Discovery ID Pulls ‘Body Cam’ off Its Schedule Amid Police Brutality Protests

Body Cam is the latest police-themed reality TV show to be pulled off the schedule by Investigation Discovery in the wake of global Civil Rights protests. As noted by The Hollywood Reporter back on June 9, a spokesperson for the network said that Body Cam had been pulled off the schedule for “the foreseeable future” back on June 9.

Shot in the vein of Cops, Body Cam featured raw footage of the daily activities local police across the country. The footage was then intercut with firsthand accounts of the situations to provide insight into their various encounters. Season 3 premiered in January of 2020 and concluded back in February. Season 4 was scheduled to premiere in June, though the show’s official website lists no future airings as of Wednesday.

The announcement of Body Cam’s extended hiatus came alongside the news that Paramount Network definitively canceled Cops ahead of the show’s Season 33 premiere, which was done in direct response to the protests. A spokesperson for the Paramount Network issued a statement addressing its absence, which read that “we don’t have any current or future plans for it to return.”

The new season of Cops was initially slated to premiere on June 8, though it had been pulled from the schedule on June 1, just days into the ongoing protests. The long-running reality series had previously touted a 25-season run on Fox before being picked up by Spike TV, Paramount Network’s predecessor, back in 2013. The network still holds the syndication rights to all past seasons — although it’s unclear when they will see the light of day.

All of this comes as the ongoing protests against police brutality, which were sparked by the death of George Floyd during his arrest on May 25, have caused some cop-forward shows to be reexamined by both networks and viewers alike. Along with Cops, Live PD was pulled off the air, which was met with divisive reactions online. However, quite a few procedurals are slated to return sometime this fall, including Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Chicago P.D. and Law & Order: SVU.

The latter is even getting its own spinoff, Law & Order: Organized Crime, which will premiere along with NBC’s new fall lineup. Along with news of the renewals, NBC Entertainment Chairman Paul Telegdy spoke about the protests, which he said has “allowed us the time to take pause, examine our business with a new lens and take some immediate action.”