'Southland' not down for the count after all

Take that NBC. TNT has rescued the cancelled NBC drama from television purgatory. “Southland” premiered last year after the Thursday night staple, “ER” concluded it’s 15th season. The show depicted the intense life and experiences of the officers and detectives of the Los Angeles Police Department. It received lukewarm ratings in contrast to other megahits such as “CSI” or “Grey’s Anatomy,” but it still received a pickup for the next season. Or so everyone thought; due to the dark nature of the show, it seemed too inappropriate to showcase the show at a 9PM slot since the 10:00 time slots were all taken up by “The Jay Leno Show.”

So after seven episodes, it seemed like the John Wells’ produced series saw the end of it’s run. Then Wells went ahead and negotiated a deal with TNT to bring back the series. The cable network announced this morning that the show would be integrated into the schedule and start airing in January on Tuesday nights at 10PM. Season one will be re-aired in addition to the six episodes that NBC ordered for the second season. If all goes well, then more episodes will be on the way.

“Southland” seems to be a good fit for the cable network. They already have a fine roster of original programming combined with the reruns of classic shows such as “Law & Order” and “ER.” If anything, the show being cancelled by NBC is probably the best thing that could have happened. More than likely, the mediocre ratings it would be receiving on NBC wouldn’t be enough for the network to warrant another season. Plus, they would have been aired on Fridays where the audience is almost non-existent. At least on basic cable, the show will be able to thrive and entertain a whole new audience.

Via EW.com