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Season guide

Cops: Season 3

42 episodes Premiered Sep 15, 1990 Updated Sep 20, 2026

Cops Season 3 continues the overarching saga across 42 episodes.

Previously on Cops

Season 3 Lore Primer

Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.

  • Picks up essential narrative continuity directly following the events of Cops Season 2.
  • Character alliances, factions, and personal loyalties undergo significant shifts under escalating stakes.
  • Addresses unresolved cliffhangers and thematic mysteries introduced during previous seasons.
  • Establishes the primary seasonal conflict that drives serialized character arcs toward the finale.

Season overview

Cops Season 3 continues the overarching saga across 42 episodes.

Season 3 Episodes

Episode Guide

🛡️ SPOILER SHIELD

Season 3 Progress Shield

Future titles & synopses blurred. Tap "Reveal" on any card to peek.
Binge Efficiency Engine

Season 3: Filler vs. Essential Canon

Filter episodes by narrative weight. Focus on essential mytharc and skip standalone side quests.

93%
Mytharc (3): Crucial lore & season climaxes
Core (39): Character development & subplots
Side Quest (0): Standalone / filler
S3·E1 Mytharc

Minneapolis, MN 1

Sep 15, 1990

(3:35 PM Officer Assistance Call) A code 3 call comes in. Sgt. Larry Wilens responds to it on 46th street. The suspect is barricaded.

S3·E2 Core

Minneapolis, MN 2 - Rookies

Sep 22, 1990

(Police Academy Survival Training Exercise) Cadet Mike Looney says to get out of the car with his hands in the air. He wanted to be a cop since he was a kid, maybe he's naïve ,but

S3·E3 Core

Minneapolis, MN 3 - Women Cops

Sep 29, 1990

(8:13 PM Domestic Disturbance) Third Precinct - They go into a backyard and there is a dirty white guy with a heavily stained shirt sitting there. He says he lives there, looks dru

S3·E4 Core

Minneapolis, MN 4 - On the Home Front

Oct 6, 1990

(5:26 PM Sexual Assault Call) Third Precinct - A call comes in from a woman who says her 11 year-old daughter has been raped, it just happened and the suspect has left the scene. O

S3·E5 Core

Minneapolis, MN 5

Oct 13, 1990

(2:15 PM Riot Control Briefing) Deputy Chief Doug Smith says the Skinheads, Lawyers Guild and Woman against Military Madness will be in the demonstration at 3:30 PM by the federal

S3·E6 Core

Minneapolis, MN 6

Oct 20, 1990

(3:13 PM Woman with a Gun Call) Officer Greg Hirsch says it's an interesting job, he works with 800 people where if he has a problem with 1 or 2 of them, that goes out the window w

S3·E7 Core

Alaska 1

Oct 27, 1990

(State Troopers) Nome

S3·E8 Core

Alaska 2

Nov 3, 1990

(9:10 AM Drowning Investigation) Bethel State Troopers - Trooper Terry Asberry and Sgt. Dan Hickman got a call last night that three male youths were joyriding in a boat, took a sh

S3·E9 Core

Alaska 3

Nov 3, 1990

(9:30 PM Attempted Robbery Call) Anchorage - Officer Audie Holloway says the town is getting bigger, up to 230-250,000 people. They have their share of drugs and robberies there. R

S3·E10 Core

Alaska 4

Nov 10, 1990

(12:15 PM Assault Call) Bethel - Alaska State Troopers – Sgt. Dan Hickman and 1st Sgt. Greg Close go out to a four-seater plane and fly to a shooting call. James shot at two people

S3·E11 Core

Las Vegas Special Edition 1 Hour

Nov 17, 1990

(7:42 PM 911 Call Fight in Progress)/Drunk And Disorderly Call with Officer Dennis Magill/Strong Arm Robbery and Domestic Violence with Officers Thomas Fletcher and Joe Lombardo/Pr

S3·E12 Core

Las Vegas, NV 2

Dec 1, 1990

(LSP Unit Southeast Area Command) Metropolitan PD - Officer Jack Clark calls a suspect with a warrant and tells him he's from Dewercs, Mr. Rathford won a 27" TV set from RCA. It wo

S3·E13 Core

Las Vegas, NV 3

Dec 8, 1990

(Clark County District Court #4) Metro PD Judge Earle W. White, Jr. meets with Officer Randy Sutton in his chambers. He says the warrant is for a seizure of a bunch of guns. It sta

S3·E14 Core

Las Vegas, NV 4

Dec 15, 1990

(7:40 PM Person with a Gun Call) - Metropolitan PD - The suspect is supposed to be at the 7-11 near the airbase. He pulls up and walks up to a red car at gunpoint and makes the peo

S3·E15 Core

Las Vegas, NV 5

Dec 22, 1990

(7:20 PM Runaway Child) Metropolitan Police Dept - Officer Randy Sutton goes to the call of Jessie, an eight year-old boy, who ran away an hour ago after a domestic dispute and has

S3·E16 Core

Las Vegas, NV 6

Jan 12, 1991

(1:15 AM Fugitive Call) Metropolitan PD - Officer Mike Horn and K-9 Eich are needed and to assist Patrol with a homicide warrant. Suspect fled out the back armed with a knife and w

S3·E17 Core

Las Vegas, NV 7

Jan 19, 1991

(7:45 PM Code Red - Officer Emergency) Metropolitan PD Southeast Area Command - Officer Jack Clark says because of the area with the high concentration of bars and casinos they hav

S3·E18 Core

New Jersey 1

Jan 26, 1991

(12:45 AM Shooting Call) Jersey City - Officer Thomas Porter chose the job because his brother was in the department and most people on the block were cops, so he figured he might

S3·E19 Core

New Jersey 2

Feb 2, 1991

(Truck Sting Operation Briefing) Jersey City - Captain Bobby Martin says many trucks are getting broken into and getting hit heavy after getting steered off the turnpike down one w

S3·E20 Core

New Jersey 3

Feb 9, 1991

(10:45 PM Roll Call) Jersey City – The Sgt. tells officers the Puerto Rican parade goes down to Grundy Park so give it special attention. That's it. One cop says he’s on motorcycle

S3·E21 Core

New Jersey 4

Feb 16, 1991

(12:47 AM Disturbance Call) Hoboken - Officer Mike Plunkett became an officer for the same reason most people do - to change the world, be somebody’s knight in shining armor, rid t

S3·E22 Core

New Jersey 5

Feb 23, 1991

(6:30 PM) Hoboken - Officer Mike Plunkett car 122 says there are good days and bad days. One minute you are locking someone up, the next you are delivering a baby. Every job is dif

S3·E23 Core

Pittsburgh, PA 1

Mar 2, 1991

(8:12 PM Stolen Vehicle Call) Officer Philip Mercurio got his K-9 Louie on 12/22/89 out of a dog pound at the Humane Society. He's a Rottweiler and he trained him for 4 months. The

S3·E24 Core

Pittsburgh, PA 2

Mar 9, 1991

(2:04 AM Domestic Dispute Call) Officer Pat Logan says on the job they've broken his arm, fractured his skull, stabbed him four times, run him over with a stolen car, smashed into

S3·E25 Core

Tampa, FL 1

Mar 16, 1991

(3:32 PM Quad Squad Briefing) Officer Vickie Thomas is at home getting her gear ready for work. Her job is very exciting, going out dealing with the scum as the mayor would call th

S3·E26 Core

Tampa, FL 2

Apr 6, 1991

(10:52 PM Burglary Call) Officer Michael Anderson says his mom worries, but feels he is safer there instead of Miami. They are proud to have a cop in the family and she is proud to

S3·E27 Core

Tucson, AZ 1

Apr 13, 1991

(4:07 PM Warrant Briefing) Metropolitan Area Narcotics Trafficking Interdiction Squad - Agent Tom Moorehead says this will be a search warrant on a ranch they were at last year whe

S3·E28 Core

Tucson, AZ 2

Apr 20, 1991

(9:48 PM Shooting Call) Officer Terri O'Rourke says she always wanted to be a cop since 7th 8th grade. They asked her what she wanted to do with her life and they laughed at her be

S3·E29 Core

Riverside Co. CA 1

Apr 27, 1991

(6:15 PM Warrant Briefing) Deputy Russ Wilson says the bad guys are either a patch holder for the Hell Angels or into it themselves. They are going to a meth lab is in a house and

S3·E30 Core

Riverside Co. CA 2

May 4, 1991

(3:32 PM Surveillance Operation) Sheriff's Dept - Detective Steve Brown is outside a helicopter and says they are flying two photo missions. One is in Quail Valley for heroin. Dete

S3·E31 Core

Houston, TX 1

May 11, 1991

(12:09 AM Street Patrol) Deputy James Billinovich talks about people who hate them and Sgt. Eugene Merritt briefs a group. In the car James says he hates thieves, maybe because he

S3·E32 Core

Houston, TX 2

May 18, 1991

(10:08 PM Disturbance Call) Sheriff's Dept - Deputy Eugene Lancaster works the unicorporated parts of Harris county, in the last few years crime has gotten a lot worse, mostly drug

S3·E33 Core

Houston, TX 3

May 25, 1991

(Boy Scout Kid on a Fence at Night) Harris Co. Sheriff’s Dept. - Cpl. Larry Blacksmith talks the kid, Stephen, down. The kid doesn't want to go to the boy scout meeting because he

S3·E34 Core

Houston, TX 4

Jun 1, 1991

(12:32 AM Traffic Stop) Sgt. Robert Jackson says he is from Detroit, but Houston is is home. It is more laid back and is great for a big city. A man is found hanging in a garage; t

S3·E35 Core

Houston, TX 5

Jun 8, 1991

(2:33 AM Street Patrol) Harris Co. Sheriff’s Dept. – Deputy Monty Herron has been around horses his whole life. He’s owned one for 15 years to relieve stress. He belongs to the rod

S3·E36 Core

Houston, TX 6

Jun 15, 1991

(Vehicle Fire Call) Cpl James Billinovich is called to help with the search for a fleeing vehicle. A body was found in the burned car in a foggy area and a tow truck is en route.

S3·E37 Core

Houston, TX 7

Aug 31, 1991

(9:24 PM Disturbance Call) Harris Co. Sheriff’s Dept. - Deputy Ron Leonard says he's in the city police who cover from county line to county line. Sometimes it takes a while for ba

S3·E38 Core

Houston, TX 8

Aug 9, 1991

(1:35 AM Shooting Call) Harris Co. Sheriff's Dept. - Deputy Michael Sieck says everything happens at night. When people drink, they get drunk and fight so he has to be the moderato

S3·E39 Core

London Special

Jun 22, 1991

(Parade) A marching band parades in front of Buckingham Palace. Cops watch and patrol. Sir Peter Imbert Commissioner says Scotland Yard is the HG of the metro police, it was formed

S3·E40 Core

Las Vegas, NV 8

Jun 22, 1991

(5:45 PM Suspicious Activity) Metropolitan PD Northeast Area Command - Officers Thomas Fletcher says every car that metro has, B/W, have a computer terminal MCTs, they are a tremen

S3·E41 Mytharc

Best of Cops Volume 1

Jun 29, 1991

(Broward Co. FL - 4:00 PM Drug Operation Briefing) from #109, (San Diego, CA - Northern Division Roll Call) from #216, (Portland, OR) Sgt. Loren Caddy goes to an accident where a m

S3·E42 Mytharc

Best of Cops Volume 2

Jul 6, 1991

(Broward Co. FL - 8:13 PM Domestic Violence Call) from #110, (Las Vegas, NV - 6:30 PM Prostitution Sting Briefing) from #311, (Broward Co. FL) Deputy Linda Canada goes to a call of