'PAW Patrol' Isn't Going Anywhere; Kids' Show Tells Fans There's 'No Need To Worry'
The animated hit children’s show “PAW Patrol” is assuring its audience and their parents that it has not been canceled, even as other programs have been canned amid widespread anti-police sentiment.
The Nickelodeon show posted a tweet Friday confirming that it was not going anywhere amid a climate that continues to portray law enforcement officers as villains.
“No need to worry. PAW Patrol is not canceled,” the show’s official account tweeted.
The tweet was posted after White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany used the show as an example of the left’s cancel culture, specifically with regard to programs which paint police officers in a positive light.
No need to worry. PAW Patrol is not canceled. ?
— PAW Patrol (@pawpatrol) July 24, 2020
McEnany said that President Donald Trump is “appalled by cancel culture, and cancel culture specifically as it pertains to cops. We saw a few weeks ago that ‘PAW Patrol,’ a cartoon show about cops, was canceled. The show ‘Cops’ was canceled. ‘Live PD’ was canceled.”
While “PAW Patrol” did not ultimately meet the same fate as the other TV programs cited by McEnany, the animated show was targeted online.
An article published by The New York Times last month noted that there have been calls for “PAW Patrol” to be ended over its portrayal of “good cops.”
“As the protests against racist police violence enter their third week, the charges are mounting against fictional cops, too. Even big-hearted cartoon police dogs — or maybe especially big-hearted cartoon police dogs — are on notice,” the article by Amanda Hess read.
“The effort to publicize police brutality also means banishing the good-cop archetype, which reigns on both television and in viral videos of the protests themselves. ‘Paw Patrol’ seems harmless enough, and that’s the point: The movement rests on understanding that cops do plenty of harm,” Hess added.
Th kids show also posted its apparent support for the Black Lives Matter movement on Twitter:
In solidarity of #amplifymelanatedvoices we will be muting our content until June 7th to give access for Black voices to be heard so we can continue to listen and further our learning. #amplifyblackvoices pic.twitter.com/NO2KeQjpHM
— PAW Patrol (@pawpatrol) June 2, 2020
That led to rumors that the show would be scrapped.
The cartoon series portrays dogs as first responders, and its star, Chase, is a heroic dog cop.
The series will apparently remain on the air. But writer Brian Platzer was not pleased to hear the show will remain a viewing option for small children.
Platzer commented on the show’s Twitter announcement, and shared an article he wrote last year for Vulture criticizing the cartoon.
But it should be! https://t.co/AiLKcEKMpF
— Brian Platzer (@BPlatzer) July 24, 2020
Among other complaints, the writer argued “the main cast of ‘Paw Patrol’ features roughly a thousand boy dogs and exactly one girl dog.”
“And, no, Everest and the Mighty Twins don’t count. Skye is the only girl dog who is always around. And she’s a cockapoo. Whose costume is entirely pink. Yes, Skye, the solitary female cast member of Paw Patrol, is a tiny, fluffy, self-deprecating, emotionally demonstrative member of a toy breed, who is consistently praised for her graciousness and excellent memorization skills. Why couldn’t the one girl dog be a firefighter or a cop?” he argued.
Platzer, who has apparently watched a great deal of the show, shared other grievances about “Paw Patrol.”
He also concluded that the show’s promotion of recycling and the fact that it has a “woman of color” as mayor are its only “redeeming qualities.”
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