Comments on: Did LENO Kill SOUTHLAND?

By: fatEMOkid

fatEMOkid — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:47:06 +0000

I really enjoyed the show, it had an excellent cast, I mean who give C. Thomas Howell another shot?!? I hope that NBC would consider putting it on one of its cable stations like USA or something.

By: theTVaddict

theTVaddict — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:16:18 +0000

My two cents: In truth I was not a fan of SOUTHLAND. Realistic and grit aside, my God it was a downer. Plus the shaky cam had me ready to loose my lunch. That said, I do think that SOUTHLAND’s cancellation sends a very dangerous message to the creative community. If I’m a showrunner, NBC has now become a last resort. In this competitive landscape, it’s hard enough to survive as it is in prime-time. Who wants to have to do so with five less hours of real estate to move around in and the constant threat of Leno above your time-slot?

By: Jen

Jen — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:03:49 +0000

Southland was my absolute favorite show of 2009, as I was greatly looking forward to it’s return. NBC officially bites.

By: C.T.

C.T. — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:49:52 +0000

ACE: I definitely don’t think Southland is a Sunday show. Not exactly a “feel good, ready to go back to work tomorrow” show ala Desperate Housewives, etc. Even Dexter is lighter in tone!

JOHN: I sort of classify Leno and Dateline as the same basic thing: Very cheap to produce, lazy television.

NEAL: It is definitely “nerve-wracking” but I don’t think everything on television has to be “comfort food.” In fact, I think that’s a BIG problem with the networks in general and NBC in particular. Unfortunately there’s an ever-growing audience for “edgy” shows and if the networks don’t jump on that bandwagon, they’ll be run over by it.

SEBASTIAN: I definitely do think that, given tweaks, the show could find a very good audience. I suspect that some of the things people didn’t necessarily like about the show might have been network dictated. I know that the “bleeping” of obscenities always served to take me right out of the drama. Now truth be told, I think any writer worth their salt should be able to write adult dialogue without obscenities and make it sound good. That said, if you’re going to write adult dialogue WITH obscenities, you sure as BLEEP shouldnt’ be bleeping it out.

By: Ace

Ace — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:52:24 +0000

I think Leno had a big part of why it was canceled. Hard to make a 10 PM show happen at 9 PM. BUT NBC could have moved it to Sunday at 10 once the NFL ended. I think really it was a big budget show that was getting low ratings and they decided to cut their losses. Hopefully for those who liked the show (sorry, just not one of them…I don’t dig shaky camera work and The Wire it was not), it will be picked up by TNT.

By: John

John — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:45:33 +0000

I think Dateline is just as much to blame. Right now it’s getting around 7 million in that 9pm block on Fridays. If you put Southland there, I guarantee within three weeks it will drop below 5 million. All of NBC is in trouble because Sunday Night Football is the network’s only show over 10 million viewers. They can’t afford to drop 7 million viewers for Southland.

However, Leno is certainly a co-conspirator.

By: ggny

ggny — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:25:16 +0000

Jay Leno killed NBC not just Southland…NBC had a shot this year to develop some drama at the 10pm hour that could get them back into the rating game but instead they decide to give Jay Leno 5 hours…Hey NBC NO ONE WATCHES COMEDY AT 10

By: drgpshr1

drgpshr1 — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:16:00 +0000

Sebastian:
“You took the words right out of my mouth.” I said the exact statement to my wife! I even referenced the three shows you mentioned.
Bravo!

By: Neal

Neal — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:00:23 +0000

I didn’t like Southland. It was too nerve-wracking to watch. If you want drama, there’s plenty of other choices, especially on cable (in US anyway). But for relaxation after a long day, I’ll take Leno 5 days a week.

By: Josh Emerson

Josh Emerson — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:14:07 +0000

One explanation I read is that the current execs in charge of NBC are trying to clean up the mess Ben Silverman left at the network. One of those things is that he renewed Southland too early. The show started well but quickly dropped off a cliff and probably shouldn’t have been brought back.

Personally, I don’t believe Leno is responsible for the Southland death. NBC has a number of failing shows and nothing to replace them with, so the problem isn’t that they don’t have the space for Southland.