“Half of US broadcast network dramas are about cops”

From Quartz:

Of the 69 scripted television dramas that aired on the big four US broadcast networks (CBS, NBC, Fox, and ABC) in the last year-and-a-half, 35 were about law enforcement, according to a Quartz analysis. CBS was responsible for 16 of those on its own. About 70% of the network’s dramatic programming from 2019-2020 were about cops.

The few ongoing cop comedies, like NBC’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine, were not included. Neither were reality shows, such as Cops or Live PD.

Even many of the non-cop dramas on these channels are so cop-adjacent that one could reasonably argue they are also about law enforcement.

Or the military, which they exclude from consideration.

Numerous academic studies over many years have showed that viewing cop shows can leaded to warped views of the criminal justice system and policing. A 2015 study by St. John Fisher College found viewers of these shows are more likely to believe police departments are much more effective in solving crimes than they are in reality. The same study also found that viewers were more likely to believe police misconduct is not a problem, and that officers only use force when necessary.

.......... “LAW AND ORDER!!!!!”

Here’s the whole article about this fucking wild, simply-air fact of our cultural-industrial complex. The carcinogenic particles of the carceral state of mind.