'Southland' continues to up the ante (Tuesdays, 10PM ET on TNT), proving to be more than just a cop drama, and this week's episode ('Code Four') is even more jaw-droppingly action-packed than usual.

If somehow you're still not sold on the show, this is one hour that'll make you a true fan.



With great performances from the entire cast, it's a particularly standout episode for Shawn Hatosy -- poor Sammy just can't seem to catch a break. There's more drama with Tammy and her new baby daddy (or is he?), a big push for Sammy to stop sleeping on his partner Nate's (Kevin Alejandro) couch and a life-changing ending that had me in tears.

A few more teases (all spoiler-free, I swear) after the jump ..

To kick off the week and celebrate 'Southland' going back into production this Thursday in L.A., TNT hosted a cocktail party for select TV critics and journalists to mingle with the 'Southland' cast.

The overall consensus: everyone is ready to be back at work.

The cast and producers were all very tight-lipped about what's in store for season 3 of their critically-acclaimed, network-shuffled show (premieres January 2011), but they were very chatty regarding just about everything else.

['Dexter' - 'Hello Bandit']

This episode wasn't as remarkable as the season premiere, but it did introduce several key characters and themes that should be important in this season's story arc.

First up, is the loss of Rita's kids, Astor and Cody. Stroppy Astor was beginning to grate on the nerves, even when cut significant slack for having just buried her murdered mother. And since sweet little Cody couldn't feasibly stay with Dexter (Michael C. Hall) while Astor moved in with her grandparents, it's understandable why the writers chose to banish the kiddos to Orlando and leave Dexter with only his biological son to raise. It's a blow to Dexter, though, because as he said, the step-children proved Dexter could feel, and now he's down to his sister and baby.

Shawn Hatosy is heading back to 'Southland,' but not before joining the cast of 'Dexter' for a multi-episode arc.

According to the Ausiello Files, Hatosy may portray a no-nonsense FBI agent, based on a recent casting call. A rep for Showtime declined to give the full details.

In the meantime, 'Southland' fans shouldn't worry too much: According to the report, Hatosy will return to the TNT series -- which was recently picked up for a 10-episode third season -- right after filming on 'Dexter' concludes.

Hatosy isn't the only new face set to appear on 'Dexter''s upcoming fifth season. 'Save the Last Dance' actress Julia Stiles is also joining the cast, playing a mysterious young woman who forms a relationship with the titular character, played by Michael C. Hall.

As previously reported, the new season will also see the return of Julie Benz. Her character, Rita, was killed in the season 4 finale. Benz is reportedly scheduled to appear in the season premiere.

The fifth season of 'Dexter' is set to premiere in September.

Last night on 'Southland' (Tue., 10PM ET on TNT), Detective Sammy Bryant (Shawn Hatosy) thought a talk with troubled teen Casper might keep him off the streets and away from the gangs. But he didn't quite get through to him.

"Rich people have choices. But everybody else? You do what you gotta do," Casper responds. Not only does Casper ignore the advice, he commits murder. Suffice to say, Sammy doesn't take it too well.

Watch the video after the jump.

Even after TNT granted a reprieve to NBC's canceled 'Southland,' one of its stars is voicing the frustration of a cast member let go.

"I will tell you what, man -- I watched the first episode of the second season before we were canceled," star Shawn Hatosy told us at the premiere of his new drama, 'Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans,' on Wednesday at AFI Fest in Hollywood.

"It was the first time I ever let my guard down, thinking, 'God, the show is going to be on the air forever, it's going to win awards,'" Hatosy said. "I was blown away by the show. Then, two weeks later, we get canceled."

In a jab to NBC's five-times-a-week primetime airing of 'The Jay Leno Show,' Hatosy said, "And to hear that we are replaced by a non-scripted television show was devastating."

Southland, the gritty new police drama from film producer Ann Biderman, puts the spotlight on the dark and grimy corners of Los Angeles as seen through the eyes of uniformed cops and plainclothes detectives. Unfortunately, the series premiere is mired in cop show clichés and forgets to deliver anything we haven't seen before.

The first episode – stream it now or watch it below, a week before it debuts on NBC – owes a lot to NYPD Blue, Homicide: Life on the Street and countless other cop shows that came before it. It's a procedural with a large cast about cops struggling to balance "the job" with their personal lives.

Alicia Silverstone agreed to play the lead role in an ABC comedy, Pink Collar, which is about women's relationships in the workplace. Silverstone was last on television during the short-lived Miss Match on NBC in 2003, unless you count the constant reruns of Clueless on cable. Silverstone had seemed to drop off the face of the earth until she popped up again this year in, of all things, Beauty Shop.

Further proof that Joey won't be returning next fall, Jennifer Coolidge, who plays the agent on Joey (and is wickedly funny), has been cast in the FOX comedy pilot, If You Lived Here, You'd be Home by Now. It's about a bunch of people living in temporary housing in L.A. Let's hope it gets a new name.

Other casting news: