'Southland' Closing in on TNT Deal

Gritty cop drama 'Southland' is close to having a second life with TNT, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The show had already completed six episodes before NBC announced that none of the second season was to air, effectively eliminating any shot the it had in gaining a stronger audience in its second season. We hypothesized that the Jay Leno Show caused 'Southland's pre-mature demise, but NBC maintains that it was too dark a program for the network.Gritty cop drama 'Southland' is close to having a second life with TNT, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The show had already completed six episodes before NBC announced that none of the second season was to air, effectively eliminating any shot the it had in gaining a stronger audience in its second season. We hypothesized that the Jay Leno Show caused 'Southland's pre-mature demise, but NBC maintains that it was too dark a program for the network.

Should the deal go through, 'Southland' would join the cop family of 'The Closer' and 'Dark Blue,' with the former being the number one show in TNT's arsenal. Pair up 'Southland' with 'The Closer,' and that could be a solid two-hour block of television.

With its debut in April 2009, 'Southland' started out strong, garnering 9 million viewers a week for the first two episodes. It struggled to maintain those numbers through the subsequent five episodes -- but had enough bang to warrant a 13-episode second-season order. Whether or not all 13 episodes (or more) will be filmed is yet to be determined, but it's probably safe to assume that if TNT is willing to invest in the initial six, they like what they've seen so far.


Related Links:
Two Networks Interested in 'Southland'
'Southland' Could End Up on TNT
Did 'The Jay Leno Show' Kill 'Southland'?