USA/NBC and TNT Cancel/Renew and end a Last Season of 3 Shows
The beleaguered cult favorite will continue on for a fifth season, NBC announced Friday. The news comes a day after the Thursday comedy wrapped its fourth season, even year-over-year with a 1.3 rating in the advertiser-coveted adults 18-49 demographic and tying American Idol among adults 18-34.
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The second life of “Southland” on TNT has come to a close, with the network announcing the cop drama won’t return after five seasons.
In a statement Friday, the cabler said:
“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.”
“Southland” premiered as an NBC drama in April 2009 to promising critical notices but small audience numbers for its initial seven-episode run. Though it was renewed for a second season, the next batch of episodes never aired on NBC, which delayed the show’s season premiere — then canceled the show that October, in part because of the drama crunch created by the Peacock’s decision to dedicate its 10 p.m. hour to “The Jay Leno Show.”
In November 2009, TNT acquired the rights to episodes from the first and second seasons, and began airing them in January 2010, before subsequent seasons were greenlit the next three years. The season finale of “Southland” averaged 1.8 million viewers last month.
This year, three “Southland” stars landed roles on broadcast pilots that stood a chance for series pickups: Shawn Hatosy in CBS drama “Reckless,” Regina King is in ABC’s comedy “Divorce: A Love Story,” and Benjamin McKenzie is in CBS drama “The Advocates.”
Christopher Chulack, John Wells, Jonathan Lisco and Andrew Stearn exec produced “Southland,” which also featured Michael Cudlitz and Regina King. Warner Bros. TV produced.
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USA Network‘s flagship drama Burn Notice is coming to an end. The upcoming 13-episode Season 7 of the spy series will be its final one (the network makes it official with the promo below). But USA is staying in business with Burn Notice creator Matt Nix and studio Fox TV Studios. I’ve learned that the network has put in development Complications, which is written/exec produced by Nix and produced by FtvS. It tells the story of an ER doctor whose life changes after he is involved in a gang shooting, when he is forced to explore how active a doctor can be in treating the cause of his patients’ medical problems.
Burn Notice is set to cross the 100-episode mark during its upcoming seventh season, which premieres June 6. “From day one, Burn Notice‘s characters, storylines and mythology have consistently captivated a massive audience, and this final season will raise the stakes even higher, leading up to a spectacular series finale,” said USA co-presidents Jeff Wachtel and Chris McCumber. Joining stars Jeffery Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, Bruce Campbell, Sharon Gless and Coby Bell in Season 7 are recurring guest stars Jack Coleman, Adrian Pasdar and Stephen Martines.
