John Russell Langley (born 1943) is an American television and film director, writer, and producer who is best known as the creator and executive producer of the long-running television show COPS, which premiered on FOX in March 1989. Prior to that, he was among the reality television pioneers as a producer of various two-hour event specials in syndicated television markets during the 1980s. In fact, Langley is often credited as being the "Godfather of Reality Television" with the appearance of COPS in 1989.