The new NBC cop-drama Southland has made a splash with viewers and will be picked up for a full 13-episode second season.
Synopsis
Southland took over ER’s time slot on NBC after the medical drama ended its 15-year run with the network on April 2, 2009. Southland comes from the same Emmy Award winning executive producer from ER and The West Wing, John Wells. Christopher Chulack shares the executive producer title as well as holding the director title. Ann Biderman is noted as the creator as well as an executive director.
The show follows a police unit in Los Angeles through the everyday life of police officers, criminals, social workers, and victims from Malibu and Beverly Hills to the East Side of Los Angeles. It’s fast paced and, just like ER before it, has been described as “raw and authentic”.
Cast
- Michael Cudlitz plays seasoned L.A. officer John Cooper. He had an abusive, alcoholic father and viewers are just starting to get a background as to why Cooper is so hard on his rookie, Ben Sherman.
- Sherman is played by The O.C.’s Ben Mackenzie. Sherman shot and killed a gang member during his first week on duty and Cooper’s harsh words and demeanor has him questioning whether police work is for him. Viewers learn his father is a not-so-honorable defense attorney whom he no longer speaks with which plays into why he became a cop.
- Tom Everett Scott, from Boiler Room and That Thing You Do!, plays Detective Russell Clarke, an unhappyily married man who has started dabbling as a writer.
- His partner is a no-nonsense Regina King from Jerry Maguire and Ray. King plays Detective Lydia Adams, a divorced woman who is now taking care of her mother.
- Arija Bareikis from Crossing Jordan plays single mother Chickie Brown who wants to be the female on L.A.P.D. SWAT and has an unruly, rule-breaking partner at work.
- Kevin Alejandro, best known for Shark and Ugly Betty, plays family man/gang-detective Nate Moretta.
- Shawn Hatosy, from Alpha Dog and Factory Girl plays Detective Sammy Bryant. Bryan is married to a woman who's a bit of a loose cannon and is struggling to balance her and work.
- Michael McGrady, known for The Thin Red Line, rounds out the cast as experienced Detective Daniel “Sal” Salinger.
Second Season
Variety reported on May 1, 2009 NBC had picked up the drama for a full 13-episode season next fall. The show has averaged 9.2 million viewers per week in the current Thursday 10 p.m. EST time slot. Even though Southland was picked up for a second season, NBC has yet to announce if it will keep the show at the current time and date slot.
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