The Office and 25 TV shows that were never supposed to be hits

20. COPS (FOX/Spike)

Series run: 1989-Present (31 seasons/1,050 episodes) 

Three years after its founding, FOX came up with an idea that as radical at the time: Take a small production crew and follow police officers on their beats.

The end result was COPS, a low-budgeted reality show that was born in the midst of a Writers Guild strike. Knowing that the new show didn’t need writers, it was one of the few new shows to premiere in the 1989 season, and initially featured the Broward County Sheriff’s Office in its first season.

Because FOX was a fledgling network that many really didn’t take as a serious threat to “The Big Three” at the time, COPS really wasn’t given a chance; but by its fourth season, the show was a smash rating success, to the surprise of many television critics. Part of COPS’ rise in the ratings stemmed from the boom of reality television, which the show, ironically, helped usher in.

COPS also broke through the infamous “Saturday Dead Spot” on the television schedule, as the program became a staple on Saturdays, thanks to its content and the theme song. Next year, COPS will celebrate 30-years on the airwaves, and though it’s showing some fatigue, and losing viewers to newer reality cop shows like Live PD, COPS will forever hold a spot in the echelon of television.

Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?