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.”

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences makes changes to its board in an effort to diversify. We talk with two members of the Academy about what's to come. Then composer Laura Karpman talks about her Grammy-winning composition "Ask Your Mama" and how she's working to get more women into the scoring stage.

Producer Janet Yang (The Joy Luck Club, The People v. Larry Flynt) was among the Asian American professionals in Hollywood who sent a letter to the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences protesting offensive jokes told at the Oscars. Touring LACMA'S Mapplethorpe exhibit and finding unexpected art. We meet a young African American filmmaker undeterred by Hollywood's diversity problem.

Robert Mapplethorpe gets a massive retrospective at two L.A. museums courtesy of the Mapplethorpe Foundation. Can a set top box that streams first run films the day they're in theaters disrupt the movie business as we know it? Closing the gender gap one women artist at a time.

The massive Hauser Wirth & Schimmel gallery is the newest addition to L.A.'s bustling downtown arts district; singer and bass player Esperanza Spalding adds some theatrical touches to her live show; the South by Southwest film festival kicks off today in Austin.

Actress Ellen Page and Ian Daniel are co-hosts of a new Viceland channel show that documents LGBTQ communities around the world; a Marine's experience in Iraq is dramatized by the adventurous Long Beach Opera.

Actress Sarah Paulson is getting rave reviews for her performance as prosecutor Marcia Clark in "The People v. O.J. Simpson"; the music collective known as Dublab partnered with Metro to create an ambient music experience at L.A.'s Union Station.

Writer-producer Terence Winter creates an HBO drama out of the 1970's music business in "Vinyl"; SNL alumnus Seth Meyers injects politics into his "Late Night" humor; Swedish-Argentine musician José González redefines "global music."

Nahnatchka Khan's experience as a daughter of immigrants helped shape the outsider perspective of "Fresh Off the Boat"; the box office success of "Zootopia" is due to Disney's embrace of Pixar's ethic; KT Tunstall deconstructs the song that launched her career, "Suddenly I See."

David Litt was President Obama's funniest speechwriter and now he's mining Washington for Funny or Die; Robert Carlock talks about adapting "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" for his longtime writing partner, Tina Fey; Kendrick Lamar drops a surprise album.

Series creator Beau Willimon tees up the fourth season of "House of Cards" on Netflix; the trailer for the remake of "Ghostbusters" depicts a very different New York City; Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Julia Wolfe readies the West Coast premiere of her oratorio.

Over the past 25 years, Jon Brion has quietly become a go-to producer and composer for musicians and filmmakers; L.A. County tightens the rules for raves on public property; the Colburn School teaches its students how to audition for orchestra jobs.

Roger Guenveur Smith on directing "The Mountaintop," a play set in a Memphis motel on the eve of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination; criticism mounts over Chris Rock's treatment of diversity and Asian-Americans; high school students perform August Wilson monologues.