TNT is canceling its drama series Southland after four seasons on the network.
Southland originally premiered on NBC in April 2009, and was renewed for a second season with an initial 13-episode order. The second season was initially supposed to premiere in August, but NBC moved the date in order to promote the show more fully. By October, the network announced that the series had been canceled.
TNT purchased the rights to Southland a month later, and the series began airing on January 12, 2010. While the series failed to match the ratings it had on NBC, Southland continued to receive positive reviews from critics and viewers. The first season received an average rating of 69 on Metacritic, and the second season garnered a 77. The third and fourth seasons received an 81 and 87 respectively, and season 5 pulled an 86.
The season 5 finale on April 17 pulled a season high of 1.83 million viewers , up from the previous season’s finale, which drew 1.69 million viewers.
TNT said in a statement:
“TNT has made the difficult decision not to renew Southland for another season. We are enormously proud of Southland , which stands as one of the best police dramas ever made. Executive producers John Wells, Chris Chulack and Jonathan Lisco, along with creator Ann Biderman and our partners at Warner Bros. Television, have given us five seasons of powerful, unforgettable storytelling, for which we are deeply grateful. We also want to thank the amazing cast for their impassioned, no-holds-barred performances, and the production team for their tenacity shooting on the streets of real-world Los Angeles. We wish everyone associated with Southland the very best.”
Several of Southland ‘s stars have already landed new roles. In March, Regina King landed a role in ABC’s multi-camera comedy pilot, Divorce: A Love Story . She noted that, while the cast obviously wanted the series to come back for another season, that the season 5 finale would play out like a series finale just in case it wasn’t renewed.
King’s co-stars, Ben McKenzie and Shawn Hatosy also picked up new pilots this development season, with the pair starring in the CBS legal dramas The Advocates and Reckless , respectively.
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