Netflix may already have its fair share of brilliant series, but on January 16, crime fans will be able to start bingeing their way through one of the best crime shows of the century when it comes to the streaming platform over a decade after it was canceled.
The series is Southland, starring Michael Cudlitz, Benjamin McKenzie, Regina King, Tom Everett, and Michael McGrady, which ran for five seasons between 2009 and 2013. The show’s synopsis reads:
“Veteran Los Angeles cop John Cooper is assigned to train rookie Ben Sherman, who finds himself questioning whether he has the right stuff to be a police officer after witnessing Cooper’s no-nonsense approach. Other members of the police team include Detective Lydia Adams, who is her mother’s primary caregiver away from the office; her partner, Russell Clarke, an unhappily married father of three; Detective Daniel “Sal” Salinger, who oversees gang detectives Nate Moretta and Sammy Bryant; and patrol officer Chickie Brown, a single mother who dreams of joining the SWAT team.”
Southland will join Netflix and likely find a new audience who have never even heard of the series, which originally debuted on NBC for its first season before being canceled by the network and then revived by TNT for a further four seasons. Even though the shift to TNT saw the series taking a hefty budget cut, it did not impact the quality of the show, which continued to be a huge success with both audiences and critics.
‘Southland’ Is a Near-Perfect Crime Series
With just 5 seasons and 43 episodes, Southland is the perfect series to sit down and binge through. During its run, the show gained a 90% Tomatometer score and an almost perfect 98% rating from audiences.
The series ended on a high, delivering two back-to-back 100% rated 10-episode seasons and making everyone wonder exactly why it was canceled at all. At the time the show was airing, The San Francisco Chronicle said, “There isn’t a better cop show on TV right now than Southland.” Paste Magazine called it, “Easily the best cop drama on TV,” and New York Magazine called it “dazzling.”
Audiences were also fully on board with the series from the start, noting that the first season was one that “delivered everything that stops it being a CSI clone,” and also “lays the groundwork for a fantastic show that can really build.” Despite NBC’s inexplicable decision to cancel the series after Season 1, TNT picking it up allowed it to thrive for four more seasons. Season 5 saw fans again questioning the cancellation, including one that said, “Southland is by far the most real and dramatic cop show I have ever seen. That fact that it only lasted 5 seasons makes no sense to me at all.”
Now with Southland coming to Netflix, there is no better chance for crime fans to start at the beginning and see what all the fuss was about. It is likely you won’t be disappointed.
- Release Date
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2009 – 2013-00-00
- Network
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NBC, TNT
- Directors
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Christopher Chulack, Nelson McCormick, Félix Enríquez Alcalá, Allison Anders
- Writers
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Ann Biderman, Dee Johnson, Mitchell Burgess, Robin Green, Diana Son, Angela Amato Velez
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
