Created by: Jimmy Gardner, Robert Jones, Anita J. Pandolfo
Directors: Harry Bradbeer, Alrick Riley
Script: Jimmy Gardner et al.
Photography: Mark Waters
Editor: Paul Endacott
Principal Cast: Rob Dixon, Katy Cavanagh, John Henshaw, Steve Jackson, Clare McGlivin, Parvez Oadir, David Crellin, Danny Sewerd, Steve Garti
Producer: Eric Coulter
Executive Producer: Tony Garnett
Production: World Productions in association with BBC Worldwide
Distribution: BBC Worldwide Limited
Tel: +44 181 576 3636
Fax: +44 181 740 1182
E-Mail: wwtv@bbc.co.uk
First Broadcast: 19.10. - 7.12.98 BBC 2, 12 % Audience Share
Selected Producer Filmography - Tony Garnett: Cathy Come Home, 1965; Kes, 1969; Family Life, 1972; Deep in the Heart, 1983; Cardiac Arrest, 1994; Beautiful Thing, 1996; Ballykissangel, 1996; This Life, 1996; Hostile Waters, 1997.
They lie, cheat, steal, do coke, beat up people and then snitch on them. They also happen to be cops from the North of England who have been known to spend their time on the job betting on whether the bloke on the ledge is going to jump or not..: "The Cops" sings a swan song for the old battle between good against evil. This series, the brainchild of master of the genre Tony Garnett ("Between the Lines") shows the daily grind of law and order in a fictional suburb of Manchester. Garnett, who was already producing politically controversial television with Ken Loach way back in the 60ies, is sometimes called Britain's answer to U.S. police-show wizard Steven Bochco ("NYPD Blue"). Obvious affinities, for instance the use of pseudo-documentary techniques, are fully intended. It is just this drastic realism that has led to the lambasting the authors have received on occasion: "The Cops" is "both socially and morally irresponsible" and, so it goes on, stirs up even greater prejudice against the police. But other TV critics have showered the series with accolades. Even before its debut in October 1998, BBC2 had already ordered new episodes from Garnett.