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Primetime Show Reviews
"Southland"
review by Suzanne
Returns Tuesday, January 17 at 10/9c on TNT
I saw the season premiere, and if it's any indication, they've
kind of ruined the show. I mean, it still has great acting and writing, and lots
of action, but the problem is that there's too much action.
When the show first premiered, one of the things I loved about
it is that it was about what every-day cops go through. It was not flashy or
full of action. It just had good solid characters doing their jobs, like the old
series Adam 12. Well, I guess someone must think that's not good enough, so now
they have amped everything up.
This used to be a realistic show. At least, as realistic as TV
can be. In real life, cops interview a lot of people. They fill out forms. They
drive around a lot. They very seldom draw their guns or fire, or shoot anyone,
or chase people. Sure, they deal with low-lifes, but mostly prostitutes, drug
addicts, small-time robbers, and people committing domestic violence.
Now, I'm not suggesting we should watch a boring show that has
the cops filling out their paperwork. I think the show used to have a good
balance. Now, it's all shootings, and explosions, and people getting killed, and
chase scenes. It's just like any other cop show. It's lost its realism and its
uniquity.
In the first episode of the season, three characters die. There
are chase scenes, too, and lots of shooting. It's kind of like ER in that
sense. They had realistic stories, but they took stories that probably happened
all over the country, at different hospitals, over many years, and instead have
them all happen in one hospital, week-to-week. So it was very over-the-top and
not very realistic. Now they are doing this with Southland. It's such a
shame.
I will keep watching it, but it's not as good as it was.
Look for Lou Diamond Phillips and Lucy Liu in the season premiere. I think
his is just a one-time gig, and she is joining the cast.
More information:
TNT’s critically acclaimed drama
series SOUTHLAND will return for a fourth season. TNT has ordered 10 new
episodes of the gritty, realistic cop drama, which wrapped up its third season
March 8. SOUTHLAND stars Michael Cudlitz (Band of Brothers, A
River Runs Through It), Shawn Hatosy (Dexter, Public
Enemies), Regina King (Ray, Jerry Maguire) and Ben
McKenzie (The O.C.). The series has averaged 2.9 million viewers this
season, up 6% compared to the second season.
SOUTHLAND comes to TNT from John Wells Productions and Emmy®-winning
producer John Wells (ER, The West Wing), in association
with Warner Bros. Television. Created by Emmy® winner Ann Biderman
(NYPD Blue, Public Enemies), the series is executive-produced by
Emmy® winners Christopher Chulack (ER, Third Watch) and
Wells. Chulack is also a primary director of the series. Andrew Stearn (Shameless,
The West Wing) is co-executive producer.
“SOUTHLAND has been acknowledged by many critics as one of the sharpest, most
entertaining and most authentic dramas on television today,” said Michael
Wright, executive vice president, head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner
Classic Movies (TCM). “John Wells, Chris Chulack and their teams created a
brilliant roller coaster ride this season, with countless riveting scenes and
unforgettable character arcs. We are extremely proud to have SOUTHLAND on TNT
and to bring it back for a fourth season.”
TNT’s renewal of SOUTHLAND marks the latest chapter for a series that found a
new home on television’s premier drama network in 2010, after an outpouring of
fans and critics campaigned to keep the series alive. SOUTHLAND has redefined
the police drama genre with its raw, authentic look at the lives and work of Los
Angeles detectives and beat cops. Shot on location in the streets and
neighborhoods of Los Angeles, SOUTHLAND captures an environment where similar
situations can and often do occur in real life.
In SOUTHLAND, King stars as Detective Lydia Adams, who this year has faced a
difficult adjustment period with a new partner and a suspension over leaked
crime-scene photos. Officer John Cooper (Cudlitz) is a seasoned cop whose
addiction to painkillers is interfering with his performance on the job. His
partner, Officer Ben Sherman (McKenzie), came to him as a rookie but is now
growing up fast on the force. Detective Sammy Bryant (Hatosy) is part of the
LAPD’s gang task force who is still reeling from the murder of his partner.
This season on Southland,
Detective Adams will take on another new partner, this time a former Marine
(guest star Dorian Missick), while also facing a major upheaval in her
personal life. Cooper will be back on the job after surgery to repair the back
problems that led to his drug addiction. He will be teamed up with a new
partner, Jessica Tang (Liu), who will bring her own set of emotional baggage to
their patrol car. Cooper’s former trainee, Sherman, is now a full-fledged cop,
partnered with Bryant, who continues to struggle with the trauma of the past.
Other guest stars lined up for this season include Lou
Diamond Phillips, who will appear in the season premiere as an intense
street cop who rubs Ben the wrong way with his cynical attitude. Starting with
the Jan. 24 episode, Carl Lumbly will guest-star as the new
police captain. Lisa Gay Hamilton will appear in the Feb. 7
episode as the worn-out mother of a talented but troubled daughter. And on Jan.
24, in a special television reunion, Marla Gibbs will appear
opposite her fellow 227 co-star Regina King when she plays the relative
of a suspect Detective Lydia Adams (King) is investigating for murder.
Shot on location in the streets and neighborhoods of Los
Angeles, Southland captures a realistic, natural environment where
similar situations can and often do occur in real life. The series was created
by Emmy winner Ann Biderman (NYPD Blue, Public
Enemies) and is executive-produced by Emmy winners Christopher
Chulack (ER, Third Watch) and John Wells.
Chulack is also a primary director of the series, while Andrew Stearn (Shameless,
The West Wing) and Jonathan Lisco (The District) serve as
co-executive producers.
About TNT
TNT, one of cable’s top-rated networks, is television’s destination for
drama. Seen in 100.5 million households, the network is home to such original
series as The Closer, starring Emmy® winner Kyra Sedgwick; Rizzoli &
Isles, starring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander; Leverage, starring
Timothy Hutton; HawthoRNe, with Jada Pinkett Smith; Memphis Beat,
with Jason Lee; Men of a Certain Age, with Ray Romano, Scott Bakula and
Andre Braugher; and Southland, from Emmy-winning producer John Wells (ER);
as well as the upcoming Falling Skies, starring Noah Wyle, and
Franklin & Bash, with Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Breckin Meyer. TNT also
presents such powerful dramas as Bones, Supernatural, Las Vegas,
Law & Order, CSI: NY, Cold Case and, starting in late 2011,
The Mentalist; broadcast premiere movies; compelling primetime specials,
such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards®; and championship sports
coverage, including NASCAR, the NBA and the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball
Championship. TNT is available in high-definition.
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs
branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on
television and other platforms for consumers around the world.
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