TV News: NBC Cuts Drama ‘Southland’ From Schedule

CHICAGO – NBC has canceled the John Wells cop drama “Southland” before the show’s second season premiere, which was scheduled to air on Friday, October 23, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Southland Photo credit: Richard Foreman/NBC

Production on the series has been shut down. As of now, NBC will air “Dateline” in the shows time slot.

The network has six episodes produced and ready to air. It is not known when these six episodes will air, but NBC decided that the network isn’t “financially viable” to keep the show on the air.

“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. “We remain extremely proud of ‘Southland’ and are actively looking for another home for the series.”

It’s been reported that the show, which stars former “The OC” star Ben McKenzie, will be shopped around to the cable networks, with TNT being a good option for the series.

Based on the low ratings the show got during its first season, this decision shouldn’t be too surprising but it is unusual for a show to be renewed, put back into production, and then canceled before it gets a chance to air in the new season.

The Live Feed posted a quote from Jay Leno, who decided to make light of the situation in his monologue by saying: “NBC’s ratings aren’t so hot. In fact — and this is true — this week the network canceled the show ‘Southland’ before it even came back on the air. Next thing you know they’ll be canceling shows before writers can even think of them.”

By ANGIE RENTMEESTER
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com