Update: Additional info via Variety:
Wells and Warner Bros. intend to shop the show to other outlets.
“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,” Wells said in a prepared statement. “We remain extremely proud of ‘Southland’ and are actively looking for another home for the series.”
NBC said it will do its best to air the episodes that have already been shot and that the quality of the show wasn’t a factor in the decision. The show is in the middle of shooting its sixth episode.
–
Southland has been canceled with production being shut down after six episodes according to the Hollywood Reporter. NBC will continue to air Dateline on Fridays at 9pm.
I was a bit surprised by the quick renewal by NBC of the Warner Brothers produced show in May, and I am a bit surprised that it has been canceled before the second season premiere. After screening the early episodes NBC found them “too dark and gritty” for broadcast, particularly at 9pm.
No word on when/if the six episodes that were already filmed will air.
Friday is a night some believe has less competition for The Jay Leno Show, but Friday night is a night of less viewers on broadcast too. Last Friday, The Jay Leno Show only had a 1.4 adults 18-49 rating out of Dateline’s 1.8 rating. Though I do not blame Jay Leno for global warming and everything else wrong in the world, it is certainly conceivable that NBC was worried Southland would provide noticeably less of an 18-49 lead-in than Dateline.
should move to FX
So basically, they’re canceling the show because of Leno? How great is that. -.-’
Hopefully, a cable network will pick it up…
NBC. Wow.
tdot, that’s exactly what I’m thinking… It would be a great fit for the network… The only thing is, they have 6 new shows in development, I don’t know if they have room for one more
Southland never really had a chance with or without Leno at 10pm.
Actually a good decision by NBC on this one. Between the ratings erosion it had last season and the friday time slot, it probably would have bombed (like Parks and Recreation).
Well, Brad, if they aren’t lying and they canceled it because it doesn’t work at 9, then it sort of is Leno’s fault.
Boo I thought the show was good.
I really didn’t think that it would last too long on Fridays at 9:00, but I’m surprised that NBC wasn’t willing to at least give it a chance for 2-3 Episodes.
Can you imagine what would happen if NBC did this to Chuck?
Honestly I think the “Dark and gritty” thing is just an excuse. The show is expensive to make and had lackluster rating after it replaced ER. I think someone at NBC realized they were hemorrhaging money for a show that wasn’t going to succeed already with Trauma. So why toss more cash into the proverbial fire?
WTF?
NBC are you kidding me?!! This was one of the only shows that I was actually excited to see this fall on your network. What are you going to do now, add on another hour for Jay Leno? No wonder nobody watches your network. I hope cable or another network picks up this baby!
well that sucks, I don’t watch the show but BEFORE the Season Premiere? wow.
I’m pretty surprised it got canceled before it even aired some of its season 2 episodes. I didn’t think it would survive after its initial episodes, but still…
I was shocked when I heard this. I was expecting a cancellation, but definitely not before the season premiere aired. NBC didn’t even want to give them a chance…
Also, is this direct proof that Leno did kill a scripted show?
I’m not surprised.
I mean, Dateline & Leno are such a cheap combination with steady ratings (for a Friday) — why mess with that combo? There’s no doubt that “Southland” would have bombed….
I think Southland would be a good fit out of House on FOX. It always seemed more like a FOX show.
WOW
Other then Chuck, I officially watch nothing on NBC now – congratulations. The NBC network is has no idea what it is doing. Hopefully FX or USA will pick it up.
@Julia,
They might be telling the truth and it really is that they think it’s too gritty for 9:00, or they could be saying that because saying “we renewed it too quickly” would be committing the PR sin of admitting they screwed up. Or it could be a bit of both…
I was just thinking last night that it was weird I hadn’t seen any promos yet for its second season. Part of me wondered if NBC was maybe considering moving it to a better slot (i.e. in place of TRAUMA or MERCY) or if the premiere was gonna get pushed yet again. Why else not start promo-ing? Now we know.
I can’t see any other Network picking it up, whether ABC, CBS or Fox based on it’s ratings at the end of last Season.
With 6 Episodes already filmed it probably has a fair chance at being picked up by one of the Cable Channels.
*gasp*
Nooooooooo
I don’t see Cable wanting it either, I may be wrong but it doesn’t really jive with TNT, A&E, or TBS. If USA was going to take it NBC U would have announced that. FX might want it, but I have never seen them pick up Broadcast’s scraps before.
Sell it to TNT and pair it with the Closer – following the Closer. Or how about with Damages or Nip/Tuck on FX? It’s probably too expensive for cable.
Stupid NBC!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please Shut Down NBC! bye!
I see it as PR speak for “I can’t believe they renewed this last year after only three episodes”.
Because… NBC already reaired Southland Season 1 at 8pm during the Summer. So, knowing they were airing an earlier hour, the Southland producers still created content “maturer” than what was designed to air at 10pm last Spring.
Yeah right.
If the rumors of it being an expensive show are true, it’s not going to show up on cable.
Oh yeah, no one will pick it up and the existing episodes will air on Bravo sometime in the winter.
@Spartan – it’s way too dark for USA which has made it very clear that their brand is of the Monk, Pysch, Burn Notice & Royal Pains style.
CW should pick it up
TV Bill; I just posted a clip from the premiere within the last couple of days. I liked it though, it did look dark and gritty. I like dark and gritty though, but I think The Wire is the best TV of the 2000s, though from its small numbers, I can’t blame NBC for thinking “dark and gritty” doesn’t fly on a broadcast network.
I think the thing that may have hurt Southland the most was how well Dateline has been doing compared to Law & Order on Friday. Getting rid of Dateline just wasn’t worth it.
i guess NBC wont want to waste Parenthood /Persons Unknown on friday given how many shows still waiting to in line at the NBC slaughter house.
Seems more like a TNT show. But, again, if the price tag is too high, it’s not going to be on cable.
good point spotupj
spotupj, I think that had to play into NBC’s thinking too.
It would be really nice if NBC took the money they didn’t spend on 7 more episodes and poured it into ordering 5 or 6 more pilots than they were planning to. Spending a ridiculous amount on development is the only way NBC can possibly get out of the mess they are in.
Way to go Leno! Just another reason I hate you and hope your show gets canceled and you sent off the air. Conan and Fallon are so much better than you ever were!
If Chuck wasn’t on NBC, I’d be done with it.
This is ridiculous. I don’t understand why one would pick up a show for a new season and then cancel it before it even has a chance to air.
NBC is an acronym for Now Been Canceled.
I’m hoping FX or USA might pick it up. The writing is fantastic.
I’m not at all familiar with the costs or business of Cable, but wouldn’t it make sense for the Studio that produced Southland to try to get it picked up somewhere, even if they have to offer a significant discount?
Any chance for the 6 episodes already produced to be aired on Saturday night at 10pm?
Lot’s of people were pretty surprised this got renewed.
But cancellation before airing on the premise that it’s too ‘dark and gritty’, when everyone knew it was going to be aired at 9pm is indicative of what a mess NBC is in.
No matter how you cut it this is a $12m-$15m management failure and someone high up should get fired, either for lack of control during current production, for the original renewal or for not shutting down production earlier.
I’m not at all familiar with the costs or business of Cable, but wouldn’t it make sense for the Studio that produced Southland to try to get it picked up somewhere, even if they have to offer a significant discount?
Not if that discount means a loss to the studio. They don’t have to spend any money to not produce it, but if they produce it at a loss, they are basically paying to air it. Why would they do that if there’s no hope of a return? Southland isn’t anywhere near syndication, and hoping to make it all back on DVD sales would be a huge risk.
I think it is abundantly clear that NBC cancelled the show because they feared what would happen if it went up against Dollhouse! They’ve seen the growing signs that Dollhouse will be rising, rising, rising in the ratings!
I remember a time, in that dark, dank, smelly period of Eliza Dushku’s career after Buffy/Angel and before Dollhouse, when FOX picked up Tru Calling for a second season but then cancelled it after six episodes were produced and before any of them had aired! This is just like that! Only this is smarter, because competing against Dollhouse will soon be seen as a foolhardy idea!
Dollhouse! Dollhouse! Dollhouse! Dollhouse rules! Southland drools! Dollhouse!
It could Sunday at 10pm after football and olympics in march
Ha, I was waiting for someone to paint this as a good thing for Dollhouse. JBF did me one better!
Gosh, what has happened to NBC? It used to be my favorite channel back in the day. Personally, I never liked Southland and was surprised when they renewed it. Regardless, I can’t imagine them cancelling before the season even started. Kinda crazy.
Okay, thanks for the response Julia!
If Trauma’s numbers didn’t send heads rolling at NBC I don’t see this doing it either honestly. :p Besides the best way to kill the snake is to chop off the head which might sour the deal with Comcast. :p
So how will you add this to the renew/cancellation index if it never even aired? I guess you can’t huh? Too bad. LOL
Wow – and I was sure that Three Rivers would be the next show canceled before a second airing. Guess NBC beat them to it. The ghost of BS still haunts them.
Nikki Finke posted a really interesting post about the show’s cancellation and NBC’s lineup:
NBC has axed Southland… I hear Trauma is next because of its ridiculouly excessive $3 million pricetag an episode. (When I screened the show, I was rooting for the helicopter to kill off every character…) My NBC insiders are letting Angela Bromstad off the hook, saying “she picked the best of shit” from Ben Silverman’s failed development. “This is the last gift that keeps on giving from Ben Silverman.” The insiders are even going so far as to give up on the rest of the primetime schedule for their network. “There’s nothing watchable the rest of the year.” Even midseason and spring of 2010? “Nothing watchable the rest of the season,” I’m told. “Maybe Jerry Seinfeld’s The Marriage Ref will work, but he’s not even in it. This is not a fun place to be right now. And we committed to Jay Leno on the air for 2 years because he was worried we’d have an itchy trigger finger. It’s an embarrassment for all of us. Maybe he’ll get fed up — he’s not right now — and then we can re-negotiate.” This is beyond sad. It’s the destruction of a brand.
Oh my god. You guys cannot be serious. That report must be false. This show was the only other than the Jay Leno Show that I was looking extremely forward to this season. Of this is indeed true, I will quit NBC. In fact, I think I am going to call NBC and scream at them at the top of my lungs. That’s how much I loved that show.
Now they cxl shows before they air! Are they kidding. I really liked this show. Dark and Gritty! Whats wrong with that. Network tv’s business model is broken and they are really panicing.
chuck
So basically NBC has thrown in the towel on 10pm M-F and for scripted programming on Friday’s as well.
I’m pissed and really disappointed we won’t have a season 2. If I were WB TV, I wouldn’t even let NBC touch the produced episodes for burnoff or being placed on Hulu.
I think WB TV and John Wells should try shopping the show to TNT, which seems to have the biggest programming budget for scripted shows in cable.
Southland’s cancellation is indication that NBC is comfortable with Leno’s ratings. My guess is that Southland and L&O were their fallbacks in case Leno was a failure. It turns out that the network that is taking a beating at 10 pm is ABC.
So Day One has been effectively canceled. Chuck and Parenthood are the only other shows left. Parenthood has not really began filming since they have to recast one of the leads. Chuck could be the next one to be canceled. Or it could return early.
Trauma and Mercy are toasts. They have both been racing to pass Leno to the downside in ratings and the only question is which one first. So here’s my prediction. Chuck returns in early November to its old time slot. Heroes moves back to 9 pm. It has a weaker competition in Lie to Me, so maybe its ratings can tick up some. Chuck is a non-Universal production, so NBC won’t mind throwing it under the bus, or in this case, House. For Wednesdays, NBC will put L&O on at 8 pm. SVU will stay at 9 pm. They can put Howie or some reality show on Fridays at 8 pm, and keep Dateline at 9 pm.
Oh my god, they killed Southland!
I was looking forward to it.
You b@st@rds!
I don’t blame NBC
Southland was unwatchable
Dateline has been doing really well for them on Fridays at 9
nuff said
I was about to ask if this was a new record, being canceled before airing… but the same exact thing happened to Tru Calling. 6 episodes filmed when the call came in to shut production on season 2.
In that case, Fox waited until march to show the episodes….and then yanked the show AGAIN before the last two episodes could air.
Hopefully, we get this on Hulu sooner, or another network picks it up (CW needs shows right?)
Oo! CBS should pick up the show!
Wait, what? Has a network ever ordered a second season of a show and then canceled it BEFORE it was broadcast? You’d think they’d think these things through a little better.
Seems like NBC’s lineup is so crappy they’d at least stick it somewhere.
LOL wtf? Way to give it a chance, NBC. I find their new strategy this season to be lacking. First they cancel (or in their words “cut down”) Day One months before it airs, and now they’re canceling Southland 2 weeks before it premiered. I mean, they couldn’t just wait that extra 2 weeks for it to bomb when they could give a legitimate reason for canceling it instead of “it was too dark”? Come on, do they even watch TV? There are lots of “dark” stuff on TV nowadays. I find it funny how they think a little violence and grittiness is too far but with Heroes there is a lesbian threesome coming up with Claire. It’s like the opposite of normal. Normally movies and whatnot are okay with violence but freak out with sex. Now it’s the other way around.
By the way, who wants to bet they’ll cancel Chuck before it premieres?
NBC has confirmed its penchant for asshattery by cancelling Southland before its second season even started. I’ve come to the conclusion that the chimpanzees running that network have no idea what the f*ck they’re doing.
“Dark and gritty” seems like a crock when “NYPD Blue” ran for 12 years on ABC. 9pm is no more a family hour than 10pm.
Abc and CBS gave me hope when full season oders came out for Good Wife and NCIS and Cougar town Modern Family the Midlle i will stick to ABC and Cbs and cable
I’ve been coming to this site for some while now, not once have I felt the need to post but this is just stupidity beyond belief. Southland is an incredible drama that I really hope gets a home on FX or TNT. Besides the office I will no longer watch anything from NBC. I hope your network goes the way of the cw.
Wow! That was fast!
“Dark and gritty” is at partly (if not completely) an excuse. The show premiered well after the end of ER. The ratings slid each week, sometimes precipitously. NBC figured John Wells, the man behind ER and the West Wing, would fix any problem, so the show was renewed after three episodes.
The renewal made no sense since ratings hadn’t stabilized. They never really did. The next sign of trouble should have been when Southland, the much-ballyhooed ER replacement that got a quick vote of confidence, didn’t premiere in September.
Mercy, Parks and Recreation, SNL Weekend Update and Trauma made the starting fall lineup. Southland didn’t. We know Mercy is a late replacement for Parenthood (get well soon, Maura Tierney). However, Southland wasn’t among NBC’s 10 best hours of programming for 8-10 Monday-Friday. Surely, no one thought that sign was good.
It’s been noted that Law and Order, a show once expected to outlive all of us, is struggling for a mid-1 demo rating on Fridays. Dateline is NBC’s best demo show of the night. Then again, Saturdays are drawing more of an audience so far this fall than are Fridays.
How exactly was Southland going to help the worst evening of television, circa 2009? Besides, if SVU and Cougar Town can air between 9 and 10, why can’t Southland? Add some “parental discretion is advised” warnings and proceed. Might even draw some curious onlookers. West Wing usually aired before 10 so it isn’t like Wells doesn’t know how to create suitable content for the timeslot.
It’s been noted that Southland reruns aired at 8 p.m. this summer. Surely, NBC won’t try to tell us that fall viewers are more sensitive than are summer viewers. Well, the network may try but we shouldn’t believe it.
No, NBC simply shouldn’t have renewed Southland in the first place. After a strong start, the ratings slid and haven’t stopped yet. Commissioning a second season of the show was a bad idea. Airing the second season would be a worse idea.
Wow, this sure does make me nervous about a certain post-Olympics show that was barely renewed last season. Isn’t is really unusual to cancel a show that has been renewed before it begins airing again?
Is it obnoxious to point out who was the only person to put Southland on their worry list?
Southland was brilliant and fresh. It was a breakout from the rest of these redundant, scripted shows in prime time that have gotten stale before their expiration dates. It’s not about the quality, but money these days with these people. As long as the majority of the masses are into it, even if its crap like music is these days, it stays. I am really hoping for Southland to get picked up by someone else, because this is too good of a talent to get wasted by the money-grubbing roaches at NBC.
Craiguk, you’re right on the mark.
For anyone who thinks this is a wise move by NBC, nope sorry, this was a complete failure of thinking last spring by NBC. This is worse than canceling a new show – NBC knew what the show was, they already had the ratings and all the research material, and they knew their schedule situation at 10 before the show went into production for season 2. No wonder GE wants to dump this white elephant.
BTW, can we subtract the millions lost on this from the money they claim to be making off Leno?
My gut says that Trauma moves to Friday. And Chuck either takes it’s spot. Or they move Heroes back to it’s original spot and Chuck back to 8:00.
First Mischa then Ben, The OC alums are not doing well
FIRST DAY ONE AND NOW THIS!!!
maybe if they had just kept Silvermann non of this would have happened, but then again they probably would have fallen to 6th place, below telemundo
I say let them finish fliming Chuck. Then if they cancel it at least they will have all the episodes ready for DVD.
Also NBC said they loved the first four episodes of Chuck so I doubt they are giving up on it just like that.
This is the only show on the network that people are actually excited about seeing. I think if they cancelled this show then they would literally cause a riot.
“Southland” deserved to have at least one episode air before it got dumped…I feel like I did when Fox cancelled Tru Calling before the 2nd season aired. That is so crappy…
They really should have tried Southland in place of Tramua or Mercy if they couldn’t make it work on Fridays just to see if it would do better.
I am kind of enjoying NBC falling apart but I do feel for the fans.
Tom, lol. Nope. I made the mistake of only worrying about shows that have already aired! Maybe next week “V” will join the list even though it’s still several weeks away from premiering!
Agent Chuck,
Where did NBC say they were pleased with the 4 episodes of Chuck?
Chuck better not return early. They haven’t even release the s2 dvd set yet—which probably won’t be release until a couples weeks before its s3 premiere date.
Chuck is a goner if it returns early. NBC is in a dump right now and whatever unestablished show comes on will just drown in the toxic quicksand.
JBF, you’ve got a great idea! Since everybody thought Southland would air at 9pm on Friday, FOX can pick it up, put it in the same timeslot and cancel Dollhouse!
How loudly must Patricia Arquette and Glenn Gordon Caron be laughing when they read this?
@Dingo–great breakdown of the Southland “premature pickup”–NBC seemed so eager to push the “John Wells has done it again!” storyline they completely obscured the fact the ER finale was practically innudated Southland ads and spots in addition to the other points you made.
What the hell. Why did NBC axe this series??? It didnt even premiere yet.
I remember reading some tweets but I cannot locate it.
Well here is from one of the editors on Chuck. So they loved 3.01 and I am sure it only gets better. So that person who posted that is BS. Also Ali Adler head writer and executive producer said this is the best season yet.
OK #chuck fans. The network notes are in. NBC loved 301. I meet with composer and sound team to discuss the final mix in 2hrs.
5:30 PM Sep 16th from web
WTF!?! NBC will not cancel Chuck before it can see how Chuck would perform. Heck it can’t do much worst than what Heroes is doing in the 8pm time-slot.
Other shows will get the axe before Chuck does: Mercy, Trauma, P&R, and maybe even Heroes~~~NBC can’t possibly like its quality or even its sinking ratings.
They didnt even try airing this series. And they think its too dark and gritty for broadcast. This is one of the dumbest things NBC has done. If I had read “Parenthood Cancelled” it would have made sense because they have had trouble casting the role that Maura Tierney played. If I read “Dollhouse Cancelled” that would have made sense because its rating sucked. But Southland. WTF!!!??? Let the standards decide whats too dark for broadcast, not NBC.
I blame The Beautiful Life. NBC couldn’t handle CW cancelling a show after 2 episodes so they had to set a standard.
This is not good. I really enjoyed Southland. Although I don’t blame Jay personally, NBC’s schedule has been ruined because of that damn show. I knew this was going to happen.
Thanks Agent Chuck! Good to see NBC likes Chuck.
I hope The CW does pick it up and put it on Fridays at 9 PM just to show off. But in all honesty while The CW is in an all female demo mode I don’t see that happening unless a show rates high in the female demos. Fox could pick it up so they can axe Dollhouse.
NBC really is disappointing me, Southland was one of the few broadcast shows I started watching (along with The Mentalist) last year. Once they cancel Law & Order: SVU I won’t be watching NBC except for America’s Got Talent.
In a way I am hoping that Simon Cowell starts to shop it to another network that rates higher than NBC. I am sure Fox would love to have it and they could make it better. Because once AGT is off NBC I won’t have a single reason to watch them.
Oh I can see where NBC would burn off the remaining six episodes, Saturdays @ 10 PM when L&O SVU is in repeats on Wednesdays.
@Robert: “Maybe next week “V” will join the list even though it’s still several weeks away from premiering!”
I already consider it canceled. You don’t completely stop production for months to see how the episodes do if you have any faith the in the product. (See also Day One.)
Nick said: “I think Southland would be a good fit out of House on FOX. It always seemed more like a FOX show.”
I expected NBC to put Southland in that time-slot, after week 2, where Lie to Me’s premiere dropped 6 million viewers out of House.
But NBC has its own ideas.
if V gets cancelled before it airs i will go ape shit
The only cable network that I think can realistically afford Southland is TNT.
How about this:
Either cancel Raising the Bar or Dark Blue and then you will have the money for Southland?
I liked Dark Blue, but I enjoyed Southland more and wouldn’t mind it getting the axe in favor of this and I think it would be perfect as a 13 episode cable series.
a move to TNT would make sense considering both TNT and Southland are owned by Warner
Nooooooooooooo, not my V! *throwing myself on V*
Seriously, is it any wonder I’ve given up American tv? Long live the BBC!
Josh – While CW wont pick it up, its possible that NBC will air it saturdays or USA might pick it up. I feel sorry for Southland. I honestly think airing against Dollhouse, Medium and Ugly Betty, Southland would have got second.
tdot – My biggest fear is that V will be axed after its first 4 episodes. I dont think it will get axed before premiering. ABC should have aired all 13 eps of this at midseason. Its airing against NCIS, SYTYCD and Biggest Loser.
With Southland axed, that leaves Parks and Recreation as NBC’s sole series renewed from last season. Coincidentally Parks is also NBC’s lowest rated series this season. This variety article http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118009738.html?categoryid=14&cs=1 says NBC will do its best to air all 6 episodes, but that just means a saturday burnoff. I can see axing a bad series, but one that performed well?
NBC….Nothing But Crap
Don J & tdot – Raising the Bar is likely to get a third year, and Dark Blue is likely to be axed. Southland airing their could make sense, but with so many new series who knows if TNT will pick it up.
NBC Nothing but Chuck
My God. Is this network in the death throes or what? Like someone else said, Ben Silverman’s failures are still looming over the network even after he’s been fired.
My condolences (if that’s the right word) to the Southland fans.
Anyway, do we know what’s going to happen to the six produced episodes if no other network looks to pick the show up?
Wow, this is stupid… Cancel a show you renewed after 6 episodes were done and all that, before the premiere… No wonder the network is heading into the Abyss. Day one, now that. Its a shame NBC won the new spy show from J.J Abrams. They’re just gonna destroy it… If they ever air it. Maybe they’re gonna can it before it even starts…
CBS should have ad this new spy show, at least the chances of being successful would be there.
Ah well, there is not much worth watching on NBC
HA HA HA! The one good show NBC has.
Those guys have NO IDEA, I want to use an F word here but will refrain, how to run their network. I hope someone cancels NBC.
Goondess gracious. They know nothing. A year ago I was saying that the creative bolster that this show added to their network might lead to their redemption.
Conan is now the only thing I watch on NBC.
I really liked Southland. This sucks. It’s not like NBC didn’t know the show was gritty when they put it out there. I am so over this.
I finally get into a TV show, and it’s canceled. Figures.
However, when NBC announced the show was going to Fridays at 9, I knew it was pretty much screwed. But, the “too gritty” excuse is garbage. They knew what they were getting into when they made Leno weeknights at 10.
Oh, one other thing…maybe now another network will pick it up so I can finally hear the dialogue without the bleeps!
Don j I liked what you said, cancelling raising the bar and dark blue to get southland would be awesome. I absolutely love dark blue, but between dark blue and southland, southland gets the nod
I’m sure someone said this already, but Leno’s first victim. Granted never watched Southland..upset about LIFE still
I’d forgotten about the J. J. Abrams deal.
I hope his contract people have a minimum number of airings penalty clause in the contract. Personally I would rather shelve an idea for now then get NBC to commit to it. I’m pretty sure in 12 months there will be a totally new management team running NBC.
NBC – No Broadcasting Competence
Chief – NBC said they will air Southland likely 10pm saturdays.
Agent Chuck – Thats funny since Chuck isnt even on the schedule. Chuck has a better chance of coming back because of this. Look at it this way.
Law & Order – Possibly final season but its likely to return 10-11
Law & Order SVU – Returning 10-11
Heroes – NBC should cut this series loose.
Chuck – Hasnt premiered yet but could get a fourth year.
Southland – Gone
Mercy – Slim chance of getting a second year
Trauma – No chance of returning a second year
Chuck is now the youngest returning drama from NBC.
Cop dramas are the mythical Hydras of television.
Looking at the “Worrying Wednesday” topic here, 5 of the 10 in danger are either cop or hospital dramas. So many more will fall.
The closest to that genre I’m watching is Fringe, which was freaking awesome tonight btw.
I doubt another network picks up Southland, but if they did, could they recast so that it’s not an all-white police force?
So, I’ve been spoiled by The Wire.
NBC will do very good Midseason when The Celebrity Apprentice 3 comes back on Sundays nights at 9-11pm. This, Law and Order SVU, and The Office are all great shows and NBC is a great network. I think Celebrity Apprentice 3 will average 9 or 10 million viewers this season and eventually return to its regular format in the future.
Remember there’s someone new in charge at nbc programming that wasn’t there when Southland was renewed.
I think the guy is just cleaning up the mess left behind by Silverman and in a few cases like this it might make the company look like it is reversing itself. But he needs to do what he needs to do and not worry about appearances like that.
no i was looking forward to this show. Cancel it without airing one episode? thats not fair
The problem is NBC needs dramas. With their half year schedule and regular Law & Order only having 16 episodes, SVU is now the only NBC drama expected to air the whole season. This gives Mercy a better chance at a full year.
too dark and gritty? is that code for ‘good television’? nbc was so unfamiliar with such a product it’s understandable they would knee-jerk drop it
I’m surprised they cancelled Southland. I would have cancelled Trauma and put Southland in its slot-it couldn’t possibly do worse,could it?
a big boo to censorship!
“TOO dark and gritty”? how about instead of imposing their taste on us, they’ll let us decide?
I miss the NBC of the good ol’ Homicide days.
The only show worth watching on TV. A true heir to NYPD Blue, Hill Street blues. Something for and with people who think, breath, live. NBC, this is stupid. I am now officially despising this network.
Didn’t watch Southland, but definitely concerned about the well being of all other shows NBC. Looking back over the years, I think I always watched NBC more and thought it was a better network. The last few years have changed. While I’m not a fan of Leno taking over 5 hours of prime time, I’m certainly not wishing for its demise. With NBC continually in last place in the demos, they need some way to earn $$, or all of its scripted shows will disappear.
I’m hoping the sponsorship deal Subway made with NBC is enough $$ to make them consider giving Chuck a shot instead of canceling it early. Despite a lot of mistakes NBC has made, I’m really glad they gave Chuck a chance! It is definitely my favorite show.
I follow Michael Cudlitz on Twitter and he wrote “@missiemeghan we are still in production. The shows are very, very good………… They have broken thier word. I should know better.” they are still in production at the moment – pic http://twitpic.com/ksfwr
YES! I’m happy. Shoulda done as originally planned and had Kings replacing ER.
So I’m happy this show got cancelled.
Call me a bitter Kings fan.
It’ll go to TNT or USA.
I bet Community repeats is going into it’s former timeslot.
I agree with everyones comments. Its one thing when you cancel a series that did performed badly, (My Own Worst Enemy, Crusoe, Knight Rider Lipstick Jungle, Kings, Merlin, The Listener, The Philanthropist) or axe a series is axed due to episode amount disputes(Medium), but its another thing to cancel a series that had the best premiere in 2 years because of how the network feels about the content. If the FCC allows Southland to air at 9, than who cares. NBC has made some stupid moves in the past, but this is where I draw the line. Seriously, they wouldnt even test the series out.
These are NBC’s now only returning dramas
Law & Order
Law & Order SVU
Heroes
Chuck
2 of these series have aired since the 90s as part of a successful franchise (Law & Order and L&O SVU). 1 series started out great but has falled drastically (Heroes), and the other series is low rated but has a big fan base (Chuck). Additionally everyone expects Law & Order to end after this season and Chuck not even to continue. I cant tell whos doing worse overall for their network NBC or CW.
@Dan:
tdot – My biggest fear is that V will be axed after its first 4 episodes. I dont think it will get axed before premiering. ABC should have aired all 13 eps of this at midseason. Its airing against NCIS, SYTYCD and Biggest Loser.
You are totally right. It should have waited until midseason. This way it can air against NCIS, Biggest Looser, and American Idol.
Moving it to November was a wise move by ABC. It can build up it’s fanbase before the Idol beast comes back.
Dan, Southland’s finale last year got a 1.9 in the demo and less than 6 and a half million viewers. It should have never been renewed in the first place.
Congratulations, NBC…
Your new slogan –> “More Colorful” <– is paying handsome dividends in the language flying around on this post
RE: Cancellation. Not surprised. Ratings did not justify the renewal in the first place. Someone mentioned in an earlier post that this might be a housecleaning by the new staff. If so, and if the new staff is cleaning house, there might be other holdover shows getting the gimlet eye as well for a fast trip to the abyss.
RE: Cancel Chuck before it airs — Sure, why not? It might be interesting to read the first 27,500+ commented blog post in TVBTN history. Might be interesting to see how the servers hold up. Might even learn some new words.
RE: "After screening the early episodes NBC found them “too dark and gritty” for broadcast, particularly at 9pm".
o.0
0.o
Ummmm… the dog ate my homework while I was helping the kids to school and back through a blizzard uphill both ways?
Previous posts above rightfully highlight and question this nonsensical statement quite well so I won't add anything except this question — does a "family hour" even exist on television anymore?
I think you folks need to start a WTF!?!? Weekly column as well if these sorts of events are going to become the norm.
Southland was (yes “was”) more suited for audiences of Hill St, NYPD Blue, and even ER eras. It was gritty and realistic (for a TV show). It didn’t have a chance with today’s CSI-influenced gloss-over of police dramas. Audience tastes have changed. This was an expensive mistake.
Heradite – It will likely air 4 episodes to OK ratings. Then it will return midseason and everyone will forget about it. V is a series that should have been aired from the start of the season continuously.
Michael – Southland did better than all of NBC’s other new dramas. Especially at 10. Its season finale also aired after NBC repeats and most people probably thought the season was over. The point is the series had a better chance of developing and getting better than any other series. It was the one glimmer of hope from the season of failures.
And NBC didnt even axe the series due to ratings. It was because of the show’s content which was an even worse reason. They seemed to have such a problem with moving SVU to 9:00 also. 9-10 is not a bad slot, especially on fridays. But they figure dateline would do better then. NBC cant launch a new drama in any 10pm slot so they solved that problem with Leno, yet they didnt consider the good series that aired at 10 that would have to be moved up.
Didn’t like the show but the ratings were better than a lot of their shows at that time slot…
And NBC is leaving Chuck & Heroes on? Those shows are tanking and are staying on. Lame.
NBC has killed two of my favorite shows of all time – Boomtown and Life, before they should have. I am still was mad at NBC for they way they treated Boomtown. I only started watching Chuck after it finished its first season, because I got told how great it was, but I stayed away because it was on NBC, Southland just looked really good (and the cast was great) and I watched Life with my girlfriend and got hooked. I try to stay away from NBC because they are horrible with the way they treat shows. I would rather there be crap on that I know I will not watch like CSI: Montreal or whatever, then something that looks interesting that will be not be given a chance or treated decent by a network. If a show gets Dollhouse numbers – I understand it getting cut, but man I just am sick of NBC.
M – Apparently NBC keeps low rated series that have a big fan base but not ones that actually do well in the ratings. Theyre starting to sound like The CW.
Spartan – In all fairness Life got a second chance and couldnt hold up. I wished it would have stayed but NBC couldnt keep it around anymore.
It’s clear right now that NBC needs to stop worrying about the prime-time demos and put on some shows that draw eyeballs – regardless of age. The late-night shows are all good. Sunday Night Football is good. Today Show is good. NBC News does well. What’s going to really start killing them are affiliate 11:00 PM news ratings – with Leno leading in – and the overall lack of numbers. So, they need to good shows – period. Leno has shown so far that some nights of the week, it does well, other nights, horrible. Great, how about making it a 2-hour block on Fridays and maybe a standard 1-hour another night Mon-Thurs? They need to get some good dramas back at 10:00 PM to bring eyeballs back to 11:00 PM news. And, they need eyeballs to promote the other shows.
Right now, they’re in a death spiral. Every week show is amplifying every other week show. Who cares if the age group skews old, a good show at 10:00 with 12 Million views is worth more right now than a show with only 6 Million viewers with a better demo.
I liked Southland, I thought it was well written and I liked the cast. I like Chuck. I also liked “Raines”, “Life”, “Journeyman” and “Studio 60″. Now, “Studio 60 basically killed itself with the expensive cast and massively overtly liberal politicking left and right (and I’m a liberal and found it tiresome). But the others, all were victims of bad NBC management and the writers’ strike, which blew the 1st seasons of “Life” and “Chuck” and some of the others.
If NBC does not have a good breakout hit in the next season and a half, they’re basically going to be Fox circa 1993. A few good comedies, and some middling hour-long shows, with some reality crap TV thrown in. A pure mess, and this from the network that 10-15 years ago could do no wrong.
Southland was a great 1 hour drama. It had a lot of great things going for it. Cool cinema verité photography, great writing and a realistic portrayal of day to day police work. It was like NYPD Blue meets Training Day. Like a Good Guy version of The Shield.
Not to mention it was shot in LA which brought much-needed day player, co-star and guest star jobs on a one-hour drama back to Hollywood at a time when LA’s economy has been stricken with several labor disputes in a row.
I, for one, will miss it. I watched every episode and enjoyed every one of them.
Spartan – I’m with you on Boomtown. Loved that show. NBC pulled the rug out from under that WAY too quickly.
Wow that show performed way better than Chuck!
They should have canceled Chuck rather than Southland
NBC is so stupid, ordering a 2nd season and then pulling out the plug weeks before the premiere.
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CRAP!!!! It was one of my favorite shows from last season.
@ ABCFanatic2009,
Chuck was in a much tougher time slot and still performed better in the demos. Southland had more overall viewers, but those matter less than the demo numbers. Here are the numbers for the finales for both shows:
8:00
NBC Chuck 2.2/6 5.95
8:30
NBC Chuck 2.5/7 6.28
10:00
NBC Southland 2.0/6 6.390
Further, Subway is a major financial supporter of the new Season. I’m sorry that the show that you liked was canceled, but that’s no reason to blame Chuck. If you’re going to blame anyone, it sounds like Dateline is the one to blame.
And NBC of course. Ordering a S2 and then canceling it before airing any Episodes really was a dumb move.
When I first read over the summer they were going to ‘retool’ the show’s format a bit I knew they were in trouble. Not that the original format worked very well, but it sounds like the network’s continued meddling made the new version of ‘Southland’ completely FUBAR and the merciful thing was to pull the plug before the show could air.
I think it’s time for the FCC to step in. NBC is an institution in broadcast television and as a brodcast network it probably needs to be treated as a national monument and deserves special historical protection. That means the FCC should step in and forcibly remove Jeff Zucker as the head of the network before NBC goes completely bankrupt and is forced to cease transmission.
I’d like to 3rd the “Boomtown” support!
“Boomtown” was darn good and easily one of NBC’s best shows of the last decade. It and ABC’s “Line of Fire” are probably my two favorite ‘cop shows’ of recent years.
Oops,
I meant to say my two favorite ‘cop shows’ of recent years on one of the 4 Networks.
I predict the only scripted drama on NBC in the near future will be SVU…And even that sucks.
I think a lot of people are avoiding NBC shows because they figure there’s no point in watching anything that will be cancelled within two seasons.
NBC is going down the toilet in a massive way – can’t see how they can continue like this for much longer without going under completely.
I never saw Southland but they should have at least given it one aired episode to see how it did.
I wonder if NBC regrets canceling Kath and Kim– I know it wasn’t a good show but its ratings weren’t any worse than some of NBC’s slumps this year. And I bet it was a lot cheaper.
You know, I didn’t love Southland, but I didn’t hate it, I don’t know what nbc is thinking lately but I think they are making wrong moves, the whole Leno thing is a mistake, I have never known anyone who thought Leno is the funniest or best of the late night talk show host, He is not the reason anyone watched him. I think the only reason he beat Dave all those years is because the tonight show had a built in audience of older viewers from Johnnys day. well now those people are really old and leno is not funny, his new show is not drawing big numbers, so why are they canceling shows in favor of him? loosing Southland is not going to break my heart, but canceling Earl really pissed me off, I swear if it wasn’t for the Office I’d swear off nbc right now, cause they are stinking up the joint.
Stupidity of some of the comments is astounding.
Actually it didn’t have better ratings than Chuck, save first 2 episodes, after that it was below and quite so. You are forgetting it was airing against soft competition and after quite succesfull show and yet by episode 6 it dropped below 5 million viewers. Episode 7 picked up a bit but it was because everything else was in repeats and yet it only managed do 1.9 demo.
Btw Chuck finale got 6.2 million viewers and 2.4 demo in finals.
Its quite clear that MBC does not respect the viewers it has and all they care about is protecting their investment in the Leno show. I believe its time for America to let their voices be heard in this situation. We should all not watch ANY show on NBC and see how they like that.
AO, finaly an other person who watched Line of Fire. It was such a great show with a very strong cast (especialy Jack Bauer’s wife and that chick from Popular).
Do you know why it never aired all 13 episodes?
next headline will probably be NBC cancels Parenthood or NBC delays parenthood to next season i’m just happy all 13 episodes of Persons Unknown have been filmed though that show was originally shot for cable and is probably even darker than southland
at best Parenthood will have like a 6 episode season or something seeing that they dont even have a pilot was a lead they still have and they are have huge trouble recasting her (Helen Hunt turned it down)
TomKH, Hi!
Yeah, it was indeed a great show and Leslie Bibb was the name of the actress from Popular.
I wasn’t spending any time at TV ratings sites back then, so I can only assume that it was canceled due to poor ratings or ABC wanting to go in a different direction. I heard that they aired the 12th & 13th Episodes later on, but unfortunately I missed them.
Someone else around here might know more, but asking about it here in the middle of this thread might not be the best place to find the answer.
Perhaps that might make a good column for this site though? A weekly article where we ask Bill or Robert to check into why an older show was canceled?
If I were John Wells or Warner Bros TV, I wouldn’t let NBC get their hands on any of those 6 episodes for some thankless Saturday burnoff during the holidays or sending them to Hulu.com. As much as I want to see the produced episodes, I think they are better off finding a new network that will appreciate the show and give it a chance. NBC flat out lied and broke their promises to the producers and cast of this show.
This turn of events doesn’t bode well for Parenthood, which was also greenlighted under the Ben Silverman regime.
I mean they still need to re-shoot the Pilot and at the rate they are going, I don’t think Jason Katims and his crew can get 13 episodes produced in time…they may end up producing a reduced order.
I’m totally disappointed… it’s incredible!
I wonder if part of the reason that NBC did this is the cost of promotion? The cost to promote TV shows and movies is exorbant & often times equal to or greater than the cost of production! NBC is getting decent ratings with their existing Dateline/Leno Friday combination, so I can see them questioning the value of changing that line-up & pumping $$ into promoting a show that was bleeding viewers in it’s first season. That’s just one potential factor…others include Leno taking up the ‘gritty’ 10pm hour & the fact that Ben Silverman was too quick to renew Southland to begin with. I think this is a business decision for NBC and while I can respect that and understand it given the economy and poor health of the network this season, they’re also going to lose a lot of goodwill with fans & critics. This decision will impact the propensity of viewers to trust in NBC’s development abilities…people will be scared to invest in their brands and properties and I don’t know how much further NBC’s past reputation can carry them through this dark time.
What shocks me the most about this…is the timing? Why, oh why, would you send out this press release on the night of the big Jim/Pam Wedding episode of the Office?? This is one of the few bright spots NBC had in their fall schedule. It just seems odd to do a rain dance on the same day you’re throwing a parade. Is there a legal reason or something that they couldn’t wait until tomorrow…or Monday…we all expect bad news on Mondays.
at least they’re getting good reviews for Persons Unknown
Nothing beats watching a big idea unfold onscreen and “Persons Unknown” is definitely a big idea. The show is a balls-to-the-wall mystery from the start and it doesn’t ever look back. Sure the concept isn’t unprecedented (“The Cube,” the “Saw” films) but the idea of exploring it in a weekly television series is something not seen in quite some time (since, as readers have pointed out, “The Prisoner” – which is also the focus of an AMC remake due later this year). And while usually it’s a bad sign when you don’t know how the show will work from week to week, here it’s a breath of fresh air. Literally anything can happen from this point and there’s definitely a “can’t wait for episode two” feeling after the premiere’s final reveal. The overall twists are in general a lot of fun, as concepts like the shotgun, the implants, the Chinese restaurant, etc. all come out of nowhere and nicely shake things up.
It’s also a testament to McQuarrie and company that after 42 minutes and change of no clues, just a few words in the final beats can sate the audience’s hunger for answers. Nearly all the characters are also wisely given moments of empathy and menace as we’re never really sure who’s in on the con or if in fact there is one going on. Wiles’s Joe perfectly embodies this as his open skepticism about who everyone is coupled with his unwillingness to share anything about himself actually makes him appear all the more trustworthy. All in all, whatever the crazy rationale turns out to be for locking seven people in a ghost town, it should be a fun ride figuring it out.
from the futoncritic
Congratulations, “Southland,” on joining the ranks and files of the likes of “Fire Co. 132″ (nee “LA Firefighters”), “Tru Calling,” “The Loop,” “Muppets Tonight,” “Frank’s Place,” “Ladies Man” and “Baby Bob.”
Oh, well, after that argument I got into here last April with those two terminally-stupid people over the “success” of this show, I feel vindicated.
Sean G, yes, they are still in production, for episode 6. Like the Variety article says, they’ll shut down production after episode 6.
Here’s the url again: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118009738.html
I am totally disappointed about this – I was so curious about season 2.
In my opinion the ratings of the show dropped a little bit since it all went pretty fast during the first season, because they tried to tell so many different stories in only seven episodes.
As Ben McKenzie said, they planned to slow it down in season 2 and focus attention on the main characters, such as Ben Sherman.
It is a pity that we will not see this, or at least not in the near future.
I think CBS should give it a shot. It could be something that could help the net change its identity a little. This looks like a pretty good Sunday schedule for midseason:
60 Minutes
Cold Case
Flashpoint
Southland
I can see the logic of the cancellation, L&O SVU moved to 9pm and promptly lost 30% of it’s audience, L&O moved to Friday and lost 40% of it’s audience. With the double whammy Southland was looking at a 50% loss and numbers in the Dollhouse range. Add to that the fact that there was no way NBC was going to do another advertising campaign like the one they did last year for Parks and Southland, for about a month last spring it seemed every second ad on NBC was for one of those shows. Of course this should have been apparant to them last year when the renewal decision was made, but those were different people who were reluctant to admit that their massive promotion campaign had failed, it seemed easier at the time to call it a sucess and renew the show.
At least the actors got paid to film these unaired episodes.
Dan- the episode before the finale got less than 5 million viewers and a 1.6 in the demo. EVERYONE agreed that renewing Southland was a mistake.
Bring back Chuck on Wednesdays nights and give them a back nine. I think Chuck could actually place second on Wednesdays (based on the current competition). Not sure when JJ Abrams new spy show will be ready, but that might make for a nice one-two punch in their lineup.
But wait, that would imply that NBC would have to actually promote Chuck, which history has shown they don’t do well. My advice to NBC: hire the company that did the ads for Virgin 1’s showing of Chuck in England. They are great!
i hope they move it to USA.The show deserves Cable or some life on TV.
I wonder, if NBC do air the episodes already shot, and if the ratings are surprisingly good, whether NBC could uncancel the show.
For viewers of critically-acclaimed shows, with just a few exceptions left, the networks can be safely ignored.
There’s really no market for downer shows on the major nets (or the major cable ones), and really hasn’t been for years. The real question is why they renewed it in the first place. The timing of the cancellation is interesting: NBC is cleaning house, post-Silverman, and prior to a Comcast deal. I can’t see anyone else picking up Southland. It’s the kind of show that should have gone either to one of the pay cablers or FX.
I have to agree if NBC is going to give up on producing “dark and gritty” shows which would need to air at 10 PM because of Jay Leno then they are admitting they have given up. I remember when NBC took pride in the critically acclaimed shows they had and let them have time to build an audience. Apparently those days are gone.
I think it would be a hoot if another network, say Fox or ABC, picked up Southland and it became a hit for them!!!
They leave Trauma and Mercy on. Leno 5 nights a week. They need to dump LENO. DUMP Trauma and Mercy and Leave Southland on. Southland is a great drama gritty and dark is why we watch shows like this. I hope that it goes to USA or another cable channel. Someone at NBC programming needs to wake up.
One of the few smart moves NBC has made in years. Friday night is owned by CBS. By the end of its ‘first’ run a few months ago, both demo and
total viewership were all but in a free fall. Re-working the show might have helped, but it needed at night for airing, and Friday certainly wasn’t it.
Julia: I think your comment, regarding too quick to renew, is right on the money!
I wouldn’t say that CBS owns Friday nights. Dateline is a lot cheaper to produce than Medium and its ratings aren’t too far off from Medium’s.
The biggest problem I see for NBC is that producers with quality, adult, scripted dramas will avoid NBC because they will realize it is useless to shop these types of shows to that network. Soon enough NBC will only be broadcasting Leno, Dateline, football and the ocassional sitcom.
The cancellation doesn’t surprise me, as the show was bound to be canceled once the ratings came in for the second season. What surprises me is that NBC has gone out of their way to create a PR nightmare for themselves. They could have canceled Southland in a few weeks due to terrible ratings, and the internet would have shrugged its shoulders and moved on. Instead, they call the show “too dark and gritty,” which immediately translates to “too complicated and interesting” for most people.
Is NBC really dumb, or was this PR nightmare intentional for some reason?
Amy,
Much as I’d like to see a move away from Mondays where it will struggle against House again, I think the best move for Chuck at this point is for NBC to stick to the plan and air as scheduled. Combine heavy promotion during the Olympics, picking up the day after closing ceremonies, and a strong premier (as opposed to the lackluster 3D ep after the Superbowl) and you have a lot of potential for growth.
As far as Southland, add me to the list of people who were surprised it was picked up in the first place. Southland was venting viewers at a ridiculous rate even before the renewal. NBC really jumped the gun on the pickup.
That said, it’s still absurd that they cancelled it before they even gave it a chance this season. Would it have done any better? Probably not, but it at least deserved the benefit of the doubt.
People stop fooling yourselves about your beloved Chuck… Season 3 is DOA…. Can anyone say summer burnoff?
what?!? are you freaking kidding me? you’re cancelling Southland while Heroes is still on the air?!?!?!?!!? WAKE UP, THIS IS THE NEXT STEP FOR YOU GUYS!
I was surprised when they renewed it, but I’m shocked that they canceled it before it even aired this season. I never thought it was a good fit for network television, especially a 9/8c timeslot. The show would probably do really well on a cable channel.
Kenny-Southland got a 1.9 in the demo with its last episode. Heroes got a 2.4 with its last episode. 2.4 > 1.9.
Jamie Chuck is not DOA. Trust me you will be steaming mad when Chuck comes back getting it’s familiar 2.4-2.7 ratings.
Then come back and talk some smack. Hater.
Like alot of others have said, Southland shouldve never been renewed in the first place. I appreciate that Silverman was trying to give the show a chance but we were all shocked when it got a 2nd season with the downward spiral the ratings had.
Now it just looks like NBC crunched the numbers and realized they should just pull the plug now before losing any more money. Its really crappy to let the cast and crew start production and then call them and say shut it down. It wouldve been better to just cancel it back in May so everyone involved couldve move on with their careers.
Agent Chuck, every other NBC show has been down this year, so Chuck will probably be down as well. That being said, if Chuck gets at least a 2.1, it should have no problem being renewed, since all of NBC’s dramas are doing horribly this year.
Geez…this is pretty shocking, even for NBC. Too bad. I do think it would be a good fit on a network like FX and MAYBE TNT…but I have a feeling no one is going to pick it up.
I was looking forward to see more Southland this season. It is unlike just about any show airing on the old traditional “dinosaur” networks. It is like what??? NBC renews a show that has marginal ratings and then cancels it several weeks into production before any of the episodes even air? But we still get a 20th season of Law and Order? Sam Waterston has tried more cases than any DA in the history of American Jurisprudence. The network is in total disaray. They cannot blame all of thier woes on competition from “new media.” They just cannot identify, recruit, nurture, support…etc…the new talent necessary to create shows that people actually want to watch. I mean, you have a show like Heroes as a lynchpin on Monday night, and you can barely pull in 6 million viewers??? What was once perhaps the greatest network is a now a joke…now being run into the ground. Here is a plan: cancel EVERYTHING on the network and start from scratch. That in itself would create enough of a stir to generate an audience for awhile. Better yet, HIRE ME to run the network. I would work for cheap–$250,000 per year–a laughable sum compared to what the network execs are now being paid–and I could do just as well. What the network would save on my salary alone would probably be a boost.
Bring Chuck back for November sweeps on Weds. Move Mercy to Fridays and let the show run it course. NBC needs help and Charles Carmichael is hear to his part.
I watched every episode of Southland last year and was looking forward to its return. This reminds me of NBC pulling the plug on Boomtown back in 2002(or 2003?), two episodes into its second season, after moving it to Friday night…
I join the chorus of other viewers in saying that I hope that Southland finds a home elsewhere.
cancelling Southland makes you wonder how many more years or months the NBC network will be around and it will be interesting to see if they give the credit to Jay Leno for the death of scripted prime time show and NBC. Leno show is just plain dull and not for prime time programing move him to day time and put the local news on at 10PM
This makes me sick. Southland was an intelligently written, smart drama with great acting. The kind of show that seems to be dying from the networks, and to cancel it before it even has a premiere is another example of the nets kicking the viewers in the teeth. What’s the point of tuning into any network broadcast when they care so little about the viewers? FX would make a great home for Southland, but I doubt the executives are smart enough to realize it.
IMO Southland should have never been renewed in the first place. I mean it was getting sub 2.0 in the demo. Then it comes back on a friday. There was no way that it was going to pull the ratings to justify it’s price tag.
MojoJojo writes, “Southland shouldve never been renewed in the first place…we were all shocked when it got a 2nd season with the downward spiral the ratings had.”
It was renewed after 3 episodes had aired. The downward spiral in the ratings started with Week 3 but didn’t finish until right after that. Mix buyer’s remorse and a premium license fee in with better-than-expected numbers for “Dateline” and NBC not wanting to make it look like getting rid of “Medium” was a mistake (because of course “Medium” was going to trounce it), and this really wasn’t that much of a surprise.
“Southland” was a total mess anyways. There were so many things wrong with it, I don’t know where to begin. I have a hunch NBC asked for changes, Wells and Ann Biderman didn’t make them, and that was that. Oh, well, who cares. No big loss.
Ben Silverman still haunts NBC doesn’t he. Hopefully the actors are willing to cut their quotes and move to a cable network like FX where it will succeed with the ratings niche and receive 4-5 million viewers possibly.
Seems to me the new NBC management is cleaning up the mess left by the old NBC management.
It goes without saying NBC renewed Southland way earlier that was prudent, before they had a clue what the numbers were going to be. Now, I’m guessing the current NBC management realizes it’s a show that shouldn’t have been picked up, based on it’s numbers and the trend of those numbers, so decided not to throw good money after bad.
As for Southland, it would indeed be better on a cable network, given it’s “dark and gritty” nature. However, if the production costs are what has been mentioned and hinted at, I also suspect it’s way to expensive for a cable network.
I also love the excuse of the show being “dark and gritty”, please… NBC wants to remake “Prime Suspect” which if I remember correctly is also dark and gritty. So what will you do with this iconic series turn it into Police Woman?
Maybe slightly off topic but with the cancellation of “Southland” I found this interesting. Did anyone catch the article in the USA Today the other day talking about the poor showing Jay Leno is doing? The article pointed out that in the two weeks that the new tv season had been in effect that Leno had run third every single night in total viewers and in most ( if not all ) demos. what was particularly galling was NBC execs were quoted in the article as saying that Jay’s low numbers are their fault as they are not providing him with strong programming in the 8:00 – 10:00 pm as a lead in. Can someone explain to me why NBC has such a hard on for Leno?
As for the cancellation of “Southland”, I had not watched the show last year and was probably not going to watch it this year but to cancel it before one epiosde has aired and cite the reason has it’s “too dark and gritty” for 9:00 pm ( and network television or maybe just NBC ) is just pure bull cookies. NBC is cancelling it for one reason and one reason only – Jay Leno. Dateline is giving Leno better numbers than almost anything else ( The Biggest Loser is also giving him an ok leadin by their standards ) and certainly better than Southland probably would and it’s cheaper to produce, so . . .
Intersting thought – Leno’s best leadins are coming from “reality” and “news” shows – NBC may solve all their problems ( sarcasm intended ) and get rid of all scripted programming ( farm it off to USA – Bravo – Hulu and whatever ) and give us nothing but unscripted fare. They can be known as the network that brings you the real deal none of this phony fictional crap that draws in viewers and creates revenue. I mean it would make life so much simpler for them and us.
.
Hey, that’s a first! A show canceled before it even aired!
.
I dont get why NBC is trying to remake prime suspect anyway they’ve been doing female cop pilots with strong stars and creators every season but never pick them up EX: Alibi aka Winters from the creators of House starring Famke Janssen (X-Men Trilogy,Goldeneye etc..) in a house like character (which actually had better test screening responses than Chuck and Lipstick Jungle etc.) and the Kate Stackhoff pilot from this season…
Tar – I had originally thought when I saw Southland cancelled that it was Parenthood. It would make sense since they havent even recast the role Maura Tierney dropped out of. They were looking at Lauren Graham for the role but NBC hasnt even started filming yet.
Its rare tha a series gets a second season and 2 weeks before its scheduled debut it gets scrapped. Thats more common for a reality show but rare for a drama.
@ Gary A
“They can be known as the network that brings you the real deal none of this phony fictional crap that draws in viewers and creates revenue. I mean it would make life so much simpler for them and us.”
I thought that was Tru TV?
I think this cancellation shows not that NBC Is happy with Leno but that NBC is stuck with Leno for two years. The ratings are further down than they were hoping and they are not saving as much money as they thought they would. Budgets had to be cut and it’s just easier to cancel a show that hasn’t aired yet, that cost a good $ to make, and airs on a low rated Friday night anyway.
The Jay Leno show although cheap to air is killing NBC and will make it worse down the road. They are losing quality dramas because they can’t air anything at 10, they are killing their two other talk shows because of talk show overkill. They are alienating more loyal viewers because of quick cancellations and they have annoyed Hollywood in general who now might not look to bring any future products to this network.
Good job NBC.
Ratings did slip from April-May for Southland but what series doesnt have a ratings slip. Parks had the exact same ratings slide as Southland and likely because it was a comedy NBC left it on. NBC didnt even try the series out, thats what pisses me off the most.
The ONLY show that I was looking forward to on NBC. The only show I watch now is the Office. NBC is toast in my book.
NBC is an embarassment. If a show performs bad during its second season (like Dollhouse) then they can axe it, not now.
Wow. They cancel the show (one which they renewed before renewing CHUCK) without giving it a chance ?
The show never had a chance with or without Leno. Nothing new on NBC has a chance anymore (Southland, Trauma, Mercy, etc.) and sadly for the next few years we’ll likely be only seeing the incumbent shows they deem “successful” by their standards only on NBC continuing and that’s it.
ABC should pick it up. This is really good show, from one episode I decided to watch out for the season premier. If CBS decides to pick it up and turn it around like they did JAG, some heads are going to get lopped off at NBC.
CBS has too many dramas, they wont pick it up. Neither will FOX or CW. ABC could but its more likely to be shipped to USA or TNT. Id love to see another canceled NBC series doing better on another network.
I have two theories on why a series that was greenlighted for a second season and shot six episodes gets cancelled even before the first show airs:
1) The Suits came to the producers/writers of Southland and said, ‘We don’t like this format. We want you to change THIS and change THAT, and the test audiences don’t like this character–either change them or write them out.’ The producers/writers said ‘no’. Then the Suits started weighing in with the show being ‘too gritty and dark for the 9 o’clock hour’.
‘But you have this other gritty and dark show called Persons Unknown,’ the producers/writers replied. ‘How are they okay and we’re not?’
‘Precisely,’ the Suits shot back. ‘We have two gritty and dark shows. Our demographics say we should only have one. Either change it or we’ll cancel you and blame it on being too gritty and dark. Then we’ll wait six months and air Persons Unknown in your time slot, and the viewers will have forgotten about the whole thing.’
The producers/writers gave the Suits a two-word response and pulled the plug on the series themselves, and now NBC is trying to make it look like it was their own idea. Because a group of producers/writers in Hollywood who actually have control over their own TV series and manage to stand up to studio executives who shouldn’t even be trusted with forks is a very dangerous thing.
2) Pretty much the same scenario as #1, except the Suits forcibly removed the producers/writers from the series, keeping their names on it to avoid any potential lawsuits, and tried to change the show themselves. Except Suits don’t really have any frickin’ clue about how to craft a TV series because they’re just a bunch of suits, and then when they realized what they had on their hands, it was so bad even the Cinemax cable channel could’ve come up with a better product (not to mention getting the female characters in bed with each other once a week). So they cancelled the show to avoid embarrassment and ‘Produced and written by Alan Smithee’ in the credits (never a good thing when you see Mr. Smithee’s name). Of course this scenario isn’t as likely, considering NBC really can’t tell the difference between a good and a bad show anyway.
Meli, it seems both of your scenarios are wrong. According to an interview with Southland star Michael Cudlitz over on EW.com, NBC actually approved of the first 6 “gritty and dark” scripts before filming began. Why they would change their minds after the episodes were in the can is anybody’s guess. However, I don’t think this battle between the Suits and the Producers actually happened in reality.
So why not air the six episodes? Because apparently NBC isn’t even planning to do that.
Meli – the series was renewed, just because it had a good premiere, and it was a series NBC thought it could stick with. Its the same reason Parks and Recreation was renewed, which also premiered on April 9, and also decelined in ratings. It also did better on average than NBC’s other failing dramas. NBC has said they would try to air the series 6 episodes though. I think NBC will burn off Southland on saturdays at 10 like they did with Crusoe and Kings.
As long it is till on hulu, I don’t care where it will go. I was pissed earlier in the day when I heard they cancelled it, but now i just don’t care where it goes. I feel sorry for NBC right now
Why feel sorry for the one eyed man who deliberately pulls out his other eye so he could look at it, when all he had to do was gaze into a mirror and see that it was fine and better-off where it was in the first place. Let CBS take it over, just like they did medium and jag, and make it work. Cause NBC has no idea how to phase out a show so that no other network can take it over, Southland, as good as it is will find renewal legs on another network and as usual NBC will realize that they made a terrible mistake in not renewing a good show. Hopefully, this will finally be an eye opener for them.
I hope the ratings are amazing for the Season Premiere. CBS saved Medium from another stupid decision NBC made and I hope they leave this season with their high ratings being in the around lower 10 millions. Not that they already aren’t.
Have fun NBC.
Here is what a crew member has to say:
http://reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=36016
We were cancelled today. It’s an enormous shame – this season’s episodes are very strong. It was very sad and entirely unexpected news today. We just screened the first episode on Tuesday and it was absolutely freakin’ awesome. We were all joking about how we were going to renegotiate our deals for the back 9 episodes because of the great work we were doing. And then… out of nowhere… cancelled.
This article describes the situation best.
I’ll keep you guys posted on what happens, either here or on my site. We’re half way through the sixth episode [directed by J. Michael Muro, I might add], which we will finish next Friday.
More must read articles on Southland
EW’s Ausiello interviews Michael Cudlitz
http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/10/09/southland-star-on-shows-axing-im-pissed-off/
Twitterverse gets nasty over Southland cancellation
http://www.thewrap.com/article/twitteverse-gets-nasty-over-southland-8461
With ‘Southland’ Axed, NBC’s Depressing Surrender Is Almost Complete
http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2009/10/nbcs_depressing_surrender_is_a.html
Southland Decision further frays NBC’s creative ties
http://weblogs.variety.com/bltv/2009/10/southland-decision-further-frays-nbcs-creative-ties.html
EW’s Ausiello interviews Michael Cudlitz
http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/10/09/southland-star-on-shows-axing-im-pissed-off/
Variety: Southland Decision further frays NBC’s creative ties
http://weblogs.variety.com/bltv/2009/10/southland-decision-further-frays-nbcs-creative-ties.html
NYTimes: NBC Cancels well regarded Southland
http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/08/nbc-cancels-well-regarded-southland/
Shopping Southland
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2009/10/shopping-southland.html
Perez Hilton: Blame Jay Leno!
http://perezhilton.com/2009-10-09-blame-jay-leno
If NBC didn’t like ‘Southland’ why didn’t it just keep ‘Medium’?
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2009/10/so-if-nbc-didnt-like-southland-why-didnt-it-just-keep-medium.html
NBC’s move certainly caught Wells and Warner Bros., which makes the show, by surprise. They are now scrambling to try to find a new home for the show, most likely on cable. Even NBC affiliates were taken aback by the abrupt decision.
“That’s a little premature,” said Michael Fiorile, chief executive of Dispatch Broadcast Group and chairman of NBC’s affiliate board, when told it had been canned. “Creatively, I thought it was pretty good show.”
If the show doesn’t find a home on cable by the end of next week, I think it’ll most likely stop production, or go on extended hiatus.
If that is the case, I think The CW should seriously consider airing the 6 episodes they filmed in the slot right after Smallville.
The bulk of the fee has already been paid by NBC, so the episodes will be cheap, plus it’d allow the network to see if the show does anything for them.
But this would really have to be the last resort.
Riff Raff-
I work on the show ……………. You are wrong.
The season premiere was/is amazing. Do not try and sound like an insider. Look at the fall re-run numbers. This show would have built an audience. I am not angry. I am surprised. NBC is lost in the woods.
NBC needs to get their act together and the things they need to do is
Cancel: Jay Leno Show
Cancel Mercy and Trauma
For more information on Southland, go to
http://community.livejournal.com/southland_tv/
Southland had the potential to develop into a good ensemble show. NBC execs are more interested in pleasing stockholders than viewers. They’re going to end up losing them all. They drop Southland yet hang onto Heroes which has spun off into who knows. I think its pretty obvious the NBC decision makers have more important things to do other than watch TV.
Roy,as pointed out above, Heroes got a 2.4 in the demo in its last episode. Southland got a 1.9. A 2.4 is greater than a 1.9.
Kell writes, “I work on the show …………….”
Wow! Such an impartial observer! I’m certainly sold! Unless that trainwreck fired half the cast (including ALL the detectives and the two chicks I couldn’t even tell apart, never mind what the hell purpose they even served), then it was the same sprawling mess it was last season and it deserved the chop. Maybe if they had focused more on McKenzie and Cudlitz (the best actor in the cast, even if his character was completely unlikable), they would have had something. A show with focus, a show that wasn’t a mess. Something. Instead, they had them sit out one episode and featured them for all of like 10 minutes in another one. Ridiculous. The one thing that shocked me was how cheap the thing looked. Wells and Christopher Chulack are usually good for shows that look great, even if they aren’t otherwise. This one looked as bad as the show itself. Maybe they should have stuck with 35mm.
As for the inane comment about the fall repeat numbers and how it would have built an audience — how can you even write such DRIVEL with a straight face? “Southland” was finishing 4th place in its time slot over the summer, getting beat by repeats of “Supernanny.” “Supernanny.” The thing lost half its audience in a month last spring. People sampled it, decided it was a bad show, and left. Good for them. They were right. Why does Wells even care? Wasn’t he the same guy who, when he got wind that Nancy Tellem was about to pull the plug on one of his costly, old-skewing bombs, beat her to the punch and pulled the plug on it himself to save face? Yeah, well, maybe he should have done that with “Southland.” That way, instead of being blindsided, he could have come off like a national hero for saving Warner Bros. all that money in these tough, trying economic times.
You got a problem with the cancellation, take it up with Jeff Gaspin. I don’t work there. Or on the show, for that matter. Which is why I actually am impartial.
Wow Riff Rafferty, you sound like a genius. You seem to have an answer for everything. Maybe you should work for NBC and help them out over there.
In the meantime, here are some pills, calm down and take your meds…
Downers will do you a lot of good.
Wow…NBC has no excuse for axeing this.
None.
NBC sucks! I loved this show!
Another fan upset to see this really great show go to the grave. I’m hoping like crazy that someone else picks it up. NBC? Can go *bleep*.
What network will want this reject? Especially considering that fourth-place NBC would rather cancel it than premiere the second season.
New management is in place. A new sheriff is in town, if you will. Angela Bromstad is cleaning house. She should have said, “Renewing Southland wasn’t my call then. It’s my call now and I’m canceling it.”
That statement would have been more honest and would have made more sense than the “too dark and gritty” excuse offered. The other networks may know NBC is a mess but they know NBC has a lot more information about this project than they do. Clearly, something is very wrong with Southland. Come on, NBC is still airing Trauma.
Any cable network you mention will demand Southland’s budget be cut. Every cable network you mention is already developing original series and Southland wasn’t on the radar. Why would TNT, USA or FX drop what they’re doing to go after this steaming pile? Because the numbers are wonderful? Because the ratings are at least consistent? Come on now.
Put Heroes out of its misery,
Southland is an excellent intelligent show that had me hooked from the beginning. I want to see somebody else pick this up.
This sucks. Southland had a lot of potential and I was looking forward to the show. The first season had its problems but they seemed to recognize where they went wrong and retooled it to focus on fewer characters. It needed a tightening up and from what I’ve read they seemed to have a much better handle on where they wanted to go with it. Too bad that NBC sucks so hard and couldn’t even give it a chance. If it didn’t do well then, ok, cancel away but if a net wants a show to succeed they have to support it and they never seemed to, even after the high critical praise. It’s no wonder they’re in last place. How’s that Jay Leno thing workin’ out for ya, NBC? Not so good, huh? Enjoy your sinking ratings.
I love Southland and Michael Cudlitz for saying all that stuff in his interviews about NBC, someone needs to say something to them, who the hell do they think they are, their shows suck right now and Southland would of made NBC so much better. Jay Leno’s show is horrible and his old one was way better apparently and dateline isnt any good either. Some network needs to pick Southland up its an amazing show and any network would be lucky to have it.
I cannot believe NBC’s canceling Southland (although maybe I should given its drastic decline in the past few years). Southland is the first NBC show in ages I’ve both enjoyed and respected. It’s dark and gritty, yes, but most people I know happen to like that and more importantly, Southland did it WELL. It’s a unique, well-written, realistic show that deserves to be shown somewhere; I will definitely follow whatever network shows it. Now, the only thing I watch on NBC is Law & Order, thanks Jay Leno.
what do you mean past couple of years…it’s only been on in 2009…the only drastic decline happened in a couple weeks.
Angela Bromstad to the New York Times in April 2009
http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2009/10/nbcs_depressing_surrender_is_a.html
NBC’s Angela Bromstad told The New York Times in April that while it was “a gritty cop show,” it was also “a sophisticated drama.” She added that it could “absolutely play at 9 o’clock.”
More painfully in retrospect, Bromstad told the Times that NBC’s commitment to only seven episodes shouldn’t be a worry to Warner Brothers (the studio producing the show), because while the network hadn’t officially committed beyond that, it was not going to use the show to fill the ER slot for the rest of the spring and then never use it again. “They were afraid we saw the show as space filler,” she recalled. “But I told them, ‘I promise you the intention is absolutely for this to return in the fall.’”
So those things turned out to be … a little misleading.
part 2
So, to review: As the show premiered, NBC was not only specifically providing reassurances that it intended to bring the show back in the fall, but it was specifically providing reassurances that it was comfortable running it — in spite of its “grit” — at 9:00 p.m., which was part of the grander push to make the point that giving up all of the 10:00 p.m. hour to Leno didn’t mean they wouldn’t have a place for a serious show for adults.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the explanation is that the network looked at the first six episodes and decided that they were too dark to air at 9:00. In other words, just as everyone feared and they denied, giving up the 10:00 time period had affected the network’s ability and willingness to run adult dramas. And also, just as everyone feared and they denied, they wound up using the show to plug the post-ER hole and then left everybody affiliated with it holding the bag, not even letting any of the episodes air to see what would happen.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2009/10/so-if-nbc-didnt-like-southland-why-didnt-it-just-keep-medium.html
NBC’s move certainly caught Wells and Warner Bros., which makes the show, by surprise. They are now scrambling to try to find a new home for the show, most likely on cable. Even NBC affiliates were taken aback by the abrupt decision.
“That’s a little premature,” said Michael Fiorile, chief executive of Dispatch Broadcast Group and chairman of NBC’s affiliate board, when told it had been canned. “Creatively, I thought it was pretty good show.”
http://weblogs.variety.com/bltv/2009/10/southland-decision-further-frays-nbcs-creative-ties.html
‘Southland’ Decision Further Frays NBC’s Creative Ties
Canceling the gritty John Wells-produced cop drama “Southland” before the show can begin its second season only exacerbates the sense that the network is in full-on cost-containment-over-quality mode.
This is a series that not only opened to strong reviews (here’s mine from last April) but carried an elite producer pedigree, with former “ER” exec producer and newly elected Writers Guild of America West President Wells at the helm, and Ann Biderman as its principal writer. Although some elements of the large cast worked better than others, Michael Cudlitz and Ben McKenzie were simply outstanding as the tough older cop nurturing the fresh-faced younger one.
By acting to in essence cut its losses, NBC has sent a chilling message to drama producers and production companies, indicating that concepts that are moderately demanding have little future there.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2009/10/nbcs_depressing_surrender_is_a.html
The act of renewing a show and then canceling it without giving the episodes an opportunity to run is the kind of thing that infuriates fans and, more to the point, seems highly likely to destroy the network’s credibility in dealing with creative people. Yes, everybody understands networks want to make money; yes, it’s a very cynical industry. But there remains, remarkably, a capacity to be disappointed. The first place I saw the news about Southland was actually on the Twitter feed of Shawn Ryan, the showrunner of FX’s highly regarded The Shield and now of Fox’s Lie To Me, who later commented, “This is an awful story for people like me.”
At this point, if you come up with the next great drama — you have the next ER in your pocket, you have the next Lost — it seems at this moment like you would be out of your bird to do business with NBC. Don’t believe me? When someone asked Ryan whether he thought the same thing could happen to him, he said, “They would in a heartbeat. Wells is top notch, they did it to him.”
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2009/10/wells_leno.html
While the news that NBC has decided to cancel its critically acclaimed drama Southland ranks as one of the biggest surprises in the world of television in recent memory, it’s going to take weeks (and possibly months) to fully understand the ramifications of and fallout from this decision. However, one thing is certain: NBC has greatly damaged the relationship it had with John Wells, who has been one of the network’s most successful creative partners for nearly two decades.
In addition to creating network hits like ER and Third Watch, the Southland creator also spent a three-year tour of duty as the showrunner of The West Wing. But after his newest baby was unceremoniously shown the door before it even had a chance to stretch its wings, Wells had this to say to The Hollywood Reporter: “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.” Translation? A big “F You” to Jeff Gaspin and Jay Leno.
From Michael Cudlitz
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33247947/ns/entertainment-television/
We had a cast and crew screening on Tuesday for the season 2 premiere, and it was phenomenal. It was better than any of the episodes we have aired to date. It was fantastic.
Exec producer John Wells said he’s trying to find a new home for the show. Do you hold out any hope for that?
Cudlitz: I do because we have episodes that have never aired that are pretty fantastic. And if it moves somewhere else, it could become the show that it should have been initially — which is even darker and grittier.
Brook Willard, DIT(Digital Imaging Technician) on Southland
http://reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=36016
We were cancelled today. It’s an enormous shame – this season’s episodes are very strong. It was very sad and entirely unexpected news today. We just screened the first episode on Tuesday and it was absolutely freakin’ awesome.
Yea, this show is to good to be canceled just for a lack of airing time.
http://www.thewrap.com/article/twitteverse-gets-nasty-over-southland-8461?page=1
On his twitter, Jon Cassar, the former director of “24,” was surprised NBC wouldn’t at least air the six episodes of “Southland” already in the can.”I can’t believe they couldn’t wait a couple of weeks, so people could at least see the work,” he wrote.
Funny if all the people that are all indignant about NBC canceling the show had watched the show it seems to me the shows rating would have been better and it might have survived. >.<
Southland needs to be on the air, if only for the amazing portrayal of a strong black woman who is NOT on Grey’s Anatomy.
Jesse, the show’s ratings were decent by NBC standards. Its ratings were better than a lot of NBC’s shows this fall. The summer reruns weren’t bad either.
What galls a lot of people is that the show was cancelled without a single season 2 episode being aired.
A Gay Cop and a strong single, sexually active black women – Great Characters were being devloped and such great potential – I really hope a cable channel picks this up and we can really see John Wells vision fufilled !!
eve is right: “What galls a lot of people is that the show was cancelled without a single season 2 episode being aired.”
NBC was supposed to put it on Fridays, watch it get beaten by Medium its premiere week, seethe as the ratings continued to fall during November sweeps, and cancel it the day after it got beaten by Dollhouse. We were supposed to get a big laugh, but no, NBC spoiled our fun.
The fans are angry and we are banding together to let NBC know that enough is enough.
Join us and voice your frustrations over Southland’s cancellation http://www.Twitter.com/SaveSouthLAnd or @SaveSouthLAnd
Other links:
Twitition: http://twitition.com/n3tvb
Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/nbcsouthland
Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=171360942974&ref=ts
Please join the fight and let NBC know that they have gone too far!
I loved it!!!!
I am sooooo mad!
All NBC cares about is their pocketbook, which is why Leno was given the green light. Leno doesn’t need that good ratings to turn a profit, and at this rate, it won’t be long until Leno’s lead-ins will mostly be low cost, unscripted, reality shows, Dateline, etc. just to maximize profit rather than showing high quality TV.
Heck, even the writers of SEINFELD were ingenious. On the episodes in the show when Jerry and George were pitching “Jerry” to NBC, the interim president pretty much passed on the show for whatever reason when it was easily going to be a hit. Then on the final episode of Seinfeld, Morty Seinfeld said “They should’ve put it on the air 5 years ago. Bunch of idiots at that network!”
This is a network where atrocious management decisions allowed the overall decline of the network as a whole and set things up where well written shows were only set up to fail. Journeyman, My Own Worst Enemy, Southland… they had the fans, but the lead-ins, the overall decline of the network pretty much sealed their fate ahead of time, while at the same time, shows like KNIGHT RIDER were still airing.
A network that continued to air KNIGHT RIDER… *sigh* I’m not too keen on the whole JJ Abrams upcoming show either… people may think because of the success of the 2009 Star Trek movie might entitle him to success, but the show being on NBC might already seal its fate to fail like it did for Southland.
Pulling the plug on a show because it’s “too gritty” is a poor excuse as well, when NBC NEEDS a gritty show. People love gritty shows if it’s well written. That’s why SVU was initially a success because of the heinous crimes committed in them that involve the darker side of human behavior and how we deal with it. NBC needs to free their reigns, but they won’t, and if things keep going at this rate, it will devolve into a network that shows nothing but low cost shows where the only scripted shows will be on Thursday comedy night.
COME ON!!! The only reason they cancelled Southland was because of the stupid Jay Leno Show. I really hope either TNT or FX will pick it up.
Write WBTV to show your support for Southland.
Peter Roth
President
Warner Brothers Television
4000 Warner Blvd.
Burbank CA 91522
Tel. 818 -954-6000
Fax 212-954-7667
Bruce Rosenblum
President, Warner Bros. Television Group
Warner Bros. Entertainment
4000 Warner Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91522
Phone 818.954.6000
Fax 212-954-7667
Ken Werner
President
Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution
Warner Bros. Entertainment
4000 Warner Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91522
Phone 818.954.6000
Fax 212-954-7667
The CW should pick this show up…. Keep it on Fridays and put it as a lead in at 8:00 and move smallville to 9:00 to get more viewers..Atleast this would be a smart move by the cw for once and get some publicity as well…
Write to:
Peter.Roth@warnerbros.com
Bruce.Rosenblum@warnerbros.com
Ken.Werner@warnerbros.com
Addresses are above
Why NBC, why?!?!
The nbc.com/southland site, which was shut down earlier is open again. Go there and leave comments.
http://www.nbc.com/southland/
What happened with Knight Rider was this- it was renewed for a full season when its ratings were decent, but then its ratings collapsed.
It only got 17 episodes- Journeyman got 13.
And My Own Worst Enemy and Journeyman both failed because they lost large numbers of viewers in their first season.My Own Worst Enemy and the Forgotten both lived up to their names- Christian Slater doesn’t know to pick ‘em.
This show was ok and would be WAAAAY to high budget for cable.
If they can’t get another network to pick up the show, I hope they will at least sell the episodes they’ve already made. I would totally buy them. Maybe Southland could be the beginning of “direct-to-consumer TV.
definitely a show i was looking forward to and really am not a fan of leno. i hope some other network sees how amazing this show is and picks it up. come on CBS you saved Medium, another good one.
Wow. Finally a new show that I liked and looked forward to seeing. The only thing I didn’t like was the stupid beeping out bad words. It’s a scripted show. Either say the words, or use nicer language. Bad move for the last place network.
Well, its amazing. Back in the West Wing days I rarely switched from NBC all week. They had the best dramas AND comedies across the board. I felt sorry for other networks and their luke warm attempts to be like NBC. Then shows started disappearing from their lineup… replaced with new and considerably less talented versions… over time I went from watching mostly NBC all week to wondering what I could tolerate on the network. EVEN my local LA news was so slow to adopt HD (while ABC and CBS were a year in front, even their helicopters broadcasting our chronic fires in HD), I completely dropped them as a whole. Only when I saw Southland mentioned as an upcoming series did I give the ol’ girlfriend a chance to redeem herself. Southland, if nothing else, felt more authentic. No softly lit golden/yellow scenes from some CSI type show (even the lab scenes look like a sunset). No forced attempt to downsize big screen actors to TV (LL, Chris) with the same plots we’ve seen on just about every other cop show. Nope, Southland took a fresh approach, if not dark, which worked well. We didn’t watch southland… we witnessed it… and that effect alone made it unique. Face it people, great dramas that don’t regurgitate what has been deemed as “most marketable” and take risks go on the short list for failure… they never get the long term chance they deserve. The conservative / careful shows appease the average american IQ, which, lets face it, is a double quarter pounder consuming collection of dumb dumbs that think all that CSI stuff is like totally true and dine off of unreality TV, sporting attention spans of houseflies. Very rarely does a show overcome the stigma of being too different for mainstream (read dumb, conservative) without name brand actors. I loved that the cast seemed like normal people… and had many of the faults you’d think the characters in those “other shows” probably would have, like our own friends / relatives. Like Scrubs, I hope it will be picked up by a more thoughful network. Only Friday Night Lights and Southland made me remember NBC at all.
join the group we want southland back on facebook
Let’s be realistic cause even if NBC aired it for a 2nd season it would have been canceled. The show had a decent pilot but then went down hill from there.
The ratings may have gone downhill, but the quality of the show surely did not. The “common” man (which determines the success of television it would seem) is not who I look to for determining my entertainment. The fact they “reality” TV makes me want to vomit is proof enough of this fact.
NBC has their heads up their A_S… example: buying, then scheduling Jay during prime time hours just to keep him from signing with another network, and competing opposite Conan at the late night slot… which would have killed the tonight show!~ The same brilliant minds keep making the same idiotic decisions, which has sunk the once-#1-network to all-time lows, below FOX! canceling this show is confirm their being out-of-touch with good programming! can it get worse then what they have on the air now…??? I won’t be around to see it…
This is one of the BEST shows I’ve ever seen!!! How can they cancel it!!! I was waiting for the premiere!!! NBC is unbelievable!!!
I don’t even watch this show, but I think it sucks that it’s canceled because of time slot issues, which they wouldn’t even have if they hadn’t decided to move Jay Leno to primetime. I used to watch the Tonight Show if he had a guest I wanted to see on, but I don’t think he deserves a primetime show. He’s not that good.
THIS WAS THE BEST SHOW ON NBC SINCE HOMICIDE BACK IN THE EARLY 90′S GOOD JOB NBC GOOD JOB
This is crazy it is by far the best cop show ever put on TV and from experience it is very similar to actual police work…… someone needs to get this show on the air.
Really right now? the show was not that great and how many more cop shows are they going to come up with? Give it up and get a new idea already!
AFTER HEARING THAT JAY LENO WAS GONNA HAVE A SHOW THAT WOULD AIR AT 10PM ,I HAD A FEELING THAT THEY WERE GONNA CANCEL SOUTHLAND…I HONESTLY WAS LOOKING FOWARD TO WATCHING THE 2nd SEASON…I HOPE SOMEONE PICKS’EM UP.NBC LOSS IS ANOTHER NETWORKS GAIN
I’m very disappointed. Southland is a great show and I was looking forward to the 2nd season. I’ll definitely watch it no matter which network airs it!!
Southland is a great movie and i think that NBC is the worst TV station ever ok they took off a show that showed are men and women in law enforcement and a show that allowed viewers to see what they go threw every day of there lives to put on some stupid jay leno that may i add has no reason to be on TV in the first place i’m very sad to what NBC and this country has come to.
It may be too late (and totally idealistic) but email NBC and tell them you want the show back. I think it was a bad idea to put the show on Friday night and emailed NBC that much, but they have to listen to viewers, right? (Again, totally idealistic)
Soooo fed up with NBC. They’ve completely given up producing any actual shows, spending any money, or frankly- even living up to their own promos and promises. Southland was about the only thing left this season, which they put off for a late start date. We waited, impatiently, only to discover that yet ANOTHER good NBC show is cancelled. And this one they actually got rid of BEFORE it even aired this year!!! Kinda hard to blame the ratings then I guess! You sold Medium, you made some weird deal with DirecTV for Friday Night Lights, got rid of Lipstick Jungle, cancelled My Name is Earl, & don’t even wait until after the freakin season premeire of Southland to cancel this one too?- and on and on and on. And your big solution is 5 nights of Jay Leno??? A freakin chimp could do a better job running this network. I swear, if you give up on Trauma or Mercy too- both good shows with interesting characters and exciting and/or compelling storylines- then I officially give up completely. Sell the dang network already- if anyone would actually buy it- now that you’ve sold off or cancelled every valuable asset you had!! Just do something, because obviously whoever is in charge has ZERO interest in actually making television. I hope with all my heart that Southland DOES find another home- for the sake of those doing great work making the show, the fans who love it and so NBC can watch yet another show they failed to support do well elsewhere!
I agree with the comment that someone said about Southland moving to the FX network. They should definitely go to FX especially now that “The Shield” is over, plus Nip/Tuck is almost over. This show is too gritty to have every other word censored on local network channels.
Unbelievable. I’m disappointed. Southland is an excellent show. Leno sucks. Always has and is even worse now and now he stinks up prime time. I never watch anything on NBC. It stands for Nothing But Crap. Are they trying to go down the tubes?
Reality shows and Leno are cheap to make in comparision to scripted shows. I suspect that NBC are tightening their belt this year and not taking any chances. Hence the 5 day a week Leno.
TV networks are facing tough times. I certainly see shows being cancelled after 1 or 2 episodes in the future becoming the norm. Networks no longer have the dollars to second guess the public or the future ratings of a show. If a show starts bad and tails off, it will be cancelled immediately.
TV Networks are thinking like a business for the first time.
This was the best show to come along in many years. It is close to being the best law enforcement show of all time with the old series “Police Story” being the only show that comes close. This was an epic series and close to competing with “West Wing” for that title. No wonder I don’t watch network TV much anymore, the cancel their best show. I canceled my cable subscription and was watching “Southland” on line because network TV is offering less and less to watch. This cancellation makes it less likely that I will resubscribe.
This is the equivalent of ABC canceling “Lost.” I like “Lost” and “Southland” because they don’t follow a “formula.” Formula shows always have an expected outcome such as NCIS and the rest. “Lost” and “Southland” don’t.
This situation, with lots of disappointed viewers, reminds me of NBC cancelling “Star Trek” in the late 60’s. I guess network TV is not the place for quality programs that bump the envelope.
There are a lot of folks on this board that seem to know a lot about TV and ratings, I don’t. I just like shows that are different than the usual drivel that is on TV.
Network TV offers up terrible,mindless reality shows and formula TV. It doesn’t surprise me that before I cancelled my cable service I was watching less TV and the remainder was primarily on PBS, National Geographic, Discovery, and the like. I guess I’m not an average viewer. No wonder NBC stopped sending me their surveys as I was probably skewing the data.
As for keeping “Dateline” on the air, I’ve only watched it a couple of times. I wonder if they have blown up any pickup trucks lately?
My final comments. I spent many years in public safety (both law enforcement and fire fighting for a federal agency)and have a lot of friends in it, including retired folks like me and those still in the career. “Southland” came as close to reality better than any network show since “Police Story.” The only thing they leave out is the seemingly endless amounts of paperwork and dealing with the “second lieutenants” in management.
That is terrible. How about airing Southland on USA where the new series of White Collar is being aired? BRING SOUTHLAND BACK!!
southland was a very good series for a time when not many tv shows were appealing. i mean chuck was far worst then southland, it was probably the combinations of jay leno and the fact people don’t like NON-CSI type shows. CSI sucks btw.
it was a great show…the only cop show that actually focused on the characters and not the crime. regina king was amazing and could have had an award-winning portrayal if given a shot…maybe USA will pick it up. its not racey enough for FX’s caliber.