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.”

Jenny Lewis has played Coachella with her previous bands, but she’s there this year as a solo artist; the Alvin Ailey dance troupe shows middle schoolers how to turn emotion into motion (pictured); talking shop with two acclaimed narrators of audio books, llyana Kadushin and Kevin T. Collins; and a farewell to R&B singer Percy Sledge.

The Coachella music festival brought tens of thousands of music fans out to the desert for three days of fun in the sun; Trevor Noah performs in the U.S. for the first time since being named host of “The Daily Show”; Kristen Schaal's career gets a boost from her first co-starring role on a major network (pictured).

Netflix debuts the latest adaptation of Marvel Comics' "Daredevil" (pictured); women singers are not allowed to perform solo in Iran, which is partly why Delaram Kamareh came to the U.S.; the audience for electronic dance music is widely diverse, but that's not the case for the genre's DJs and producers.

"Made Men" creator Matthew Weiner (pictured, holding Emmy Award) is saying a long goodbye to his landmark series; Lauren Bon, the artist behind Metabolic Studio, looks at water and the drought through a creative lens; HBO's "Veep" is back, and so is Tony Hale as the president's personal assistant.

Whether you're attending Coachella or following via YouTube or Sirius, you need to know who's playing and when; director Jay Chandrasekhar used a crowd sourcing campaign to fund 'Super Troopers 2'; Judith Hill (pictured) goes from backup singer to releasing her debut solo album with a little help from Prince.

On the 100th anniversary of her birth, we revisit a 1948 performance by Billie Holiday (pictured) at the Shrine Auditorium; the band Night Terrors of 1927 is a Coachella Music Festival newbie; writer/director Alex Garland explores artificial intelligence in the new film, "Ex Machina."

WonderCon turned the Anaheim Convention Center into pop culture nirvana over the weekend; the hip-hop old schoolers from De La Soul (pictured) are in the studio with an album financed by their fans; getting the new TV show “American Odyssey” on the air was an odyssey unto itself.

Tips on which "Mad Men" episodes to watch before the series begins its swan song (pictured); the landmark exhibition by Chinese dissident artist Ai Wei Wei is in its last month on Alcatraz Island; animal trainer Teresa Ann Miller talks about casting and wrangling 250 dogs for the new movie, “White God"

Comic book editor Janelle Asselin is reviving the romance genre in a new magazine anthology (pictured); L.A. stage actors are voting on contract changes that would pay them more, but could result in fewer roles; 'Game of Thrones' novelist George R.R. Martin drops an excerpt from his next book. (Spoiler alert!)

Director Bob Yari (pictured, far left) recently shot the first American feature film in Cuba in more than 50 years; 2015 is already shaping up as perhaps the best year for hip-hop music ever; Amber Tamblyn's third book of poetry is about young actresses who died tragically.

Should Trevor Noah’s Tweets cost him his job as the new host of "The Daily Show"?; “Furious 7” director James Wan (pictured at left, with Vin Diesel) reveals why he needed to finish the film after the death of actor Paul Walker; The Los Angeles Philharmonic completes its tour of Asia, jet lag and all.

Comedy Central drops a surprise by announcing Trevor Noah (pictured) will replace Jon Stewart; young musicians from L.A. and Fukushima get to work with Gustavo Dudamel; Dreamworks gets a much-needed hit with "Home"; transgender actors are in demand during TV pilot season.