bunnell, a former Sheriff of Multnomah County, Ore. has become a household name in some quarters due to his exciting and often witty delivery of narration for "World's Wildest Police Videos," which, for about a decade, aired only in syndication.

Morgan Langley, John's son, has since become a producer on "COPS". He acknowledged the fact that "COPS" was indeed the first of its kind on television, and likely allowed "AMW" and "WWPV" to become as popular as they did. "It's important to have a flagship show," Morgan Langley said of "COPS" importance to FOX over the years, "[Reality shows today are] scripted, they're not reality. They're scripted shows with real people," he continued, noting that "COPS" is indeed 'filmed on-location with the men and women of law enforcement' as the show opening reads; not with actors on Hollywood sets.

John Langley expressed his regret in having to leave FOX, but was optimistic about the future of "COPS".

"We were the little engine that could and we were delivering for FOX over the 25 years... I just felt that we needed a change as well," he told the AP.