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SouthLAnd is awarded the prestigious Peabody Award

Thirty-nine recipients of the 72nd Annual Peabody Awards were honored May 20 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. The Peabodys, bestowed by the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, cite the best in electronic media.

SouthLAnd's executive producer Jonathan Lisco accepted on SouthLAnd's behalf saying, "We tried to create characters who are 'utterly specific in emotional honesty.'"

Photo courtesy Tommy's Twitter

Photo courtesy Shawn's instagram

L-R Shawn, Regina, EP Jonathan Lisco, Ben, Tommy and EP John Wells

From Shawn's Twitter

We congratulate SouthLAnd on this award and expect many more to come! 

SouthLAnd is cancelled by TNT.

In a statement released May, 10 SouthLAnd was cancelled by TNT after five seasons. 

The cast reacts on Twitter:

 The stars discuss the show's legacy.



We at SouthLAnd First give heartfelt thanks to the entire cast and crew for their generosity towards us. You gave us brilliant television, unlimited personal access, and a work of art to be admired and discussed for years. Thanks so very much.

 

Congratulations to SouthLAnd's Michael Cudlitz on his Prism Award!

 The 17th Annual Prism Awards were held April 25 in Beverly Hills, CA. 

Michael Cudlitz won for his performance in a drama episode "Legacy" 

Congratulations and many more awards to come, Michael! 

Acceptance speech part one

Acceptance speech part two

Presentation of award and acceptance speech

http://www.prismawards.com/2013press

Michael and "Legacy" writer Heather Zuhlke

Michael being interviewed on the red carpet.

Red carpet

Red Carpet Interview

Acceptance speech pictures 

SouthLAnd S5E10 "Reckoning" Review

Most cops manage to stay sane despite all the chaos around them.  But in their hearts they know, everyone has a breaking point.

Stunned.  Just completely stunned.  I had to sit and think about this episode for a long time.  Usually I immediately watch again.  But I couldn’t even think about re-watching for  over 12 hours.

Lydia has never made good choices with the men in her life.  And I think she is making one again.  Easy-going Russell.  She likes him because he will do what she says without any kind of confrontation.  Therefore making her home life easy to manage while she takes on the duties of her job.

Ruben has been a great partner for Lydia.  He sometimes disagrees with Lydia, but he’s so low-key, any disagreement or confrontation is almost over before Lydia realizes it.  He gets Lydia and knows how to work around her - in a good way.  But more than anything, he respects her.  This week, they worked very well together.  Whether it was confronting the detectives in RHD, or working with Dewey and Munoz to get a suspect to talk.  And Ruben was rewarded with an atta-boy from Chief Beck himself.

I've liked Dewey from the beginning; even when he's been spewing forth his views of the world.  And I've really enjoyed Dewey the past couple of seasons.  He brings his very own spice to the show.  We've seen more of his long-term friendship with Cooper.  And he often brings a little humor to the show.  Despite past run-ins with Lydia; he even worked well with her this week. Primarily because he wanted to help find Cooper's kidnappers; but still.

Sammy finally learns that Ben was behind the break-in at his house.  He confronts Ben and it turns into them both rolling around in the parking lot punching each other.  They can no longer be partners and that’s a good thing.  I really think Sammy should go back to being a detective.

Ben is too far gone for any kind of redemptive arc in a possible season 6; so I think he should be fired, then go to school to become a sleazy defense lawyer like his father.  When he was a rookie just out of the academy, he didn’t want any part of his Dad.  But I’m not so sure he feels that way any more.  As Cooper told Ben in Season 3’s “Punching Water,”  “The job doesn’t make you something.  It just brings out who you already are.” 

Laurie has always been a great character.  I have always thought that she was still in love with Cooper.  She stole drugs for him, tried to get him to go to rehab, and he trusted her to be one of the very few that he could talk to.  So for her to be so hateful to him in this episode was way out of character.  “No.  I don’t want to have a baby.  Not with you.  (Emphasis mine.) Not any more.  I’m sorry”.    That’s just cruel at this stage of his recovery.  She could have said it much more tactfully.  I think she understood that Cooper wanted a baby for the wrong reasons.  But she didn’t have to be so heartless.

And when Laurie told him that; the expression on his face was awful.  Stunned, hurt, denial, pain.  I’m surprised we didn’t get a breakdown scene right there.  

Cooper is unwillingly on desk duty as ordered.  He goes to roll call and the room goes silent when he enters.  Dewey greets him as he walks stiffly to a chair and sits down painfully.  Everyone is coddling him.  Bringing him lunch.  And it’s getting on his last nerve.  He’s ready.  He wants out of the kit room.  He talks to Sgt Hill (Whose first name is Terry.  Who knew?)  Sgt Hill himself is back to work after the death of his son.  Cooper wants to know if Sgt Hill is back on duty, why isn’t he (Cooper) back on regular duty yet.  Sgt Hill explains that each case is different.  I’m sure Cooper already knows this; he’s just venting his frustration at TPTB that have not signed off on him yet.  Cooper says, “These numb nuts know I have 5 guns at home right?  I can eat one there just as easily as here.”  Sgt Hill replies, “I’d keep that out of your next therapy session, huh?”

Cooper has lunch with Hicks.  Hicks is chowing down but Cooper has no appetite.  The conversation is friendly at first and we learn that Hicks has given up alcohol ever since the search for Cooper ended.  But then Hicks asks Cooper, “Why the hell did you give up your guns?”  Cooper just gets up and walks away.  I can’t believe Hicks would ask him that.  Hicks calls after Cooper but Coop just keeps on walking.

Cooper is lying there wide awake.  He can’t sleep.  He hears the neighbors generator come on.  The neighbors he’s already warned about the noise.  He gets up and checks on Laurie.  She is sound asleep and wearing ear protectors.  Cooper goes out, turns the generator off and then gets into a confrontation with the neighbors.  I was so worried about the guy with a gun behind Cooper, I didn’t see what was coming. Cooper is looking around as though dazed, maybe confused while he bashes in the face of the neighbor.  Cooper doesn’t obey the officers telling him to drop the gun, and the responding officers shoot him.  I’ve had 2 different retired cops, from opposite coasts, tell me they would have shot him too.  Was it suicide by cop?  Or was Cooper dazed and disoriented?  We will probably never know.  In the end, Cooper saved Hicks, but could not save himself.

Did those shots kill Cooper?  I’d like to think not.  But who knows?  Will the series end here?  Or will we get a season 6?  The writers would really need to explain a lot of things, if so. But each season has had its own arc.  We've had five very different seasons; each with its own story to tell.  So maybe a sixth season is possible.  Will Ben pass the detective exam and move on up the ladder, despite his ethics?  Or will Ben even still be a cop? And what will Sammy do?  Surely he and Ben will no longer be partners.  I hope Lydia and Ruben remain partners and she and Russell work something out at home.  Dewey will be Dewey - so glad that he became a regular this season.  Maybe we’ll get some fresh blood if we get a season 6.  But all-in-all, I would rather end the series here, where there is a possibility that Cooper survives, than have a season 6 without him. 

It will be such a sad, sad day when Officer John Cooper is no longer on my TV.

Quotes from the SouthLAnd cast on the S5 finale "Reckoning"

We asked each cast member (Ben McKenzie was unreachable) for a quote about the season five finale. Here are the responses we received: 
 
C. Thomas Howell: "As an actor you can only hope to be a part of a project like Southland. It's literally a once in a lifetime opportunity that I will cherish for the rest of my life. The cast and crew have continued to raise the bar of excellence. I love every single person involved with this show. It's by far my favorite job that I have ever had and pray we can continue for another five incredible years! Thank you all for being a part of it. God bless all law enforcement world wide for risking your lives on a daily basis. May you make solid decisions in the line of duty... and most importantly... shoot straight. A-35 code 4. C Thomas Howell, Officer William Dudek." 

Dorian Missick: "The finale will answer a few questions and yet present a few more and in true Southland style, keep you on edge until the last minute." 

 

  
Michael Cudlitz:  "Tonight.....#SouthLAnd ........ The future is uncertain, as it always has been. ; ) "

Shawn Hatosy: "Tonight's #SouthLAnd, whether it's the series finale or not... it's fantastic! You must watch it live..."

SouthLAnd First thanks Tommy, Dorian, Michael  and Shawn for sharing. Everyone enjoy the season finale. As always, it will be amazing television!   

Will there be a SouthLAnd season six?

SouthLAnd has always lived "on the bubble" since TNT added it to their schedule in 2010; this means at the end of every season, renewal is not guaranteed. So we join in the efforts being made across social media to encourage all fans to contact TNT and show their apprectiation to them for picking up the show and encourage them to renew for a sixth season. 


As fans, all we can do is let TNT know we support SouthLAnd and want to see more. FYI: Season four ended March 20, 2012. We did not know until May 3, 2012 that the show had been renewed for a fifth season. Renewal or cancelation news could be soon after season five ends or well into May, possibly June. Be prepared to be patient and tenacious in your efforts.  

Listed below is contact information for TNT and links to Twitter and Facebook accounts promoting a season six. Included also is a link to a petition that will be presented to TNT.  

 
E-mails: 

tnt@turner.com

support.tntdrama.com

Michael.Wright@turner.com (President, Head of Programming
TNT) 
  
Steve Koonin  (He is the executive who has the final say on renewals; the head honcho at ALL of the Turner Entertainment Networks.) His mailing address is 1050 Techwood Drive, Atlanta GA 30318. No e-mail address for him at this time; we'll update as we can.

Karen.Cassell@turner.com (Atlanta Senior VP)

erin.felentzer@turner.com (Atlanta VP TNT)

Samantha.Graham@turner.com (New York VP)

Eileen.Quast@turner.com (Los Angeles Sr. Director TNT)

Mailing address:

1010 Techwood Dr. NW
Atlanta GA 30318

Phone number:

1-404-885-4538

Twitter - SouthLAnd season six 

Facebook SouthLAnd season six 

 Petition for renewal

As always, you can post your support on SouthLAnd's official Facebook wall or tweet @tntweknowdrama  @TNTPR or @SouthLAnd_TNT 

Thank you. 

 
 

SouthLAnd S5E9 "Chaos" review

"Chaos" 

TNT's episode synopsis: "In episode nine, chaos prevails in the city of angels when Cooper and Lucero are kidnapped and held hostage by a pair of tweakers. All of our cops join the frantic search to find their brothers in blue before it is too late. Sammy searches for Strokeface. Ben tries to throw Sammy off the trail while simultaneously dealing with an increasingly irrational Brooke."

Unlike season three's "Code Four" when Detective Nate Moretta was killed and the last five minutes were heartbreaking, brutal and raw, the entire 43 minutes of "Chaos" was starkly...just that. 

Kinetic. Frenzied. Relentless. Directed (as always) fearlessly by Christopher Chulack & breathtakingly filmed by DP Dana Gonzales, SouthLAnd paid homage to The Onion Field, a 1973 nonfiction book by Joseph Wambaugh, a sergeant for the LAPD chronicling the kidnapping of two plainclothes officers by a pair of criminals during an evening traffic stop and the subsequent murder of Officer Ian James Campbell.

Even if you had not read any spoilers before viewing, the episode had an unsettling feeling from the beginning; you knew somehow things were not going to end well for Coop and Lucero. First, Coop trusted (or was just exhausted with frustration at the gay "jokes") Lucero enough to come out to him after taking him to a gay bar for drinks. It's not easy for Coop to trust. Lucero was only the second person Coop has worked with that we've seen him come out to; and the first one directly. "I'm gay, moron" Coop says as Lucero begins to acclimate to his surroundings. Lucero seems to be accepting until the awkward scuffle as they leave the bar, Lucero uttering a homophobic slur as they break apart and Coop has a stunned, "I thought he understood and accepted" look on his face. Heartbreaking.

The next morning, enduring an uncomfortable silence while on patrol, Lucero and Coop respond to an unknown trouble call where they find a disheveled looking man banging around an abandoned building. Lucero (and later Coop) make tactical errors; Lucero during a slipshod truck search when he gets head butted with a gun by another druggie and Coop when he steps in front of the first man they encountered. Both officers are stripped, handcuffed, thrown in the back of a truck and driven out to the desert and rushed into a run-down house. The terror begins. Brutal.

Lucero will not be quiet, continually talking to his capturers while Coop maintains a relatively silent, more physical presence.  All the scenes that occur at the house are almost too difficult to watch but we can't look away: Lucero is beaten and torched, Coop tries to calm him down and comfort him as Lucero gives up and Coop keeps trying in vain to save them. Lucero is finally shot in the head. Coop is then forced to help dig graves for both of them; Lucero's body being dumped in and Coop pushed in beside him.  Since the tweakers are in a big hurry to get away, one shoots Coop but misses, allowing him to crawl out, hobble across the desert to a gas station, and collapse. Only then does he allow himself to lose control. Raw... to the bone.

SouthLAnd did what it does best in "Chaos": make it all so REAL without the bells and whistles. Simple, dramatic storytelling; from Lydia and Ruben's frantic pursuit for leads to Dewey's nervousness, worry and frustration with being virtually helpless to rescue his friends. Even the tweakers portrayed their characters perfectly. 

Kudos to Anthony Ruivivar on his guest star arc. Henry Lucero was not a totally charming character but he made us feel what he felt whether we liked it or not. And we felt deeply Lucero's terror, sorrow and screams in "Chaos." Bravo, Mr. Ruivivar. 

Michael Cudlitz. If there is a better actor on episodic television, I wish someone would tell me because I've not seen him. Don't deny him, award shows. Shame on you that he's been overlooked this long. Give this brilliant actor his due. He has created and shared with us a wonderfully unique character and unpeeled him layer by layer, this season bringing his best performances yet. Respect that. Honor that. It is time.  

Random musings:

- Sammy pursues Strokeface to an impaled on a steel rod end. Ben...come clean before others have to die or suffer the consequences of your lies and actions.

- Brooke is going to blow the entire Alvarado division. Great example there, Miss School Marm. 

- Something besides a friendship reconnection is brewing between Lydia and former partner Russell. Look out. 

- "I'm a cop." This line has been said by one of our cop characters every season of SouthLAnd, usually in the finale though last season the version was "You're a cop" said to Ben by a hooker. We hear it this season in "Chaos" at the end of the episode repeated twice by Coop. Nice continuation of a single line throughout the series.

**********

As this is my final review of the season (possibly ever), a word to TNT. Thank you. Thank you for picking up this series and helping to develop it into a television masterpiece for all time. Please don't throw it away; every season just gets better. If it's not already, SouthLAnd should be your shining pride. Let this accomplishment and SouthLAnd's unmatched collective talent continue for many seasons to come. 

Season finale next week. Hang on. Tight.

SouthLAnd S5E8 "The Felix Paradox"

LAPD officers are trained to safeguard the lives and property of the people they serve.  While most threats are external, the most dangerous come from within.

It seems that Cooper may be over his weeks of introspection and has come to some life decisions.  He stepped up as a natural leader much more this week than this entire season (with the exception of the tough love he gave Hicks last week).  I especially liked his taking over the roll call briefing when Sgt Hill had a problem with continuing.  He also settled everyone down when Lucero and the other cop started to get into it in the locker room.  Maybe Cooper will take the sergeant’s exam alongside Ben.

Cooper’s scene with Laurie was amazing too.  They love each other and I think Laurie is still in love with Cooper.  When Laurie asked Cooper a couple of seasons ago to father her baby; Cooper knew it was not the right time for him.  He was heavily under the influence of drugs at the time.  Now he has been clean for a year, has built an exceptional body, and is ready to have a baby.  Ovaries around the country were aching with the thought of a baby in Cooper’s big arms.  I don’t know if I would want a little boy Cooper or a little girl Cooper. 
Le sigh.

I’ve always liked Sgt Hill and to see him so broken up by his son’s death was hard.  After making the decision to throw their son out of their house, it must be so difficult to realize there will never be a time when they could get their son back and reconcile with him.

Ruben really laid down the law with Lydia.  He is on to the way she operates by pushing people away.  And he is not going anywhere.  Lydia responds by going to see the one partner she could always control – Russell.  The former partner who betrayed her on the big celebrity case.  But maybe she can gain some control back by talking with him.

Wow.  Lucero’s home life is very bad.  From what his wife says, being a cop was, and is now, taking up a lot of his life leaving no room for the family.  I wonder where Lucero is actually living now that he is separated from his family.

Shaq’s brief appearance was pretty good.  If you follow him on Twitter, you know he is a goofy, friendly guy.  He’s no actor; he is best at playing Shaq.  But he did well in his cameo.

I don’t know what to say about Ben.  Such a promising cop gone sideways.  I think Ben and Sammy feed off each other – and not in a good way.   Sammy gets all squirrelly about what he testified to at the IA hearing – and his conscience starts wearing on him.  Ben knows from what Sammy said that Sammy had not gotten rid of the tape yet.  Sammy has flip-flopped ethically more than any other character.  You almost have to have a chart to keep up with which way his ethics are going to go in any given episode.  And you better be able to keep up with where he’s at on the chart; especially if you’re his partner.  AND.  Why is Sammy making excuses for Tammy once again?  His lawyer lists  her latest offenses and he defends her by saying she's going through a lot right now?  I seriously question Sammy's mental health lately.  He brings this shit on himself and I have no sympathy for him.

When Ben asks Sammy if the tape was destroyed, Sammy responds that it’s taken care of.  That’s not a direct answer.  Did anyone believe that Sammy had destroyed the tape?  I didn’t think so.  So Ben decides to have the brother of his latest squeeze go to Sammy’s house and take the tape.  And throw some gang signs on the walls to place suspicion on the gang that had threatened Sammy earlier in the day.  This results in the babysitter being hit on the head and baby Nate hiding in a closet.  Which causes Sammy to flip out once again and change his position on the ever-changing chart of Sammy’s ethics.  Ben’s ethics have dramatically changed over the last two seasons, but at least you know where he stands.  And I’m not defending Ben either.  These two just don’t need to be partners.

The last two episodes of this season look to be amazingly suspenseful.  You won’t want to miss them!