John Langley, who created the long-running TV show “Cops” which helped usher in the reality TV era, died Saturday of an apparent heart attack in Baja, Mexico, according to his reps.
For 32 seasons, it was a reality TV juggernaut, running for over 1,000 episodes and introducing the cinéma vérité style of documentary to television.
After being canceled by Fox in 2013, “Cops” moved to the Spike network, now Paramount Network before being canceled again in 2020.
When Langley was honored by NATPE in 2013, Variety wrote, “Before the show premiered, Langley recalls, there was considerable doubt whether anybody would agree to have their image used in the context of being arrested.
Before moving into TV, Langley wrote and co-directed the 1983 documentary “Cocaine Blues” with Barbour.
Langley told the TV Academy in 2009, “I’m a kid of the 60’s.