“Cops” has ended its 32-season run. Deadline reported on Tuesday (June 9) that the TV series will not be returning to Paramount Network.
“‘Cops’ is not on the Paramount Network and we don’t have any current or future plans for it to return,” a spokesperson for the network told the outlet.
The news arrives as the country enters its third week of protests against racial injustice and police brutality in the wake of the recent police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. “Cops” was meant to premiere its new season on Monday (June 8), but has been off the air since June 1. Similarly, A&E pulled episodes of its docuseries “Live PD” off air last week.
Ice Cube, who has been a vocal proponent in the current reform movement, took to Twitter to issue the perfect response to “Cops’” departure.
“Bye Felicia,” he tweeted on Tuesday (June 9) — one of his classic lines from Friday.
The rap veteran has been keeping his followers up to date on the latest police reform news and previously canceled his “Good Morning America” appearance, which was scheduled two days after Floyd’s death.
“I apologize to everyone expecting to see me on ‘Good Morning America’ today, but after the events in Minnesota with George Floyd I’m in no mood to tell America, ‘Good morning,’” he tweeted at the time.
The N.W.A. co-founder is one of many hip hop artists who have also seen increased music streams, as anti-police brutality tracks like “F*ck Tha Police,” Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright,” and Public Enemy’s “Fight The Power” have been on the rise. According to Rolling Stone, N.W.A.’s “F*ck Tha Police” saw a 272 percent percent increase in streams from May 27 to June 1, which is when many protests began.
See Ice Cube’s response to “Cops” getting canceled below.