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 "Logan Lucky," Soderbergh returns to the big screen with a new strategy for indie filmmaking; Disney decides to go its own way with plans to launch two streaming services; a new virtual reality experience puts you into flatline mode.

Aubrey Plaza is changing things up with her role in the FX show, “Legion,” and in two movie parts this summer, including the mentally unbalanced title character in “Ingrid Goes West”; When actor Algee Smith auditioned for “Detroit,” director Kathryn Bigelow did not give him the script or tell him much about the film. Smith chats with John about Bigelow’s unusual process.

"Twilight" actor Robert Pattinson hopes to shake-off his heartthrob rep with the new movie "Good Time"; filmmaker Alejandro Iñárritu uses virtual reality to replicate a border crossing through the desert; "Whose Streets?" documents how the shooting death of Michael Brown inspired grassroots activism in Ferguson, Missouri.

The band Spoon formed in Austin, TX 25 years ago. Lead singer Britt Daniel talks about the band’s new album, “Hot Thoughts," and the many changes in the music industry; YouTube has created a new breed of reviewer: TV and movie superfans; We all gravitate toward different kinds of music, but there is one album we found with sounds that are literally out of this world.

The filmmakers of 'Brigsby Bear' discuss their off-beat comedy and their rise from youtube stars, to SNL, to feature film. The Television Critics Association summer press tour (aka TCA's) continues this week where the subject of who is included in the TV universe – on and off screen– was debated and discussed. And the fallout continues from the cyber attack on HBO which could be larger that the one that hit Sony in 2014.

In the new documentary "Step", filmmaker Amanda Lipitz shows the power of sisterhood, school and stepping in a Baltimore girls inner city school. She and the subjects of her movie tell The Frame what they hope people take away from their story. The French band Phoenix breaks down a song off their new album.

Filmmaker Bryan Fogel set out to make a documentary about performance enhancing drugs and cycling. But once a prominent Russian doping expert got involved, things got really weird; HBO is the latest Hollywood victim of a cyber crime.

The actor and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright is remembered by longtime collaborators, Ed Harris and Peter Coyote; USC researchers watched 900 movies and found women are often sidelined, sexualized or outright invisible; La Cuneta puts its small country on the musical map.

Filmmaker Joshua Weinstein used non-professional actors for his film set inside an insular Jewish community; TV journalists gather to get the lowdown on shows premiering in the coming months; a new opera digs into the life story of the Apple icon.

The former vice president is back with the timely “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power"; American Ballet Theater dancer Tiler Peck has curated a showcase called BalletNow; June Foray voiced Rocky the Flying Squirrel and the Russian spy Natasha on the Bullwinkle cartoons.

Mary-Louise Parker and Denis Arndt on the spare staging of "Heisenberg" at the Mark Taper Forum; inside a rehearsal with Nancy Keystone – a theater artist from L.A. whose new production will open the REDCAT's New Original Works Festival; Hollywood Reporter film writer Tatiana Siegel discusses the rocky relationship between Hollywood studios and outside financiers.

“Atomic Blonde" director David Leitch is a former stunt man and coordinator, but this is his first solo directing effort; Musician Flying Lotus called on British animator David Firth to help him make his debut film, "Kuso"; Film composer Michael Giacchino has written scores for every reboot and remake from his childhood, including “Star Trek,” “Star Wars” and “Mission Impossible."