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Southland

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 59 Critic Reviews

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77

USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Ratings

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7.4

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7.4	Your Score
7.4	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Ratings

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Southland

Now Playing: Southland

Southland

Series Details & Credits

NBC | TNT | Release Date: April 9, 2009

Starring: Michael Cudlitz, Regina King, Benjamin McKenzie, C. Thomas Howell, Shawn Hatosy

Summary: This drama puts the spotlight on the lives of police officers living and working in Los Angeles. Southland stars Kevin Alejandro as Det. Nate Moretta, Arija Bareikis as Officer Chickie Brown, Clifton Collins Jr. as Det. Ray Suarez, Michael Cudlitz as Officer John Cooper, Shawn Hatosy as Det. Sammy Bryant, Regina King as Det. Lydia Adams,This drama puts the spotlight on the lives of police officers living and working in Los Angeles. Southland stars Kevin Alejandro as Det. Nate Moretta, Arija Bareikis as Officer Chickie Brown, Clifton Collins Jr. as Det. Ray Suarez, Michael Cudlitz as Officer John Cooper, Shawn Hatosy as Det. Sammy Bryant, Regina King as Det. Lydia Adams, Michael McGrady as Det. Daniel "Sal" Salinger, and Ben McKenzie as Officer Ben Sherman.

Created by Ann Biderman, executive producers are Ann Biderman, John Wells and Christopher Chulack. Southland is produced by John Wells Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.… Expand

Creator: Ann Biderman

Genre(s): Drama, Action & Adventure, Suspense

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Recent Episodes

tbd
S5:E10. Reckoning
Air Date: April 17, 2013
tbd
S5:E9. Chaos
Air Date: April 10, 2013
tbd
S5:E8. The Felix Paradox
Air Date: April 3, 2013

See all Seasons and Episodes

Metascore

77

Positive:

49

Mixed:

9

Negative:

1

Critic Reviews

100

San Francisco Chronicle

David Wiegand

Feb 13, 2013

Season 5 Review: There isn't a better cop show on TV right now than Southland. Read full review

100

Newsday

Verne Gay

Season 2 Review: Here's to a long and fruitful run in the new home. Tuesday night proves exactly why Southland deserves one. Read full review

90

Washington Post

Tom Shales

Season 2 Review: Southland is a show of high caliber and riveting brilliance, instantly one of the finest hours of TiVo-worthy drama anywhere on the tube. Read full review

80

Kansas City Star

Season 1 Review: Southland is built to be bigger, and in that sense it succeeds immediately, thanks to excellent casting (especially Michael Cudlitz and Regina King as a cop and a detective), gritty location shooting around L.A. and storytelling that doesn’t hold the viewer’s hand. Read full review

75

New York Post

Michael Starr

Season 1 Review: Southland has a "Cops"-like feel with jittery, hand-held cameras pointing every which way. Dramamine, anyone?--but it works with the show's you-are-there format. A promising start. Read full review

70

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Rob Owen

Season 1 Review: Of the two new cop shows this week, Southland is the more serious and realistic. It also demonstrates the potential for greater depth in its exploration of characters and their stories. Read full review

37

USA Today

Robert Bianco

Season 1 Review: Southland is unbearable--a pretentious, foul-mouthed, overly arty chore that will leave you with a headache should you linger too long. Read full review

SEE ALL 59 REVIEWS

Write a Review

7.4

User Reviews

10

Nickwasused

Dec 22, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The story begins in season 1 and goes through to season 5. Surprisingly I couldn't tell what's going to happen next, a lot happened surprisingly e.g. the headshot of the Officer in season 5 or the Death of Adams's mother.
The series is from 2009-2013 and it's great to see the people use flip phones in season 1 and migrate to iPhones in seasons 4-5.
Is it realistic? I don´t know but it's not some big **** like a 2 vs. 40 Cartel fight.
Overall good series.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

8

Tss5078

Apr 3, 2020

In 2009, the mind's behind ER, gave the network something they weren't prepared for. A police drama, that was so realistic and ahead of it's time, that the network didn't even know how to promote it. NBC would wind up cancelling it after just 8 episodes, but thankfully someone at TNT sawIn 2009, the mind's behind ER, gave the network something they weren't prepared for. A police drama, that was so realistic and ahead of it's time, that the network didn't even know how to promote it. NBC would wind up cancelling it after just 8 episodes, but thankfully someone at TNT saw it's potential and gave us four more incredible seasons.

Southland is an in depth look at the LAPD, in a way that has never been done before or since. Each episode follows patrol units on the beat, gang detectives on the job, and homicide detectives on the case. More than that, it shows you the kind of situations they come in contact with on a daily basis, as well as the struggles they go through in their personal lives, as a result of what happens on the jobs. The show tackles issues of injury, addiction, family trouble, and even PTSD. Additionally the show was done in such a way that all the language and violence was kept in, only bleeped and blurred for television, something that has since been removed on DVD and streaming, adding to the grittiness and rawness of the series.

Every episode focuses on a different set of cops, but in every episode you will see rookie office, Ben Sherman (Ben McKenzie) and his training officer, John Cooper (Michael Cudlitz). The chemistry between these two is phenomenal and illustrates just how hard it is to become a cop. You witness all the mistakes, close calls, and shocking moments, up close and uncut, in a way that I've never seen done in a television series before. The detective scenes are equally as intriguing with the gang segments being very reminiscent of HBO's The Wire. Additionally, the homicide cases are well written, and the investigations are so detailed, not rushed the way you sometimes see in shows like Law & Order.

The cast is amazing, the writing is top notch, and the show is more real than anything I've ever seen on television, so why did it only last 43 episodes and get cancelled twice? As I said earlier, when it aired, the language was bleeped and the images were blurred, that's not conducive to keeping an audience happy, especially in today's market. Had this show come out 10 years later, they wouldn't have had to do that and things could have been different. Another flaw I find in the series, is the lack of story lines. Anything that happens in the show, rarely goes beyond two or three episodes. This is a bad thing, because there is nothing to keep you watching. With everything resolved so quickly, if a mildly interested viewer wants to stop watching, they can, because they already found out what happened.

The bottom line, if you enjoy police drama, than this is the show for you. It has a little bit of everything, it is by far the most realistic scripted portrayal of the police, that has ever been done on television, and it is loaded with stars. Every episode will have you on the edge of your seat, and if you're anything like me, you won't be able to stop after just one.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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Seasons & Episodes

77

Series Overview
Season 5

86
- Season 5 Overview
  Air Date: February 13, 2013
- tbd
  S5:E10. Reckoning
  Air Date: April 17, 2013
- tbd
  S5:E9. Chaos
  Air Date: April 10, 2013
- tbd
  S5:E8. The Felix Paradox
  Air Date: April 3, 2013
- tbd
  S5:E7. Heroes
  Air Date: March 27, 2013
- tbd
  S5:E6. Bleed Out
  Air Date: March 20, 2013
- tbd
  S5:E5. Off Duty
  Air Date: March 13, 2013
- tbd
  S5:E4. Under the Big Top
  Air Date: March 6, 2013
- tbd
  S5:E3. Babel
  Air Date: February 27, 2013
- tbd
  S5:E2. Heat
  Air Date: February 20, 2013
- tbd
  S5:E1. Hats and Bats
  Air Date: February 13, 2013
- tbd
  S5:E0. Southland: Shooting in Progress
  Air Date: February 4, 2013
Season 4

87
- Season 4 Overview
  Air Date: January 17, 2012
Season 3

80
- Season 3 Overview
  Air Date: January 4, 2011
Season 2

77
- Season 2 Overview
  Air Date: March 2, 2010
Season 1

69
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: April 9, 2009