Wow. Here's a perfect example of the irritating nature of modern network TV. After shoving awesome series Kings out of its intended primo Thursday night TV spot to the no-man's land of Sunday (then Saturday, then summer burn-off purgatory) to make way for their new golden child Southland, NBC up and cancels Southland before its second season even debuts.
HitFix reports that NBC's decision was partially due to Southland's dark nature but mostly due to money. NBC must be in serious financial woes if they decided it was good to can a show that had already shot 6 episodes, and had won modest ratings the spring before. What's the point, after all, of creating quality dramas and then bailing on them before they have a chance to do you any good?
I'll admit, they were right about their assessment of the show's dark nature scaring off some viewers. I never watched Southland, because I just wasn't in the mood for another depressingly realistic show about the worst elements of mankind. I was also feeling loyal to Kings, a lovely show that got royally screwed, if you'll forgive the pun. So NBC for sure wasn't going to have me as a viewer for the show.Despite that, I do feel sorry for the talented actors in the Southland series who are now unexpectedly out of work. This is especially rough for them since it's happened at the start of the season, when most decisions on pilots are already made, including the mid-season fill-ins.
For Southland fans, NBC promises to try and air the 6 episodes that were made at some point, but I'm not sure how invested folks will want to be in a series that will just drop off in the middle of the action. Once again the fans get burned by network cancellations. But hey, there's always Jay Leno on 5 nights a week if you're looking for edgy drama--oh wait, never mind.
ETA: TV Series Finale reports that Southland is being shopped around to other networks and cable stations, so there's always a possibility you'll see more of the show on another channel.
PHOTOS: Soutland screencaps, c2009 John Wells Productions, Warner Bros. Television.
I'm another fan of Kings and as you said I was so upset by them axing Kings that I didn't give Southland a chance at first glance. Then so many of my friends talked about it that I wanted to give it a shot and I couldn't be happier that I did. Or well, happy until NBC ripped out my fannish heart again that is.
ReplyDeleteIt was a show I REALLY wanted to see, and not just in a 'meh, I could maybe watch that' feeling that most of tv is these days.
"What's the point, after all, of creating quality dramas and then bailing on them before they have a chance to do you any good?" - couldn't agree more!
/Elizaria
It’s the best drama I’ve seen in a long time. It’s not just the withdrawal of antenna. Why NBC?
ReplyDeleteNBC sucks! I loved this show! :(
ReplyDeleteI would LOVE to see this show go to another network, it should not be over yet.
ReplyDeleteBad decision NBC.
I love this show and i can't believe NBC would be stupid enough to cancel it. I only watched NBC for Southland but from what i've heard this isn't the first time they've dont something like this. I was looking forward to watching the re-airings of the first season before the second season started and then NBC cancelled it. Im so pissed off over their decison and for not letting the viewers decide after seeing the second season of Southland.
ReplyDeletesouthland was real. I don't think it was necessarily "dark". At least, not what I'd call dark. this was really the only show I was looking forward to this season. Piss on NBC and their damn Leno show. His ratings are terrible. I hope NBC loses thier shirts on that little gamble, if they haven't already. Can't understand why they couldn't just let the show premiere and have a shot at it. Especially since they already had some shows in the can.
ReplyDeleteI cannot believe NBC's canceling Southland (although maybe I should given its drastic decline in the past few years). Southland is the first NBC show in ages I've both enjoyed and respected. It's dark and gritty, yes, but most people I know happen to like that and more importantly, Southland did it WELL. It's a unique, well-written, realistic show that deserves to be shown somewhere. Now, I literally watch nothing on NBC.
ReplyDeleteMature, well written shows don't come along very often. More and more they're only on cable channels. That's where Southland belongs. Fingers crossed.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Southland was real, not necessarily dark. Real life includes some negatives, especially if one is in law enforcement. This show had great potential, with a quality cast of intriguing characters. I will miss getting to know them better.
ReplyDeleteNow there are only three shows I watch on broadcast TV....and none of them are NBC.
I keep reading reviews that call Southland "gritty" and "dark", but (after the in-your-face pilot) I actually found it to be very intimate - as in, familiar and well-rounded characters experiencing and dealing with intense but realistic things. Frankly, the fetishism of crime and violence on so-called "similar" cop shows is much more disturbing; that's why I don't watch any of the CSIs or L&Os, and I almost didn't give Southland a try. (Until I did, and then I TOTALLY fell for the show.)
ReplyDeleteSouthland is the best drama I've seen on network TV in years. It has HEART, it is subtle and never overwritten, it says something very honest about an often misrepresented field of law enforcement, and it's got AWESOME gender politics (shocking, right?). For all of these reasons, I really hope it gets picked up by another network.
Oh, and I'd boycott NBC except that was the last show of theirs I had any interest in watching. Smart move, NBC.
I'll take Southland any day over Leno. It's a beautifully-imagined, smart drama that took their veiwership inside people's lives without playing to any stereotypes I could see. I really loved and appreciated this show and I feel that NBC would rather ignore intelligence in favor of quick cash. A payout over the long run just isn't worth it to them, it seems.
ReplyDeleteIt's just not fair that they got canceled so soon. The second season hadn't even premiered and they just pulled the plug. And, I'm sorry, but the excuse they gave? "Too dark"? That's just an easy out. That's what life is at times. Why else would these great dramas exist if it wasn't like that? It's just such a shame. The cast is so talented and the writing is as well. They don't deserve this.
ReplyDeleteNBC may not even notice that I'm boycotting it since Southland was the only one of its shows that I watched. I can't believe this is the same network that used to be known for its commitment to quality drama.
ReplyDeleteAnyone on Twitter? Join us and voice your frustrations over Southland's cancellation @SaveSouthLAnd
ReplyDeleteOther links:
Twitition: http://twitition.com/n3tvb
Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/nbcsouthland
Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=171360942974&ref=ts
Please join the fight and let NBC know that they have gone too far!
Best show ever!
ReplyDeleteCant believe they cancelled it!
Write Warner Bros. Television, the producers of Southland, to show your support for the show.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.timewarner.com/corp/management/corp_executives/index.html
Peter Roth
President
Warner Brothers Television
4000 Warner Blvd.
Burbank CA 91522
Tel. 818 -954-6000
Fax 212-954-7667
Email is
ReplyDeletePeter.Roth@WarnerBros.com
The nbc.com/southland site, which was shut down earlier is open again. Go there and leave comments.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nbc.com/southland/
So much agreement for what no_detective said above - to be, Southland was less 'gritty' or 'dark,' and more about the stark relationships and realities of real human beings working in a a high-risk job such as the LAPD. It was not about the hacksaw murders or women in refrigerators we've come to expect from police procedural drama where the time is spent with fake forensics in poorly lit labs rather than the human characters (or if we do spend time putting a face on crime, it is that of the criminal who commits it rather than the hero who stops it). Instead, "Southland" gave us a picture of individuals, fragmented and flawed but heroes nonetheless. This was not the corrupted force of "The Wire" or the seductive, fetishist romantic portrait of high-profile crime. Instead it was raw and honest, but ultimately focused heavily on what good drama often is at its heart: a look at humans, and how we can succeed even in the face of failure or terrible odds, of brooking on someone's good intentions instead of their spotty track record.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame to see such a stunningly personal show fall by the wayside. "Southland" was no more a police show than "ER" was a show about doctors. It was about people. Unfortunately, it seems like NBC is running out of room for those.
Totally agree with Abby and no_detective. I sure hope a moribund network like NBC doesn't get to decide the fate of a great show like SouthLAnd. What about Canada, UK, all the other countries that have picked up this show? Here's hoping TNT will come through for us. SouthLAnd is too good a show not to find a new and better home!
ReplyDeleteShame that a so original show falls appart, I really hope it would be saved by another channel and get the credit it deserves!
ReplyDelete