DVD Review: Final Season of TNT’s Brilliant ‘Southland’

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CHICAGO – I don’t believe it’s gone. TNT’s “Southland” shouldn’t be over. Not only do I not believe that the writers and producers meant for the dark finale of the fifth season, recently released on DVD, to be the close of this brilliant series, but I know they had more stories to tell. Considering the show was once canceled by NBC and rescued from its near-death experience, I suppose we should be happy with got five years but it’s still bittersweet.

Rating: 5.0/5.0

On the list of the best ensembles of the current generation of TV, any knowledgeable critic will put TNT’s incredibly underrated “Southland.” Regina King & Michael Cudlitz should have been Emmy-nominated multiple times but they were only the all-stars on the team. Over the years, “Southland” went through multiple supporting players, none of who felt out of place. That’s because it was, as in all great TV, always about the writing. “The Shield” is the best modern cop show but “Southland” is not far behind. Now you can own the whole thing, as sad as that is to say, on DVD.

My review of the fifth season premiere

Southland: The Complete Fifth and Final Season was released on DVD on August 13, 2013
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Synopsis:
A tourist flattened by a Hollywood tour bus. Rival gangs at a drug dealer’s funeral. Victims cooked by their killer. Welcome to sunny Los Angeles, where LAPD beat cops and detectives work 24/7 doing jobs that require an arsenal of razor-sharp instincts and quicksilver reflexes. The fallout seeps into the personal lives of the flawed but dedicated officers, who must also cope with new motherhood, a penchant for painkillers, domestic drama and corruption’s temptation. But even heroes need heroes, and when two cops are kidnapped, the entire department scrambles to save their own in an explosive series finale. This 2-Disc set contains all 10 provocative, action-packed episodes of The Complete Fifth and Final Season of the highly acclaimed, brutally authentic Southland.

Special Features:
o Shooting In Progress: Go Behind The Scenes With The Cast As They Discuss Southland’s Realistic And Fast Paced Filming Style
o Unaired Scenes

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com