Regina King Talks 'Southland,' New Partners and Getting Physical

Regina King is about to have a lot more men in her life.

She's already one of the only female officers on 'Southland,' a show chock-full of testosterone. But since we last saw her toting a shotgun, saving lives, fighting gang violence head-on and seeing her partner get shot, her character, Det. Lydia Adams, is also now looking for love, and a new partner.

AOL TV caught up with King to talk about being on TNT now (premieres Tues., Jan. 12, 10PM ET), the new batch of episodes we'll see in a few weeks, getting more physical on the show and how many fans have found 'Southland' since the show founds its new home.Regina King is about to have a lot more men in her life.

She's already one of the only female officers on 'Southland,' a show chock-full of testosterone. But since we last saw her toting a shotgun, saving lives, fighting gang violence head-on and seeing her partner get shot, her character, Det. Lydia Adams, is also now looking for love, and a new partner.

AOL TV caught up with King to talk about being on TNT now (premieres Tues., Jan. 12, 10PM ET), the new batch of episodes we'll see in a few weeks, getting more physical on the show and how many fans have found 'Southland' since the show founds its new home.

At the end of last season, your character was pushed to the limit. Where will we find her when the new episodes start up?
They definitely pick up right where we left off -- it's probably only like a week or so after -- and it's just as gritty. You're gonna see just how Russell [Tom Everett Scott] and Lydia's relationship has to change because he's not the same after he's been shot. He is back, just kind of in a different way, and you see her navigate her feelings through that. In law enforcement, pretty much everybody is partnered up, and your partner is like your spouse. You have a person finishing your sentences ... they know to turn right without you saying "turn right." So it's her becoming acclimated to a new day-to-day, because she's not used to doing it without Russell.

And she'll be trying on some new partners ...
Trying on some new partners, and no one's Russell, so it's not feeling good right now.

OK, so we get that partners are kind of like spouses, but Lydia needs some love!
Yeah, and we're going to see her ... you know, God willing TNT brings us back for a second season ... detectives need love too! [Laughs]

Fans have really responded to Lydia's interactions with Ben Sherman, played by Ben McKenzie. Will we be seeing a Lydia-Ben hookup?
You know, at this point, we don't know what's going down. We don't know where the love is gonna come from. They seem to be quick to get Ben and I in the bed, with other people, so we'll see if we'll end up with each other.

Hear the rest of her answer on The Show Girl

Michael Cudlitz has sort of made himself the speaker of the show. Do you ever feel any pressure to get on Twitter?
I think Michael has that market cornered, and I hope he continues to do a great job so that they don't feel that they need to call on any other actors to join Twitter nation. [Laughs]

What would you like to see happen next with Lydia?
I would like to see if they can find some creative ways to get her into more physical stuff. I really think that I have a strength there, and I think the audience likes to see Lydia exercise her physicality as well as her intellect. So if they could find a clever way to make the story work where we can see the two happening hand-in-hand, that would be a really perfect world for me.

There are some majorly intense things coming up -- what can you tease us about the new episodes?
Well, you'll get to see more of the other characters. I mean, I think we've already seen how this is not such a glamorous job, but I think in the second half of the season, you'll see how much it takes a toll on us as individuals. It really plays into your personal life. You really get to look at officers as people, as opposed to just cops. I think we kind of regard them as cyborgs, like they have no feelings. If you don't have a person in your family that's an officer, you really don't know that they are people and they cry and they hurt and they wish and long for things, just like regular everyday people. But we still have to put on a face and act as if that bloody crime scene that we just walked out of doesn't impact us. At the end of the day, all we have is each other. So you get more into the psyche of the person who happens to be a cop.

You've been traveling, hosting screenings for fans across the country. Have you been feeling the love for the show?
You know what's really amazing? And it just shows how much promotion did not take place on NBC ... I'm getting so many people who think this is just a brand new show. They're like, "Oh, I'm so happy you've got a new show -- I can't wait to watch it." And I roll with it. [Laughs] I'm like, "Yeah, January 12!"

So you're optimistic about 'Southland' on its new home?
I am! TNT has done a really great job with their dramas, and they've really kind of tapped in to an audience that's been underserved. The reality TV audience ... ratings have gotten so big, so many networks, that's all they're doing. And TNT is just the opposite. They're doing true narrative TV and there's a huge audience out there that loves their one-hour dramas.