Cast from FX's The Shield - all corrupt cops
Have you ever noticed just how common it is to see crooked and corrupt cops on television? On the most popular shows in America, crooked cops are a staple. These shows, beloved by whites—often conservative whites at that—are regularly called "realistic" and "raw" in their depiction of what the world is really like. Police on television routinely lie, cheat, steal, maim, and kill with reckless abandon, and not one serious objection has been raised about this characterization. No one claims it's unrealistic.
Never, not once in my life, have I heard any complaints about the depiction of police as crooked and corrupt on American television. This is strange, very strange, because protestors across the country, from coast to coast, who are protesting violent and corrupt law enforcement officers are often treated like the scum of the earth for doing so. Except, in these cases, real people, often brokenhearted, are protesting real officers who assaulted or killed their loved ones.
Below, we will list shows with fully corrupt cops on television. Please feel free to add ones we've missed in the comments section below.
Some, like "The Shield," are all about corrupt cops, and were immensely popular with conservative white America. Other shows, like "Daredevil," have corrupt cops as the primary villains of the show. Some shows, like "Monk" and "Married With Children," have corrupt cops as one-off features.
1. The Shield
2. The Wire
3. True Detective
4. Sons of Anarchy
5. Chicago PD
6. The Simpsons
7. Hill Street Blues
8. Dukes of Hazzard
9. Dexter
10. Daredevil
11. Gotham
12. Prison Break
13. NYPD Blue
14. Sopranos
15. Boardwalk Empire
16. Justified
17. 24
18. Homeland
19. Monk
20. JAG
21. Walker Texas Ranger
22. NCIS Los Angeles
23. Firefly
24. A-Team
25. Cold Case
26. Law & Order
27. CSI: NY
28. Psych
29. Person of Interest
30. Starsky and Hutch
31. Married with Children