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.”

With Jeffrey Tambor bowing out of the Amazon series, what does that mean for the show's future?; Zoe Kazan, who comes from a show biz family, says she's been dealing with harassment since her teen years.

Fifty years after his L.A. debut, Plácido Domingo is still an operatic force; Jason Bateman and Laura Linney are a married couple who get caught up with the wrong crowd in the Netflix series, “Ozark”; transgender singer Our Lady J left a music career to join the writing staff on "Transparent."

The Irish actress talks about her role as a California teenager, and about the troublesome male behavior she’s seen in Hollywood; Claes Bang plays an art museum director in the offbeat and unpredictable film, "The Square."

Comedian Hari Kondabolu explores his love-hate relationship with “The Simpsons” in a documentary about the show's portrayal of the South Asian store keeper; with The Weinstein Co. out of the picture, Quentin Tarantino is a free agent with his next film; the L.A. band Quetzal explores its musical roots in Veracruz.

Elvis Costello wrote a new ballad for the movie, "Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool," about the eccentric actress, Gloria Grahame; after leaving Saturday Night Live, Dana Carvey made a sketch show for ABC that was an epic bust. The tale is told in the documentary, "Too Funny to Fail."

Joe Berlinger's film examines how Hollywood has depicted the Armenian Genocide, and how it has been pressured to ignore that story; a new USC study shows teenage girls are more likely to be sexualized in feature films; the Greenway Court Theatre survives through a partnership with Fairfax High School.

If Mel Gibson can revive his career, could Kevin Spacey and Louis C.K.?; Yuval Sharon turns Orson Welles' radio play into a multi-site opera; it's awards season in Hollywood, but there are some familiar names you won't be hearing, e.g., Harvey Weinstein.

The New York Times confirms the long-standing rumors of sexual misconduct by the writer and comedian Louis C.K.; director Ridley Scott will re-shoot Kevin Spacey's scenes in an already finished film; in “What Haunts Us,” director Paige Tolmach explores why so many male former students at her prep school alma mater had died by suicide.

Music industry veteran Bill Bentley pairs his stories with crowdsourced photos in “Smithsonian Rock and Roll: Live and Unseen”; the Weinstein Company is seeking buyers, but may not avoid bankruptcy; Rockabye Baby turns songs by artists like David Bowie, Rihanna and Coldplay into kid-friendly lullabies.

Meet Hong Chau, the actress from Alexander Payne's movie "Downsizing," who will blow you away; LA Times pop music critic Mikael Wood says that some performers use their music as "guilt laundering" for sexual harassment and abuse; and what power do Hollywood's guilds and unions have to shut down sexual predation?

Actor Sam Rockwell discusses his new movie "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," and his approach to playing George W. Bush in Adam McKay's forthcoming Dick Cheney biopic; Jon Robin Baitz's play "Vicuña,"about a Trumpian presidential candidate, premiered in L.A. before the 2016 election. Now it's on stage in Washington, DC.

The new movie from the director of "Boyhood" is about three Vietnam vets who reunite when one of their sons is killed in the Iraq War; talent agent Tyler Grasham has been accused by eight young male actors and industry workers of sexual misconduct while Grasham worked for the APA agency, which specializes in representing young actors.