Policing on television

As protests continue across the country, we talk about a topic very much under discussion right now: the way policing is depicted on television. dream hampton, the executive producer of “Surviving R. Kelly,” has spent years thinking about that and worked on a recent report on the issue. The report showed that even good cops are shown trampling the rules, which is often presented as heroism. But when that kind of policing happens in real life, the consequences can be tragic.

Then, Dan Taberski made a podcast devoted to the reality show “Cops.” What he found was disturbing. Taberski also looked at the show’s spiritual successor, “Live PD,” where officers became reality stars with devoted followings. Now, both shows have been canceled.