TV Cops

Jonathan Nichols-Pethick is Associate Professor of Media Studies at DePauw University. His work has appeared in The Velvet Light Trap, Cinema Journal and the anthology Beyond Prime Time: Television Programming in the Post-Network Era.

"Despite the genre's ubiquity and ongoing popularity in American television, no book has offered a compelling critical account of the cop show—until now. Through compelling readings of many landmark programs, Jonathan Nichols-Pethick connects textual style, industrial practices, cultural representations, and changing social contexts to reveal debates over crime, citizenship, realism, and mediation itself that will transform how we view one of television's most iconic genres." —Jason Mittell, Middlebury College"Not only the authoritative work on police series—one of television's most multitudinous and enduring forms—but a first-rate piece of television studies. Nichols-Pethick connects 30 years of cultural, industrial, and storytelling developments in a clear and compelling analysis." —Amanda D. Lotz, University of Michigan

• 1. Introduction 2. Programming the Crisis: The Police Drama in the Post-Network Era 3. The Police Drama in Transition: Reconstituting the Cultural Forum in the 1980s 4. Stop Making Sense: Reflection, Realism, and Community in Homicide 5. Do the Right Thing: NYPD Blue and the Making of the Model Citizen 6. One Thing Leads to Another: Crime and the Commerce of Law & Order 7. This Cop’s For You: The Multiple Logics of the 21st Century Police Drama 8. Conclusion