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.”

There were surprises ("Green Book"! Olivia Colman!) and some history was made (Hannah Beachler, Ruth Carter). John Horn recaps the show with film critic Claudia Puig and L.A. Times film reporter Jen Yamato.

John Horn and Rebecca Keegan of The Hollywood Reporter co-host the hour-long special, which features interviews with many nominees, including Glenn Close, Rami Malek, Spike Lee and Rachel Weisz.

Bo Burnham's script won a top award from the Writers Guild, but it wasn't nominated for an Oscar; there's now an algorithm that writes movie scripts; Anthony Wilson's album of songs and photographs.

Twenty years after its premiere, the musical based on E.L. Doctorow's novel gets an elaborate revival at the Pasadena Playhouse; unpacking the Jussie Smollett story; what to expect (and not to expect) at the Academy Awards this weekend.

The prolific photographer talks about the survey that chronicles 50 years of documenting pop culture and politics; Hollywood Reporter TV critic Daniel Fienberg on the state of television.

In 1993, Lorena Bobbitt became famous for cutting off her husband's penis, but a new Amazon docu-series reveals the more complicated story; how the Oscar-nominated sound editors of "First Man" conveyed the anxiety of space flight; the Hollywood guilds spread awards love.

Barry Jenkins talks about his adaptation of James Baldwin's novel, and composer Nicholas Britell explains and demonstrates how he created the film's score.

The singer/songwriter is part of country music royalty, but her politics are out of the Nashville mainstream; the documentary about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, "RBG," is up for an Academy Award.

Colombia's official Oscar entry for foreign language film did not make the final cut of nominees, but many critics say it should have; the microscope of the #MeToo era has found pop music's Ryan Adams; the Oscar-nominated sound editors from "A Quiet Place."

The actress has an Academy Award nomination for her supporting role in the period drama; The Academy of Motion Pictures has stirred up a hornet's nest by pulling four awards from the Oscars telecast; Arturo O’Farrill took his New York-based Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra to the U.S.-Mexico border to record an album.

"Period. End of Sentence." is about students in North Hollywood helping girls in India stay in school by providing access to sanitary products; "A Night at the Garden" is about a 1939 Nazi Party rally in ... Madison Square Garden!; Judithe Hernandez is the first Chicana to have a solo show at the Museum of Latin American Art.

After 45 years as a working actress she has seven Academy Award nominations, but no wins. After picking up this year's Screen Actors Guild award, could this be Close's year?; the Grammy Awards made a dramatic improvement in its representation of women artists.