Cops 1989
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Overview
Cops is an American documentary television series that follows real-life law enforcement officers from various regions and departments across the United States. The show features camera crews accompanying police officers, constables, and sheriff's deputies during patrols and other police activities as they perform their daily duties. Created by John Langley and Malcolm Barbour, the series premiered on the Fox network on March 11, 1989. It is produced by Langley Productions and has become one of the longest-running television programs in the United States. The series originally aired on Fox for many years before moving to other platforms, including Fox Nation, where new episodes are streamed. As of 2025, the show continues to air, currently in its 37th season. The program’s format involves following officers with nothing but cameras to capture their actions as they serve and protect the public.
Should you watch it?
“Real police work captured raw and unfiltered.”
- Unfiltered look at police work
- Long-running cultural touchstone
- Varied regional perspectives
- Repetitive format over time
- Ethical concerns about filming arrests
You're curious about real law enforcement in action.
Suitable for mature audiences due to potential violence and adult situations.
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Cast
Episode guide
Season 1 · 16 episodes
- E1 Broward County, FL 1 Mar 11, 1989
- E2 Broward County, FL 2 Mar 18, 1989
- E3 Broward County, FL 3 Mar 25, 1989
- E4 Broward County, FL 4 Apr 1, 1989
- E5 Broward County, FL 5 Apr 8, 1989
- E6 Broward County, FL 6 Apr 15, 1989
- E7 Broward County, FL 7 Apr 22, 1989
- E8 Broward County, FL 8 Apr 29, 1989
- E9 Broward County, FL 9 May 6, 1989
- E10 Broward County, FL 10 May 13, 1989
- E11 Broward County, FL 11 May 20, 1989
- E12 Broward County, FL 12 May 27, 1989
- E13 Broward County, FL 13 Jun 3, 1989
- E14 Broward County, FL 14 Jun 10, 1989
- E15 Russia 1 Hour Special Jun 17, 1989
- E16 COPS in Russia (2) Jun 17, 1989
Season 2 · 32 episodes
- E1 Portland, OR 1 Sep 23, 1989
- E2 Portland, OR 2 Sep 30, 1989
- E3 Portland, OR 3 Oct 7, 1989
- E4 Portland, OR 4 Oct 14, 1989
- E5 Portland, OR 5 Oct 21, 1989
- E6 Portland, OR 6 Oct 28, 1989
- E7 Portland, OR 7 Nov 4, 1989
- E8 Portland, OR 8 Nov 11, 1989
- E9 Portland, OR 9 Nov 18, 1989
- E10 Portland, OR 10 Nov 25, 1989
- E11 Portland, OR 11 Dec 2, 1989
- E12 Portland, OR 12 Dec 9, 1989
- E13 Portland, OR 13 Dec 16, 1989
- E14 San Diego, CA 1 Dec 23, 1989
- E15 San Diego, CA 2 Jan 6, 1990
- E16 San Diego, CA 3 Jan 13, 1990
- E17 San Diego, CA 4 Jan 20, 1990
- E18 San Diego, CA 5 Jan 27, 1990
- E19 Los Angeles, CA 1 Feb 3, 1990
- E20 Los Angeles, CA 2 Feb 10, 1990
- E21 Los Angeles, CA 3 Feb 17, 1990
- E22 Los Angeles, CA 4 Feb 24, 1990
- E23 Los Angeles, CA 5 Mar 3, 1990
- E24 Los Angeles, CA 6 Mar 10, 1990
- E25 Los Angeles, CA 7 Mar 17, 1990
- E26 Los Angeles, CA 8 Mar 24, 1990
- E27 Los Angeles, CA 9 Apr 7, 1990
- E28 Los Angeles, CA 10 Apr 14, 1990
- E29 Los Angeles, CA 11 Apr 21, 1990
- E30 Los Angeles, CA 12 Apr 28, 1990
- E31 New Orleans: Mardi Gras May 5, 1990
- E32 New Orleans: Mardi Gras 2 May 12, 1990
Season 3 · 42 episodes
- E1 Minneapolis, MN 1 Sep 15, 1990
- E2 Minneapolis, MN 2 - Rookies Sep 22, 1990
- E3 Minneapolis, MN 3 - Women Cops Sep 29, 1990
- E4 Minneapolis, MN 4 - On the Home Front Oct 6, 1990
- E5 Minneapolis, MN 5 Oct 13, 1990
- E6 Minneapolis, MN 6 Oct 20, 1990
- E7 Alaska 1 Oct 27, 1990
- E8 Alaska 2 Nov 3, 1990
- E9 Alaska 3 Nov 3, 1990
- E10 Alaska 4 Nov 10, 1990
- E11 Las Vegas Special Edition 1 Hour Nov 17, 1990
- E12 Las Vegas, NV 2 Dec 1, 1990
- E13 Las Vegas, NV 3 Dec 8, 1990
- E14 Las Vegas, NV 4 Dec 15, 1990
- E15 Las Vegas, NV 5 Dec 22, 1990
- E16 Las Vegas, NV 6 Jan 12, 1991
- E17 Las Vegas, NV 7 Jan 19, 1991
- E18 New Jersey 1 Jan 26, 1991
- E19 New Jersey 2 Feb 2, 1991
- E20 New Jersey 3 Feb 9, 1991
- E21 New Jersey 4 Feb 16, 1991
- E22 New Jersey 5 Feb 23, 1991
- E23 Pittsburgh, PA 1 Mar 2, 1991
- E24 Pittsburgh, PA 2 Mar 9, 1991
- E25 Tampa, FL 1 Mar 16, 1991
- E26 Tampa, FL 2 Apr 6, 1991
- E27 Tucson, AZ 1 Apr 13, 1991
- E28 Tucson, AZ 2 Apr 20, 1991
- E29 Riverside Co. CA 1 Apr 27, 1991
- E30 Riverside Co. CA 2 May 4, 1991
- E31 Houston, TX 1 May 11, 1991
- E32 Houston, TX 2 May 18, 1991
- E33 Houston, TX 3 May 25, 1991
- E34 Houston, TX 4 Jun 1, 1991
- E35 Houston, TX 5 Jun 8, 1991
- E36 Houston, TX 6 Jun 15, 1991
- E37 Houston, TX 7 Aug 31, 1991
- E38 Houston, TX 8 Aug 9, 1991
- E39 London Special Jun 22, 1991
- E40 Las Vegas, NV 8 Jun 22, 1991
- E41 Best of Cops Volume 1 Jun 29, 1991
- E42 Best of Cops Volume 2 Jul 6, 1991
Season 4 · 47 episodes
- E1 Kansas City 1 Aug 10, 1991
- E2 Kansas City 2 Aug 17, 1991
- E3 Kansas City 3 Aug 24, 1991
- E4 Kansas City 4 Dec 7, 1991
- E5 Kansas City 5 Sep 13, 1991
- E6 Kansas City 6 Oct 19, 1991
- E7 Kansas City 7 Oct 12, 1991
- E8 Kansas City 8 Oct 5, 1991
- E9 Pittsburgh, PA 3 Sep 28, 1991
- E10 Pittsburgh, PA 4 Oct 26, 1991
- E11 Pittsburgh, PA 5 Dec 21, 1991
- E12 Pittsburgh, PA 6 Nov 2, 1991
- E13 Pittsburgh, PA 7 Jan 4, 1992
- E14 U.S. Marshal's Service Special Feb 7, 1992
- E15 Boston, MA 1 Nov 16, 1991
- E16 Boston, MA 2 Nov 9, 1991
- E17 Boston, MA 3 Nov 23, 1991
- E18 Boston, MA 4 Mar 21, 1992
- E19 Boston, MA 5 Dec 7, 1991
- E20 Boston, MA 6 Dec 14, 1991
- E21 Boston, MA 7 Apr 4, 1992
- E22 Memphis, TN 1 Jan 11, 1992
- E23 Memphis, TN 2 Jan 18, 1992
- E24 Memphis, TN 3 Jan 25, 1992
- E25 Memphis, TN 4 Feb 15, 1992
- E26 Memphis, TN 5 May 30, 1992
- E27 Memphis, TN 6 Feb 1, 1992
- E28 Miami, FL 1 Mar 7, 1992
- E29 Miami, FL 2 Feb 22, 1992
- E30 Miami, FL 3 Feb 22, 1992
- E31 South Florida 1 Mar 14, 1992
- E32 Miami, FL 4 Mar 21, 1992
- E33 South Florida 2 Apr 11, 1992
- E34 Miami, FL 5 May 30, 1992
- E35 Miami, FL 6 Apr 25, 1992
- E36 Miami, FL 7 May 2, 1992
- E37 Miami, FL 8 Jun 13, 1992
- E38 Miami, FL 9 May 9, 1992
- E39 Miami, FL 10 May 16, 1992
- E40 Miami, FL 11 Jun 27, 1992
- E41 Washington State 1 Aug 1, 1992
- E42 Washington State 2 Dec 12, 1992
- E43 Pierce Co. WA 1 Jun 20, 1992
- E44 Pierce Co. WA 2 Aug 8, 1992
- E45 Pierce Co. WA 3 Aug 15, 1992
- E46 Pittsburgh, PA 6 Nov 21, 1991
- E47 Pittsburgh, PA 7 Jan 4, 1992
Season 5 · 46 episodes
- E1 philadelphia,pa #3 Aug 15, 1992
- E2 philadelphia,pa #1 Aug 22, 1992
- E3 philadelphia,pa #2 Aug 29, 1992
- E4 philadelphia,pa #4 Sep 5, 1992
- E5 philadelphia,pa #5 Sep 12, 1992
- E6 pierce county,wa #5 Sep 19, 1992
- E7 Pierce County, WA #6 Sep 26, 1992
- E8 pierce county,wa #4 Oct 3, 1992
- E9 philadelphia,pa #6 Oct 10, 1992
- E10 philadelphia,pa #7 Oct 24, 1992
- E11 denver,co #1 Oct 31, 1992
- E12 Homicide USA Special Edition Nov 7, 1992
- E13 denver,co #2 Nov 14, 1992
- E14 denver,co #3 Nov 21, 1992
- E15 Pierce County, WA #7 Dec 5, 1992
- E16 Pierce County, WA #8 Dec 19, 1992
- E17 Pierce County, WA #9 Jan 2, 1993
- E18 Denver, CO #4 Jan 9, 1993
- E19 Denver, CO #5 Jan 16, 1993
- E20 Denver, CO #6 Jan 23, 1993
- E21 Denver, CO #7 Jan 30, 1993
- E22 Fort Worth, TX #1 Feb 6, 1993
- E23 Fort Worth, TX #2 Feb 13, 1993
- E24 Fort Worth, TX #3 Feb 20, 1993
- E25 Fort Worth, TX #4 Feb 27, 1993
- E26 Denver, CO #8 Mar 6, 1993
- E27 Fort Worth, TX #5 Mar 20, 1993
- E28 Fort Worth, TX #6 Mar 27, 1993
- E29 Fort Worth, TX #7 Apr 3, 1993
- E30 Denver, CO #9 Apr 10, 1993
- E31 Fort Worth, TX #8 Apr 17, 1993
- E32 Fort Worth, TX #9 Apr 24, 1993
- E33 Phoenix, AZ #3 May 1, 1993
- E34 Phoenix, AZ #2 May 8, 1993
- E35 Fort Worth, TX #10 May 15, 1993
- E36 Fort Worth, TX #12 May 16, 1993
- E37 Fort Worth, TX #11 May 22, 1993
- E38 United States Special Edition May 29, 1993
- E39 Phoeniz, AZ #1 Jun 5, 1993
- E40 Phoenix, AZ #4 Jun 26, 1993
- E41 DEA Special Edition Jul 3, 1993
- E42 San Bernardino, CA #2 Jul 10, 1993
- E43 San Bernardino, CA #3 Jul 17, 1993
- E44 San Bernardino, CA #4 Jul 24, 1993
- E45 San Bernardino, CA #5 Jul 31, 1993
- E46 San Bernardino, CA #1 Sep 4, 1993
Frequently asked questions
Is Cops based on real events?
Yes, it features actual police officers and real incidents captured on camera.
Where can I watch full episodes?
Full episodes are available on the official COPS YouTube channel and Fox Nation.
Who created the show?
The series was created by John Langley and Malcolm Barbour.
When did Cops first air?
It premiered on March 11, 1989, on the Fox network.
How long has the show been running?
The series is currently in its 37th season, making it one of the longest-running programs in the US.