The Frame

We continue our series on how police are depicted on TV with the creators of “COPS,” the longest-running reality show in TV history. Creator John Langley tells us about the show’s genesis and why it continues to be so popular; the Latino Comics Expo is unofficially known as the “Latino Comic-Con"; Comedy Central says Larry Wilmore's show failed to gain traction with viewers.

From refugee athletes to individual profiles, Olympics mini-docs are a big part of the broadcast and have been since the 1970s. NBC Sports' Jimmy Roberts joins us from Rio where he's reporting on his 16th Olympics; Part 2 of our look inside the Sundance Directors Lab, where eight budding filmmakers are encouraged to take risks and seize the opportunity of a lifetime.

We visit the Sundance Director's Lab where Robert Redford and a group of industry pros mentor up and coming filmmakers. Variety's chief TV critic Maureen Ryan breaks down the CBS news coming out of the Television Critics Association press tour; Colburn Conservatory of Music graduates endure stressful mock auditions to prepare for the real thing.

Actress Taraji P. Henson opens up about the career path that led her to her Emmy-nominated role of Cookie Lyon on the hit Fox show, "Empire"; amid the bad reviews for "Suicide Squad," we look at the unsustainable — but enduring — Hollywood business model of taking big swings at expensive movies in hopes of finding a franchise.

In our #CopsOnTV series, writer-producer Cheo Hodari Coker reveals what he learned about the LAPD while producing the police drama, "Southland," and how that connected with his experiences as a black man; the bad news/good news of NBC's Olympic ecosystem: broadcast viewership is down, but online streaming is booming.

In the first of a continuing series of conversations, former "Law & Order: SVU" executive producer Neal Baer says studios and networks want police to be depicted as heroes; how soon will virtual reality become a big thing in entertainment?

Stuntwoman and "American Ninja Warrior" contestant Jessie Graff teaches host John Horn some tricks of her trade; the opening ceremony for the Summer Olympics has become a job for film directors; Aubrey Plaza's amateur basketball team, the Pistol Shrimps, has quite the following.

The comic actress' star-turn in "Ghostbusters" and another Emmy nod for "SNL" have her primed for bigger things; fans of the kids' show 'Doc McStuffins' are worried about the future of one of the few kids' shows with a black lead character; DanceSafe provides education and and even drug-testing at raves, but its hands are tied by a federal law.

Artist and animator Jorge Gutiérrez discusses the creative inspirations of the U.S.-Mexico border and the painting spree that led to his gallery show; HBO, Netflix and NBC face the press at the Television Critics Association; screenwriter, producer and former studio chief James Schamus makes his directorial debut with "Indignation."

Director Marc Osborne didn't want to make a straight-ahead adaptation of "The Little Prince," so he came up with a novel approach; "Equity" is the rare movie about Wall Street that stars and is made by women; Claire Boucher, aka Grimes, dissects her song, “Kill V. Maim.”

California's film and TV industries are happily anticipating the state's expanded program to help keep production in-state; NBC will make all 13 episodes of "Aquarius" available online when the series debuts; Josh Gad (at left, with Billy Crystal) hopes "The Comedians" will improve his track record with TV projects.

At a presentation for advertisers, Hulu announces a new "Walking Dead" spinoff and an Amy Poehler project; Warpaint drummer Stella Mozgawa left Australia to join the band; Brett Morgen was given free rein in directing the documentary, "Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck" (pictured).

Hollywood actors, and one prominent producer, are largely bypassed in the Tony nominations; artist William Pope.L has his iconoclastic vision on display at MOCA (pictured); comedian Paul F. Tompkins isn't quite the King of All Media, but he's getting close; "The Wire" creator David Simon has good reason to care about Baltimore.

Documentarian Phelim MacLeer on his controversial play "Ferguson," a work of verbatim theater comprised entirely of excerpts from testimony in the Michael Brown case; Costume designer Lisa Padovani on mashing up influences for her work on "Gotham"; French artist Vincent Lamouroux's piece "Projection" covers an abandoned Silver Lake motel and it's palm trees with lime wash.

Summer movie preview of those films we shouldn't miss. Could Cuba's massive Biennial become a global center for art? The rise of the Asian American youtube star. And, as the latest sequel is set to pass $1 billion overseas, the "Fast and Furious" franchise adds number 8.

Hollywood studios continue to preview their 2015 slates at CinemaCon, the splashy convention for theater owners; Song Exploder dissects a new song by My Morning Jacket; photographer Ken Gonzales-Day draws parallels between the history of lynching and recent fatal shootings by police (pictured).

By the end of 2015, movie concession stands will have to divulge how many calories there are in your favorite snacks; Phox talks about the unglamorous life of a touring band; ‘Happyish’ creator Shalom Auslander (at right, with Bradley Whitford) on how the show handled the death of original lead actor, Philip Seymour Hoffman.

The annual convention for film studios and movie theater owners gets underway in Las Vegas; a group of Latino musicians have put together a tribute to Morrissey (pictured) and The Smiths; David Rubin and Lora Kennedy discuss being a casting director in today’s film business.

The band Tame Impala teases Coachella audience with its next album (pictured: Kevin Parker); some L.A. stage actors say working in small theaters for next to nothing can actually help their careers; John Fithian, president of the movie theater trade association, has a strategy to boost slumping business.

With Verizon offering a pseudo a la carte TV model, is cable as we know it becoming a thing of the past?; L.A. Opera's production of "Hercules vs. Vampires" (pictured) blends a campy sword-and-sandal film with high art; Kyle Kinane admits the absurdity of his job as a stand-up comic.

A second trailer for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" was unveiled today; "Dolphin's of Hollywood" (pictured) was a groundbreaking record store that opened in 1948, and its story is now the subject of a stage musical; how DJ and producer Mark Ronson ended up working with Stevie Wonder and author Michael Chabon.

Could the Santa Monica Museum of Art be leaving Santa Monica?; “Unfriended” producers Jason Blum and Couper Samuelson on the challenge of making a film thriller that plays out in real time on a laptop; the duo behind the band Sylvan Esso (pictured), currently playing Coachella, talk about the grind of being on tour.