Prodigal Son and the Collapse of the Police Procedural Era
I am a fan of procedural cop shows as well as true crime programs. I'm certainly not unique in this regard, and I have little doubt that detective shows will continue post-Covid. But there are a lot of conversations that need to happen in this unique climate. One popular question raised is...how will viewers respond to shows that deal in the law enforcement realm when anti-police sentiment is so strong among the general public? How does the viewer reconcile benevolent portrayals of "heroic" police types with what they have been seeing in real life and in the media? Will viewership of police-themed shows continue to be "strong" and what are the benefits of shows like these? I know that show writers (and network execs) probably don't want to hear this...but there is no room to move forward in this space without addressing the issues at hand. For a show to steamroll forward without acknowledging BLM and police brutality would, in my opinion, be a major