Post by coots on Jan 28, 2012 17:50:20 GMT -5
Stop Me if You’ve Heard This One Before, But There Were These Cops …
Reality TV show to look at how humor defuses tense situations
1/28/12 - COXSACKIE — They say you can’t make this stuff up, and in this case it just might be true - the Coxsackie Police Department may soon become the focus of a reality television show tentatively dubbed “Comedy Cop.”
On January 5 and 6, a reality-based television crew was filming in Coxsackie, focusing on the local police department’s approach to community policing.
And they’re looking at how humor is used to defuse situations and solve problems.
Producers Joel Raatz and Alex Landolina brought their crew to town to interview police officers and local officials. The idea for the show was inspired by the recent hire by the Coxsackie Police Department of 52-year-old rookie John Mulrooney, who also happens to be a veteran of another sort - Mulrooney is a nationally recognized comedian.
“You rarely get to see the real behind-the-scenes of a police department and their interaction with its citizens on current shows, and I think we’ve found the perfect village in Coxsackie,” Raatz said in a press release.
Raatz and Landolina first came up with the idea for the show when they met Mulrooney, who said he had just joined the police force at the age of 52. They have partnered with Leftfield Pictures, the same company that created the hit television show “Pawn Stars,” in the hopes of bringing “Comedy Cop” to the small screen.
According to Mayor Mark Evans, who was filmed in a scene of his own for the show’s pilot, if the pilot is picked up by a network, it would showcase the community of Coxsackie.
“We are excited about the opportunity to participate in the filming and to showcase our police department, and also show what we have always known, that our village is a great community to live and work in,” Evans said.
Once the pilot episode is edited, Raatz and Landolina will begin making the rounds in Hollywood, looking for a network to pick up the show for at least a half-season of episodes. And they are reportedly hoping for a major network.
“They will show it to the studios and they will try to get it onto a channel,” Evans explained. “If they like the idea then it may be a go, and then they might order a number of episodes.”
The concept of small town policing as the focus of a reality-based television show should hardly come as a surprise. The current crop of reality shows have been based on everything from the daily life of exterminators to housewives to rock stars, shipping packages, moving entire houses and animal rescue groups.
And they’re looking at how humor is used to defuse situations and solve problems.
The best at this was Eddie "Rubber" Gunn
