Really, this isn't a huge surprise.

NBC has renewed the new Thursday night police drama Southland for another 13 episodes. The reason why I don't think this is a big surprise is because the show is getting some attention (though the ratings aren't as good as they were when the first episode debuted) and because it's a John Wells, show, and if there's anyone who is going to get a thumbs up from NBC its Wells, who also did ER, The West Wing, and Third Watch for the network. I guess it's interesting that it's 13 episodes and not a full season, but that order could be upped later (or maybe this will become more of the norm, renewing shows with a shorter episode order).

Now, NBC, when you announce which shows you've picked up and which shows aren't coming back on Monday, could you please renew Chuck for another season? Thanks.

I think I'd like Southland a lot more if it just focused on the cops played by Ben McKenzie and Michael Cudlitz. I find myself getting less interested when they cut away from what they're doing. I think Southland should be like a fictional version of Cops, showing the two cops inside the car talking and then going to various calls during the hour. I know, you're thinking, that's just Adam-12. But I really liked Adam-12!

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.

Fans of Standoff, the FOX hostage negotiator drama starring Ron Livingston and Rosemarie DeWitt, were worried when it was announced that the show was moving to Fridays. Now here's more to be concerned about: the show isn't returning at all until the summer.

It was supposed to return in April, but FOX has decided the show won't be back until after the network announces its fall schedule in May. I wonder how this will affect their decision, since the show has been on hiatus for a while and they're not going to know what the summer numbers are until, well, the show airs in the summer. They insist the show isn't canceled, but this can't be seen as a "good" sign, that's for sure. It got pretty good numbers when it was on.

For the record, I thought the show was so-so.