NBC Cancels Southland

NBC has announced that they have canceled the sophomore series Southland which was slated to premiere on October 23rd. Though ratings were solid and it received primarily good reviews this was a show that the network felt wasn’t suited for them anymore. The main reason for the cancellation appears to be that a drama with a darker tone has no where to fit in NBC’s schedule now that the 10pm hour is unavailable. It would not be surprising to see the show end up on another network in the future.

This is another sign of the change at NBC. They have gone away from what they see as expensive and/or risky original programming by placing Jay Leno’s talk show in the 10pm time period that has traditionally been occupied by hour long dramas. Leno’s ratings continue to dip but according to the network even if the ratings were lower it would still generate more profit than if they had higher rated original shows each night of the week.

I watched the first few episodes of Southland before I just couldn’t motivate myself to watch it. I wanted to like it but the episodes felt as though they disconnected and they spent too much time on some of the least interesting characters. So while I’m not going to miss the show I am concerned in now NBC is gutting existing dramas that may have worked better in the 10pm slot in addition to what we’re already missing out on.