Southland

I think Southland deserves to be considered amongst the great series: The Sopranos, The Wire, Breaking Bad, Deadwood, Better Call Saul, Rome, Dexter, Oz, Lilyhammer, Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones, Ray Donovan and Peaky Blinders. It is also, arguably, the most underrated. It should never have been on NBC, which NBC realized, and then it went to cable at TNT. It flourished creatively, in its 4 seasons there, but never found it's audience. If this show had been on HBO, I think more people would have found it and sung its praises. Even Emmy didn't see what an incredible cast the show had and what brilliant writing it employed. Also, unlike so many long-running series, it's final Season 5 was its best. It was not supposed to be its final Season, TNT decided to cancel it, which only goes to show the unfulfilled promise that lay ahead.

There was not a single bad performance with any cast regulars, but Michael Cudlitz and Regina King stand out, closely followed by Shawn Hattoy and Ben McKenzie. C. Thomas Howell blows it out of the water in a supporting role and Lucy Liu and Gerald McRaney nail it in guest spots. The scenes with Cudlitz and McRaney, S5 E7, Heroes, is the stuff that should be taught in acting classes and should have garnered both Emmy nominations.

Best Season: 5 Best Episodes: Season 5, E7, 8, 9 and 10.

Southland turned out to be better than the ads for it made me believe. The ads seemed a little over the top, heavy handed even, but the show itself worked very well.

Michael Cudlitz's Officer Cooper has that nice combo of jaded and cynical but still obviously caring. His character seemed most likely to be over the top from the commercials, but in the context of the show came across about as close to perfect for the moment as you could ask. Looking forward to more with this character.

Benjamin McKenzie as Officer Ben Sherman also did very good. We didn't learn a whole lot about the character in the Pilot, but that makes sense in the debut as we will most certainly be learning more about him. Well acted by Mckenzie and has a nice rapport with Officer Cooper, that will by nice to watch develop.

Everything else in the show worked, and apart from a couple of moments that didn't quite jibe with the reality of the rest of the episode, makes me optimistic for the rest of the series.

I work in the field, and I was genuinely impressed. Based on the pilot this show looks like it could be excellent. What strikes me is the focus on the very real impact of the job on the officers. In the real world, an officer doesn't fire his or her weapon at another person and then respond in a cavalier way or crack one liners (as you might believe from watching other cop dramas). The normal reaction is actually shock, and a massive adrenaline dump. and it takes time to process and deal with it. And as for language, I agree that I would rather see this show on cable where the realistic language wouldn't have to be bleeped out. Real officers and real bad guys don't say 'shucks and darn'... But bravo for NBC for putting something like this together. Can't wait to see more!

Southland is absolutely one of the best cop dramas to ever be made! There are thousands of cop shows out there to choose from but this is among the best and most original I've ever seen. The cast is excellent and make it a very believable show. It really is one of the more underrated shows in television history!

Southland is one of the best and most underrated police series to ever be put on television! Everyone knows that there are thousands of cop shows out there to choose from but this is among the best and most original I've ever seen. It's a surprisingly fresh take on the cop show genre. Every episode is compelling and will hold your interest. Just read through the reviews to see what people really think of it. The cast is excellent and make it a very believable show. It's just such a gritty and realistic show about cops. It's a shame that it ended when it did because it should of went on for a few more seasons. With all the crap shows they revive these days I'd love to see them bring this show back.