Someone involved with Southland must have suspected the show was at risk while it was filming.
Dumped by NBC after just six episodes were completed - and rescued by TNT - Southland manages to serve a satisfying season finale (but one hopes not a series finale) and one of the best episodes of its run. It surpasses even the recent show U-Boat, in which rookie Ben (Ben McKenzie) went on solo patrol for the first time.
In Maximum Deployment, Ben, John (Michael Cudlitz) and Chickie (Arija Bareikis) are forced to ride together as the police department tries to capture the Canyon rapist, an assailant who masquerades as a cop and brutalizes women.
The squad car can barely contain the three personalities. John is convinced Chickie is unfit for street work and is determined to push her into a desk job. The aftermath of a traffic accident arms Chickie with fresh insight, and she pressures Ben to stop protecting his partner.
Elsewhere, Russell (East Bridgewater native Tom Everett Scott) finally returns to duty, delighting his partner, Lydia (Regina King). The two detectives take on the case of a couple murdered in what appears to be a home invasion.
Sals (Michael McGrady) night out with his wife (Denise Crosby, Star Trek: The Next Generation) turns nightmarish when their teenage daughter gets into trouble. Johns ex-wife asks him for an unusual favor.
In the best tradition of a season finale, secrets are revealed, relationships are altered, one person seemingly gives up a promising career and another finds unexpected redemption. Add to that a couple of harrowing action sequences, and tonights Southland delivers everything you could hope for in a season ender.
One can only wonder about the stories that would have followed if NBC hadnt pulled the plug.
TNT has made no decision about the series future. According to a network rep last week, the show is performing at a level equal with other TNT originals and has demonstrated growth week-to-week. Thats promising, but hardly a lock for TNT, which probably will have to trim the shows budget if it renews it.
Southlands writing and acting surpass everything else (with the exception of FXs Damages) on basic cable. King, McKenzie, Cudlitz and the show itself are high on my wish list for Emmy gold. Its writing seems thoroughly realistic; Russells gunshot wound, for example, was not miraculously healed between episodes. Ben casually drops a revelation about a family member that on any other show would have been milked.
This uncommonly real cop show is just finding its stride. Im not ready to say goodbye to one of the best dramas in years.
(Get caught up with Southland with a marathon of the entire second season beginning at 5 p.m. and leading to the finale at 10).
Season finale tonight at 10 on TNT.
). She ends up getting a new partner out of nowhere.
