Cops creator John Langley dies while in Mexico for off-road race

(Image credit: AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

published 28 June 2021

John Langley, creator of the reality TV series Cops, died on Saturday during a road race in Mexico. He was 78.

Langley was in Baja competing in the Coast to Coast Ensenada-San Felipe 250 off-road race when he died of an apparent heart attack, family spokeswoman Pam Golum told The Associated Press on Sunday.

Cops debuted in 1989 and lasted 32 seasons, pulled from the Paramount Network following the global protests against police brutality and the death of George Floyd. Langley came up with the idea for Cops along with his production partner Malcolm Barbour, and before it was picked up by Fox, they spent years trying to find a network, AP says. The series followed cops from departments across the United States, showing them arresting people, chasing suspects, and driving around in their patrol cars.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox