Southland (TV series)
| Southland | |
|---|---|
An intertitle from the series |
|
| Genre | Police procedural Drama |
| Starring | Kevin Alejandro Arija Bareikis Clifton Collins, Jr. Michael Cudlitz Shawn Hatosy Regina King Michael McGrady Benjamin McKenzie Tom Everett Scott |
| Theme music composer | Frederico de Brito and Ferrer Trindade |
| Opening theme | "Canção Do Mar" by Dulce Pontes (Instrumental Version) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 30 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Ann Biderman Christopher Chulack John Wells |
| Location(s) | Los Angeles |
| Production company(s) | John Wells Productions Warner Bros. Television |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC (Season 1) TNT (Season 2–present) |
| Original run | April 9, 2009 – present |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Southland (promotionally styled SouthLAnd) is an American drama[1] series created by writer Ann Biderman and produced by Warner Bros. Television. It premiered on NBC on April 9, 2009. On May 1, 2009, NBC announced that Southland had been renewed for a second season with an initial 13-episode order to begin airing on Friday, September 25, 2009 at 9:00 pm, one hour earlier than its original time slot.[2] On August 27, 2009, shortly before its scheduled premiere, NBC moved the opening of its second season to October 23, 2009, citing the need to promote the show more fully.[3] On October 8, 2009, NBC announced that the series had been cancelled.[4]
On November 2, 2009, TNT announced it has purchased the rights to Southland's original seven episodes, as well as six completed episodes from its second season. Southland began airing on TNT on January 12, 2010.[5][6] On April 26, 2010, TNT announced it had picked up Southland for a ten-episode third season to begin airing on January 4, 2011.[7] TNT's renewal of the show included a substantial budget cut and corresponding cast reduction.[8] Southland was renewed for a ten-episode fourth season on March 22, 2011[9] The fourth season premiered on January 17, 2012.[10]
Contents |
[edit] Plot
According to NBC, Southland takes a "raw and authentic look" at Los Angeles and the lives of the LAPD officers who police it. The show's first season centers on the experiences and interactions of LAPD patrol officers and detectives, and is more a character-driven drama than a police procedural.[11][12] Among the characters are rookie Officer Ben Sherman and his training officer, John Cooper; Detective Lydia Adams, who must balance work with responsibility for her mother; Officer Chickie Brown, who aspires to be the first woman on the elite SWAT Team; and Detective Sammy Bryant, whose home life interferes with his working life.[11] Ultimately, it was the dark tone of the series, deemed inappropriate for 9:00 pm, that led NBC to shut down production and cancel the show after previewing the first six episodes of the second season.[4] TNT began negotiating a move from NBC shortly after the show's cancellation, a process that took nearly a month.[6] TNT's rebroadcast of the first season was less heavily censored, with only the more extreme profanity bleeped out.
[edit] Cast
Following the change of network, the second season, which premiered on TNT following the rebroadcast of the first season, de-emphasizes the ensemble cast and focuses more on the Adams and Sherman characters and their partners. Stories now center more on how crimes come together, with less-serialized storylines.[13][14]
[edit] Main cast
| Actor | Character | Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Alejandro | Nate Moretta | Detective II (Seasons 1–3) |
Sammy Bryant's former partner in Gangs and Narcotics Division. Killed in a gang shootout in Season 3 |
| Arija Bareikis | Chickie Brown | Police Officer III (Seasons 1–3) |
Hollywood Division |
| Michael Cudlitz | John Cooper | Police Officer III+1 (Senior Lead Officer) (Seasons 1–) |
Ben Sherman's former training officer (Seasons 1-3), Tang's partner (Season 4) |
| Shawn Hatosy | Sammy Bryant | Detective II (Season 1–3) Police Officer III |
Gangs and Narcotics Division detective, later returns to patrol |
| Michael McGrady | Daniel "Sal" Salinger | Detective III (Seasons 1–3) |
Supervisor in Gangs and Narcotics Division |
| Benjamin McKenzie | Ben Sherman | Police Officer I (Seasons 1–3) Police Officer II |
Former rookie at Hollywood Division, partners with Sammy Bryant |
| Regina King | Lydia Adams | Detective II (Seasons 1-) |
West Bureau Detectives |
| Tom Everett Scott | Russell Clarke | Detective II (Seasons 1–3) |
West Bureau Detectives, Adams' former partner |
[edit] Recurring cast
| Actor | Character | Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| C. Thomas Howell | Bill "Dewey" Dudek | Police Officer III (Season 1–) |
Hollywood Division. Formerly Officer's Brown's partner |
| Denise Crosby | Susan Salinger | Captain (Seasons 1–2) |
Detective Salinger's wife |
| Patrick Fischler | Kenny "No-Gun" | Detective I (Seasons 1–2) |
Gang and Narcotics Division |
| Lex Medlin | Andy Williams | Detective I (Seasons 1–2) |
Gang and Narcotics Division |
| Emily Bergl | Tammi Bryant | — (Season 1–3) |
Detective Bryant's ex-wife |
| Hedy Burress | Laurie Cooper | — (Season 1–3) |
Officer Cooper's ex-wife |
| Roxana Brusso | Alicia Fernandez | Detective III (Season 1–4) |
Detectives Adams' and Ochoa's supervisor at West Bureau |
| Amaury Nolasco | Rene Cordero | Detective I (Season 2) |
Adams' interim partner at West Bureau |
| Laz Alonso | Gil Puente | Detective III (Seasons 2–3) |
Works with Bryant and Moretta in a gang task force |
| Jenny Gago | Josie Ochoa | Detective II (Season 3) |
Adams' partner at West Bureau |
| Jamie McShane | Sgt. Hill | Sergeant I (Season 3-) |
Assistant watch commander/supervisor at Hollywood Division |
| Lucy Liu | Jessica Tang | Police Officer III (Season 4) |
Officer Cooper's partner |
| Dorian Missick | Ruben Robinson | Detective I (Season 4) |
Adams' partner |
| Carl Lumbly | Joel Rucker | Captain I (Season 4) |
New division patrol captain |
[edit] Crew
The series was created by Emmy Award winning writer Ann Biderman. Biderman began her television writing career on the first season of police drama NYPD Blue. The series' executive producers are Biderman, Christopher Chulack and John Wells. Wells and Chulack, both also Emmy Award winners, had previously worked together on critically acclaimed medical drama ER and emergency services drama Third Watch. Many other crew members had previously worked with Wells and Chulack on these series. Wells and Biderman also write for the series and Chulack is a regular director. Biderman left her executive producer position after the second season but continued to write for the series third season.
Ex-police officer Angela Amato Velez served as a consulting producer and writer for the first season. She had previously worked for the executive producers on Third Watch. Dee Johnson also served as a consulting producer and writer for the first season. She had previously worked with Wells and Chulack on ER. Emmy Award winning writing team Mitchell Burgess & Robin Green were hired as executive consultants and writers for the second and third seasons. They had previously worked together as executive producers on The Sopranos. Diana Son served as a consulting producer and writer for the second season. She had previously worked on the crime drama Law & Order: Criminal Intent.
David Graziano became a co-executive producer for the second season. Andrew Stearn was a producer for the first two seasons and was promoted to co-executive producer for the third season. Stearn had previously worked on Third Watch. Jonathan Lisco was hired as a co-executive producer for the third season. Lisco is a former lawyer and created the New Orleans police drama K-Ville. The series is produced by Jon Pare.
ER and Third Watch veteran Nelson McCormick is also a regular director for Southland. Steadicam expert J. Michael Muro serves as a regular cinematographer and occasional director for the series. Dana Gonzales is the other regular director of photography.
[edit] Reception
[edit] Critical response
Southland has received widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the first season received an average score of 69, based on 22 reviews[15] and the second season received an average score of 77, based on 12 reviews[16] both indicating "Generally favorable reviews". Upon returning for its third and fourth season the series received wide critical acclaim, receiving an average score of 81, based on 9 reviews for the third season[17] and an average score of 90, based on 6 reviews for the fourth season both indicating "Universal acclaim".[18]
Alessandra Stanley for The New York Times compared Southland favorably to series like The Shield, Rescue Me and The Wire in citing the series debut as "one of the most gripping opening episodes of any network crime series". Noting the show's "bold, contemporary tone", Stanley concluded that "Southland is commendably stinting and cold, a series that doesn’t aim to please, and is all the more pleasurable for it."[19] In a second review a year later, Mike Hale was less effusive in his praise. While commending the series for fine performances from its cast—in particular Cudlitz, McKenzie and Hatosy—and its combination of straightforward immediate plots and long-range storytelling, Hale criticized the "heavyhandedness" he saw in some of the writing, noting especially the "sententious lectures about the nature of police work" delivered to Sherman by Cooper in the pilot episode. He finds the show "worthy" but in need of work to qualify as a classic.[20]
Dorothy Rabinowitz of The Wall Street Journal says "Prattle is, in any case, a minor note compared with the crackling pace of the first script, its evocative mood of menace at every turn, each police car racing to destinations that will reveal who knows what tragedy or unspeakable sight."[21] The Kansas City Star stated the show in even a more positive light saying "Southland is built to be bigger, and in that sense it succeeds immediately, thanks to excellent casting (especially Michael Cudlitz and Regina King as a cop and a detective), gritty location shooting around L.A. and storytelling that doesn’t hold the viewer’s hand."[22]
[edit] DVD release
Shortly before its TNT premiere, Warner Home Video released the first season on DVD in an uncensored version, with the profanities intact.
In May 2011, they also released the second season in a similarly uncensored version. However, the title is only available through the studio's manufacture-on-demand program.
No release date has been given for the third season to be released on DVD, but it will also be available only through Warner's MOD program.
The studio is not currently considering Blu-ray releases for any of the show's three seasons.
| DVD Name | Region 1 Release Date | Region 2 Release Date | Region 4 Release Date | Ep # | Discs | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | January 26, 2010[23] | TBA | TBA | 7 | 2 | Southland: Redefining the Cop Drama. Available in HD from iTunes |
| Season 2 | May 24, 2011[24] | TBA | TBA | 6 | 2 | This DVD is made available through the Warner Bros. Made on Demand DVD Program at WBShop.com, Amazon.com, Walmart.com, and Target.com. Available in HD on iTunes. |
| Seasons 1 and 2 | TBA | September 26, 2011 | TBA | 13 | 3 | Southland: Redefining the Cop Drama
Southland: Crime Tour Pods |
| Season 3 | TBA | TBA | TBA | 10 | TBA |
[edit] International broadcasting
| Country | Network | Series Premiere |
|---|---|---|
| Space | June 10, 2010 | |
| GEM | November, 2010 | |
| SBT[25] |
March 14, 2011 | |
| PRO.BG | January, 2010 | |
| CTV Super Channel Séries+ |
April 9, 2009 (season 1)[26] March 15, 2010[27] June 5, 2010 |
|
| MTV3[28] | February 23, 2011 | |
| Orange Cinéchoc | January 10, 2010 | |
| Kabel1[29] | 2011 | |
| Stöð 2 | April 6, 2010 | |
| 3e | June 6, 2010 | |
| AXN | January, 2010 | |
| TV1 | November, 2011 | |
| TVNorge | September 28, 2009 | |
| Fox Portugal | November 30, 2009 | |
| M-Net Action | May 2010 | |
| Kanal A | September 2011 | |
| TV3 | October 7, 2009 | |
| DiziMax | January 2010 | |
| More4[30] | July 1, 2010 |
[edit] References
- ^ Wyatt, Edward. NBC's Latest Drama Has a (Temporary) Home, New York Times, April 8, 2009. Accessed August 5, 2009.
- ^ Littleton, Cynthia; Schenider, Michael (May 1, 2009). "NBC picks up 'Southland'". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118003122.html. Retrieved 2009-05-02.
- ^ Bryant, Adam (27 August 2009). "NBC Pushes Southland's Premiere to October". TVGuide.com. http://www.tvguide.com/News/Southland-Premiere-Delayed-1009248.aspx. Retrieved 2009-08-27.
- ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (October 8, 2009). "Southland Cancelled". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/blogs/live-feed/nbc-cancels-southland-premiere-52356. Retrieved 2010-01-16.
- ^ "TNT Picks Up Acclaimed Drama SOUTHLAND". TNT. 11/2/2009. http://news.turner.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=4777.
- ^ a b Stetler, Brian. Turner Entertainment Sees the Broadcast Networks as Its Fattest Target, The New York Times, November 1, 2009. Accessed January 15, 2010.
- ^ "Turner Newsroom: Home". News.turner.com. http://news.turner.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=5111. Retrieved 2011-09-02.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie. "‘Southland’ Facing Budget & Cast Trims –". Deadline.com. http://www.deadline.com/2010/05/southland-faces-budget-reduction-cast-trims-on-tnt/. Retrieved 2011-09-02.
- ^ "Southland Renewed for Fourth Season by TNT - Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. 2011-03-22. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/03/22/tnt-renews-southland-for-a-fourth-season/86671. Retrieved 2011-09-02.
- ^ TNT - Southland: Home
- ^ a b http://www.nbc.com/southland/about/
- ^ Sullivan, Brian Ford. The Futon's First Look: "Southland" (NBC), The Futon Critic, April 1, 2009. Accessed January 24, 2010.
- ^ Sullivan, Brian Ford. NBC at TCA: Leno, Silverman Draw Focus, The Futon Critic, August 6, 2009. Accessed January 24, 2010.
- ^ Borzillo-Vrenna, Carrie and Megan Masters. "NBC at TCA: Chuck Update, Southland Retools & More". E! Online, 5 August 2009.
- ^ "Southland - Season 1 Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. http://www.metacritic.com/tv/southland. Retrieved January 8, 2011.
- ^ "Southland - Season 2 Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. http://www.metacritic.com/tv/southland/season-2. Retrieved January 8, 2011.
- ^ "Southland - Season 3 Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. http://www.metacritic.com/tv/southland/season-3. Retrieved January 8, 2011.
- ^ "Southland - Season 4 Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. http://www.metacritic.com/tv/southland/season-4. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
- ^ From the Pampered Life to Police Work on the Mean Streets
- ^ Hale, Mike (2010-03-01). "Patrolling for Felons and Kudos on Sun-Blinded Streets". Nytimes.com. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/02/arts/television/02southland.html. Retrieved 2011-09-02.
- ^ Rabinowitz, Dorothy. Truth and Consequences, The Wall Street Journal, April 3, 2009. Accessed January 15, 2010.
- ^ Barnhart, Aaron. New network shows: Haven't I seen you before?, The Kansas City Star, April 8, 2009. Accessed January 15, 2010.
- ^ "Southland DVD news: Press Release for Southland - The Complete 1st Season: Uncensored". TVShowsOnDVD.com. http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Southland-Season-1-Press-Release/12957. Retrieved 2011-09-02.
- ^ "Southland DVD news: Announcement for Southland - The Complete 2nd Season (Uncensored)". TVShowsOnDVD.com. http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Southland-Season-2/15288. Retrieved 2011-09-02.
- ^ Ronei. "Séries Da Tv Aberta: Sbt Estreia Mais Uma Nova Série". Seriesdatvaberta.blogspot.com. http://seriesdatvaberta.blogspot.com/2011/03/sbt-estreia-mais-uma-nova-serie.html. Retrieved 2011-09-02.
- ^ "SOUTHLAND Debut Wins Timeslot with 1.34 Million Viewers on CTV". channelcanada.com. April 13, 2009. http://www.channelcanada.com/Article2819.html. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
- ^ "Super Channel Southland schedule". Super Channel. http://www.superchannel.ca/series/view/43080967/Southland/. Retrieved 2010-03-10.
- ^ "Southland". MTV3.fi. 2011-08-21. http://www.mtv3.fi/southland. Retrieved 2011-09-02.
- ^ "Kabel eins zeigt 2010 Southland". Wunschliste.de. 2009-07-31. http://www.wunschliste.de/news/5373. Retrieved 2011-09-02.
- ^ Holmwood, Leigh. More4 buys LA cop show Southland, The Guardian, August 28, 2009. Accessed January 15, 2010.
[edit] External links
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