Southland Premier

So I was out the other night and I happened to bump into a fan of TV Guys and he gave me some fantastic and constructive criticism for the blog; apparently I've been a bit negative as of late and the people would like to hear about a show I enjoy and that they may not have heard of. So today I write about a show that premiers tonight that I have loved since the beginning. "Southland's" 4th season premiers tonight on TNT at 10 pm and here's why you need to tune in if you aren't already planning on doing so.

"Southland" premiered in the spring of 2009 to large viewership on NBC and made it through its entire first season successfully developing a large fan base. NBC execs decided to pick up "Southland" for a second 13 episode season to premier in the fall of 2010. After they began production of the first few episodes (6 in fact), NBC previewed them and decided that they were far too "gritty" for the 9pm Thursday time slot and that"Southland" no longer had a place in the NBC family. This was in my humble opinion a horrible move. Long story short soon after the NBC cancellation TNT began negotiations to grab this show and that's where it airs now and it's great.

"Southland" is the story of a group of Los Angeles police officers on the job and it plays out almost like the "reality" show "COPS". A lot of hand-held camera, bleeped out profanity, and tons and tons of action. I give "Southland" two thumbs up.

It has an interesting cast made up of the likes of Ryan from "The O.C." (ugh) aka Ben McKenzie who is actually one of the best characters, C. Thomas Howell (my personal favorite), Regina King, and Shawn Hatosy (who seems to be getting all kinds of work).

The show is fast paced, action packed, and thrilling, and you find yourself lost in each episode invested in what actually happens to the characters, not just in the line of duty but in their personal lives as well. One character has a serious drug problem, one has issues with his marriage, and the list goes on and on.

If you're a fan don't forget to tune in to "Southland" tonight at 10 pm on TNT, if you're not set your DVR and give this show a chance because it's awesome.

Here are a couple reasons why "Southland" beats the shit out of SVU/CSI procedural type cop shows.

1. Every episode is completely different without formula.

2. The characters aren't douche bags.

3. The dialogue is realistic.

4. There are always multiple intertwining plot lines and not just an entire police force unrealistically trudging the path of the same boring case looking for semen.

ANK