Most abrupt cancellation of the year? NBC cans "Southland"...

J-blk

Ok, I never watched "Southland" last year but read about it getting renewed for a 2nd season despite fairly weak ratings, etc and it was due to come back sometime in January. Apparently, six episodes have already been filmed but now NBC has decided to cancel the show and will not air these episodes:

NBC has decided to cancel Southland! They have finished filming six episodes for season two but NBC suddenly pulled the plug on the show.

...

Another reason fans are going to be ticked off? The show is going to be replaced by another episode of Dateline.

http://www.tvsquad.com/2009/10/08/goodbye-southland/

I mean, WTF? Why did they not just cancel the show last year? To renew it and then cancel it without airing a single episode of the 2nd season has to take the cake for most abrupt cancellation... and I thought FOX was bad .

I just hope this doesn't mean that NBC will do something similar with "Chuck"...

ixoy

Okay that just annoys me - I really enjoyed 'Southland' last year. I'd had a lack of good cop shows and this seemed to be what I wanted. And now? It's cancelled for repeats and "American Idol" et al keep getting renewed?! I hate you US viewers.

User45701

the last good cop show was life replaced by some bollox as well. The new cop show dark blue or deep blue whatever didnt hold my iterest - watched 2 episodes.

im on the hunt for a good cop show as well.

There is one comming out called Cooper i have my eye on

http://www.tvrage.com/shows/id-22464
it could go either way because - From the summary

They're kids with guns

so it could be good dialog/interesting storyor it could just be young hot people in uniform (perhaps both)

pickarooney

I started to like Southland but was a bit puzzled why the first season was so short. I wasn't overly keen on the lack of a main character though, and didn't find any of the individuals engaging enough. It was 50/50 to get my own axe for next season so I'm not too disappointed, but I still think they went about making this in a very cack-handed manner.

jor el

pickarooney wrote: »

I started to like Southland but was a bit puzzled why the first season was so short.

I thought it was just a break, and would be back for the rest of the series soon. The beeping out of bad language (and not ass, but hole getting beeped) was really irritating. I liked the show though, and was looking forward to it coming back.

JP Liz

Southland has been canceled before its second season even started, TVGuide.com has confirmed.
As first reported by THR the NBC and Warner Bros. police drama had been slated to premiere Friday, Oct. 23 at 9/8c. But it shut down production after NBC executives said the show's content was too dark and gritty for broadcast TV, particularly at that hour. It debuted in the spring on Thursdays at 10/9c, the timeslot vacated by ER.
"I'm disappointed that NBC no longer has the time periods available to support the kind of critically-acclaimed series that was for so many years, a hallmark of their success," executive producer and creator John Wells said in a statement. "We remain extremely proud of Southland and are actively looking for another home for the series."
The series' midseason premiere grabbed 9.7 million viewers, but the ratings dropped each week, falling to 6.39 million viewers by the season finale. With Jay Leno occupying the 10/9c slot every weeknight in the fall, NBC pushed Southland to Friday nights.
Production was to stop after six episodes, but no airdates for those episodes have been scheduled.

FFS :mad:

lostexpectation

mischa barton new x-series?

J-blk

At least that got to air a couple of episodes or something - though yes, it did get canceled with a lot less episodes than Southland overall. Still, like I said, even though I didn't watch Southland, I find NBC's whole attitude of canceling it with none of the second season episodes aired simply appalling. They really are moving towards becoming a network of the Jay Leno hour/reality crap and not much more...

JP Liz

I hope another network picks up Southland

Richard Dower

This was handled badly, pulling it before airing an episode?....i hope CTV or someone pickup the 6 that were made. If TV3 or someone picks it up they would have like 13 eps. of Southland....put them out on DVD as a season.

Richard Dower

Curse of The OC?....Barton and McKenzie get both their "breaking" shows cancelled?

Full_Circle

I'm totally floored by this. After just 6 episodes I really started to get into the show and was already gelling with a lot of the characters (despite having such a large cast). The writing, actors and characters were great...........how come this gets ditched when so many other piss poor shows get to live on for years and years?? (sorry, in the spirit of Southland, that should have read: "*beep* poor shows" :P)

Is there any possibility that another network will pick it up instead?

And whats all this nonsense about "too dark and gritty for broadcast TV"? I can name 5 shows off the top of my head that were far darker and grittier........

ixoy

Full_Circle wrote: »

And whats all this nonsense about "too dark and gritty for broadcast TV"? I can name 5 shows off the top of my head that were far darker and grittier........

It would have aired at 8PM in certain US states and would be seen as too "gritty" for that time (remember, their main network stations are quite puritanical). However, it's seen mostly as an excuse by the networks.

Apparently the cast were being told just a week ago that the network well fully behind the show. The first episode of the season was meant to be its best so far and then this abrupt cancellation?

There's quite a lot of anger over this, and not just from fans. Some of the trade magazine's opinion pieces are seeing this as a damning indictment of NBC's drama policy. They've put Leno in the 10PM slot each night meaning that their more adult (maybe smarter) dramas only have a 9PM slot free. Leno is cheaper than a drama and why even bother with any drama if you can show a cheap news show?

They're seriously annoyed John Wells too (the shows producer) who brought them hits such as 'E.R'. (and who fronted 'The West Wing' for its final 3 seasons). He's a powerful voice in Hollywood writing circles and writers will now be very cautious of approaching NBC with a drama given the contempt they clearly show the genre. So it'd potentially lead to even less drama on the network - why risk it?

pickarooney

Full_Circle wrote: »

I(sorry, in the spirit of Southland, that should have read: "*beep* poor shows" :P)

No, in the spirit of Southland that should read piss-*beep* shows

JP Liz

Four days after the abrupt cancellation of sophomore series “Southland” by NBC, chatter intensifies that the gritty cop drama may find a second home at TNT.
TNT was an obvious choice as it shares a corporate parent with Warner Bros. TV, which produces the critically praised series with studio-based John Wells Prods.
But sources on Monday indicated that talks between the two sides are advancing.
“We continually look at all programming opportunities that fit our portfolio of brands,” TNT said in a statement.

fingers crossed