Southland

In 2009, the mind's behind ER, gave the network something they weren't prepared for. A police drama, that was so realistic and ahead of it's time, that the network didn't even know how to promote it. NBC would wind up cancelling it after just 8 episodes, but thankfully someone at TNT saw it's potential and gave us four more incredible seasons. Southland is an in depth look at the LAPD, in a way that has never been done before or since. Each episode follows patrol units on the beat, gang detectives on the job, and homicide detectives on the case. More than that, it shows you the kind of situations they come in contact with on a daily basis, as well as the struggles they go through in their personal lives, as a result of what happens on the jobs. The show tackles issues of injury, addiction, family trouble, and even PTSD. Additionally the show was done in such a way that all the language and violence was kept in, only bleeped and blurred for television, something that has since been removed on DVD and streaming, adding to the grittiness and rawness of the series. Every episode focuses on a different set of cops, but in every episode you will see rookie office, Ben Sherman (Ben McKenzie) and his training officer, John Cooper (Michael Cudlitz). The chemistry between these two is phenomenal and illustrates just how hard it is to become a cop. You witness all the mistakes, close calls, and shocking moments, up close and uncut, in a way that I've never seen done in a television series before. The detective scenes are equally as intriguing with the gang segments being very reminiscent of HBO's The Wire. Additionally, the homicide cases are well written, and the investigations are so detailed, not rushed the way you sometimes see in shows like Law & Order. The cast is amazing, the writing is top notch, and the show is more real than anything I've ever seen on television, so why did it only last 43 episodes and get cancelled twice? As I said earlier, when it aired, the language was bleeped and the images were blurred, that's not conducive to keeping an audience happy, especially in today's market. Had this show come out 10 years later, they wouldn't have had to do that and things could have been different. Another flaw I find in the series, is the lack of story lines. Anything that happens in the show, rarely goes beyond two or three episodes. This is a bad thing, because there is nothing to keep you watching. With everything resolved so quickly, if a mildly interested viewer wants to stop watching, they can, because they already found out what happened. The bottom line, if you enjoy police drama, than this is the show for you. It has a little bit of everything, it is by far the most realistic scripted portrayal of the police, that has ever been done on television, and it is loaded with stars. Every episode will have you on the edge of your seat, and if you're anything like me, you won't be able to stop after just one.

I couldn't understand all the positive reviews until I saw the shows creation date. 2009, basically the start of the Woke Era. A TV show for idiots. Within 5 minutes of screentime the cops see a stick up robbery in the middle of the day, and then 30 seconds after that there is a baby crawling in the street. There is no character development at all for any of the main characters. I'm supposed to like the pretty blonde cop because she's a pretty blonde. I'm supposed to like the angry jerk cop because it turns out he's gay. I'm supposed to like the rookie cop because he can aim a gun. I don't care that the jerk senior cop is gay, I'd rather see a scene where he shows his good side or lets his guard down. Instead, they go for cheap 'gotcha' moments like 'haha you thought he was a jerk but he's gay so now you're in the wrong for not liking him!'. There's no character development in the first 2 episodes at all other than character A saying something aggressive/passive aggressive and character B saying 'F*** you'. Unlike a TV show like The Shield or The Wire where there is an occasional filler scene, this TV show is more like Sons of Anarchy and just has 1-off filler scenes over and over. This is a TV show for the same idiots that enjoy watching 'Cops' and reality TV. Also to note, the show uses shaky cam for literally every scene. I finally turned it off for good when it was a restaurant scene, just showing them talking and they did a shaky cam while approaching them. This TV show is the equivalent of spinning toys above a babies carriage for low-IQ viewers. It doesn't just stop there. There are no likable characters at all. The closest character to being likable is the young detective guy, but even within the first 2 episodes he reveals he's an idiot. Taking a child witness in the hood and having them hang out near the police station? It's just a bad show for idiots. It's pretentious, it's unrealistic, it's poorly casted, and anyone who likes it needs a lobotomy or euthanization.