Southland: A Sneak Peek At The New Season On TNT
The Graveyard Shift has some new friends – the folks at TNT and Southland. It seems they’d been following our Castle reviews and asked if we’d have a look at their new series that’s premiering on TNT tonight. Well, I watched what they sent me, and believe it or not, the police procedure is pretty darn good. The writers and directors have even taken the time to inject wonderfully realistic little details you don’t normally find in shows like this. For example, patrol officers wear actual vests (you can see the outlines beneath their uniform shirts just like in real life. They also perform police procedures like real cops (You’ll have to watch the show to see for yourself. No spoilers today). If the rest of the season is as a good as what I’ve seen so far, we’ll certainly be providing you with some great police/forensics information based on upcoming episodes.
The show looks very, very promising, and I’m looking forward to writing a few of my Castle-style reviews for this series. I’ll have the first one ready for you Wednesday morning, along with a few insider tidbits about the show. If you have a chance, watch the season opener and then let’s pick it apart Wednesday morning during the review. I hope everyone enjoys the show, and I can’t wait to hear your thoughts about it.
The series premieres tonight at 10pm on TNT. The network says, “They Know Drama.” We’ll see how realistic that drama really is, won’t we…
*TNT Photos
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Writers Police Academy
* FYI – If you have chance , please stop by Murderati. Cornelia Read invited me over there to grill me about the Writers’ Police Academy.
* Important Notice – We are very, very close to reaching capacity for the FATS training. So close, I can actually see the last seat in the class. Please register now to reserve your spot!
The Don Knotts Silver Bullet Novel Writing Contest is now open!
The Don Knotts Silver Bullet Contest Award winner will receive The Silver Bullet Award, free Writers’ Police Academy registration ($235 value), and have the opportunity to submit their entire manuscript to one of the judges (to be determined later based upon the genre and work itself). Additional prizes forthcoming. Here’s your chance to get your work in front of top agents and publishers! The contest is open to the general public and writers from all genres, not just academy registrants and mystery writers!
Please visit the Writers’ Police Academy website for details. www.writerspoliceacademy.com
Contest judges are:
Annette Rogers, Acquisitions Editor of the Poisoned Pen Press, searches for new, unpublished mystery writers. Recent successes include Carolyn Wall SWEEPING UP GLASS, Jeffrey Siger MURDER ON MYKONOS, and Edward Ifkovic LONE STAR. In addition she evaluates and edits manuscripts, corresponds with writers and agents, and fends off Facebook friend requests. Rogers published a bestselling travel book on EGYPT-translated into six languages, wrote for O, The Oprah Magazine, and covered court hearings on the Mormon Bomber case for Time/Life. She has a Masters Degree in History and English. www.poisonedpenpress.com
Benjamin LeRoy is a founder of Tyrus Books-a publisher specializing in crime and dark literary fiction. Before starting Tyrus in July of 2009, he founded and ran Bleak House Books. He lives in Madison, WI where he works on his own writing and is endlessly fascinated with the history of baseball. www.tyrusbooks.com
Elizabeth Pomada worked at David McKay, Holt Rinehart & Winston, and the Dial Press in New York City before moving to San Francisco in 1970 with her partner and husband, Michael Larsen. Together, they started Michael Larsen – Elizabeth Pomada Literary Agents in 1972. Since then, they have sold books from hundreds of authors to more than 100 publishers. Elizabeth is a member of the Association of Author’s Representatives, The Author’s Guild, ASJA, WNBA and co-founder with Michael of the San Francisco Writers Conference and the Writing for Change conference. www.larsen-pomada.com
Kimberley Cameron began her literary career as an agent trainee at the Marjel de Lauer Agency in association with Jay Garon in New York. She worked for several years at MGM developing books for motion pictures. She was the co-founder of Knightsbridge Publishing Company with offices in New York and Los Angeles. In 1993 she became partners with Dorris Halsey of The Reece Halsey Agency, founded in 1957. Among its clients have been Aldous Huxley, William Faulkner, Upton Sinclair, and Henry Miller. She opened Reece Halsey North in 1995 and Reece Halsey Paris in 2006. Her associate Elizabeth Evans opened Reece Halsey New York in 2008, and in 2009 the agency became Kimberley Cameron & Associates. www.kimberleycameron.com
I am so p*****. I watched Southland religiously when it was on NBC and loved it. Then they canceled it. That was the first thing that got me mad. Then I heard it was being picked up and new episodes would be played. Hurrah. Until I find out it’s on TNT. We don’t get TNT on our cable network up here. So now I have to wait until it comes out on DVD to get it, which I will be doing.
But really, I am so mad I could spit. LOL. It had become my favorite show in the short time it played where I could watch it.
Mack – I have to admit, the constant bleep, bleep, bleeping on network TV was pretty darn annoying. My fingers are crossed, hoping that we don’t hear that as often this season. Why not write the show differently? I know they’re going for extreme realism, and for goodness sake I heard enough bad language when I was out there working the streets, but I never once heard a single “bleep.” So, to hear it in the show is very, very distracting. It actually takes away from the story.
Carol,
It is probably just as well that network TV didn’t pick it up. They can be edgier and we don’t get quite as many bleeps. I think I’ve only heard the F-bomb and its variants bleeped.
Elena – I think you’ll find my comments about Southland will be quite different than those about Castle. They’re two entirely different animals. We’ll see how it goes.
Carol – Signing on to spend even MORE hours on the blog may not be as fun as it sounds. But, if the show’s good, then it’ll be worth it, right?
Lee, I’m thrilled that you will be reviewing this edgy crime drama. I can’t imagine why it wasn’t picked up again on network TV. I, too, watched the first season on NBC and I thought it was a very true-to-life police show. But you’re the man when it comes to police procedure. Can’t wait!
How terrific to know that your Castle reviews were read by the right people at the right time. Looking forward to this new set of reviews of police procedures.
I don’t know Lee, Cornelia didn’t have to grill you very hard to get you to tell all 🙂 The Academy sounds super-fantastic.
I’m pleased you are going to be looking at this show, Lee. I became a fan when it first aired on NBC then re-watched the original 7 episodes when TNT picked it up. My feeling (from reading your blog) is that the police procedure is handled well and it is nice to hear you confirm it.
Ramona – Yep, that’s Michael Cudlitz, and he’s been around quite bit. In addition to Band of Brothers, he’s appeared in Lost, 24, Vegas, and Prison Break, to name a few. In the preview I viewed, I was particularly impressed with a scene where he searches (frisks/pats down) a street thug. Good procedure. Somebody on this show has done some nice homework.
Is that actor in the bottom pic Bull, from Band of Brothers?
Now I have to watch this show.
Lee, be sure you sweat out a summer before moving. It’s endless and nothing like what you’ve seen this weekend, although being farther north and on the water, you might have a slightly better climate. Can you tell I’m not a big fan of heat and humidity? 10 months a year is enough.
Dave – Don’t be silly. He was getting ready to go on a raid. That’s his drug shark.
Terry – It’s fantastic here. I’m ready to move.
Hope you’re getting out to enjoy a rare bit of good Florida weather. Not too hot, humidity’s not too bad. At least it is here in O-town.
Hi, Lee. I hope you’re enjoying Florida. That last picture with Roy Scheider. Was that the photo for the oriinal “Take a bite out of crime” campaign?