Southland

CHICAGO – The 61st Annual Emmy Award Nominations were an interesting melting pot of smart, brave, new choices and old-fashioned, predictable, stale selections.

CHICAGO – We told you a few weeks ago that “Heroes,” “Parks and Recreation,” and “Southland” had been renewed by NBC but the peacock network made it official today and made the call on the bubble shows, renewing “Chuck” and “Law & Order” and pulling the trigger on “Medium” and “My Name is Earl” although there are rumors of both shows being eyed by other networks.

CHICAGO – NBC held a special “in-front” announcement yesterday, two weeks in front of the standard upfront presentations and revealed six news series for the fall while leaving some beloved programs up in the air. On the bubble shows “Southland” and “Heroes” were renewed, but the jury is still out on “Chuck,” “Medium,” “Law & Order,” and “My Name is Earl”.

Television Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Premiere episodes of ensemble shows like NBC’s nearly-great “Southland” can be a tough nut to crack. How do you interested viewers in a dozen characters in 44 minutes, give them a resolved plot in that same window of time, and intrigue them enough to come back next week? “Southland” expertly does all three.