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When NBC decided to abruptly cancel the cop show drama Southland many fans felt cheated. But as fate would have it, TNT has decided to resurrect the show and will re-broadcast the seven episodes of Southland originally seen on NBC and then show six previously-unaired installments.Ben McKenzie talks to Good Day LA about the show and how different it is to be on cable as opposed to network.TV.
Ben interviews on Good Day Atlanta:
A talk with one of the stars of the upcoming TV series, ” Southland ,” Ben McKenzie.
“Lady, with that attitude, you’re just asking for trouble,” Ben McKenzie joked after a woman at Wednesday night’s Southland screening at the W Hotel began her question to him by saying, “I know I’m not anywhere near your age group…”
McKenzie, born in Austin, is 31, but going off of my interview with him and his Q-and-A session at the screening, he’s very wise while still young at heart. He’s someone who starred in a primetime soap opera yet graduated college with a degree in foreign affairs and economics.
Which would explain his in-depth answer to a fan who compared Southland to another gritty, critically-praised cop drama, The Wire. McKenzie had lots of good food for thought, and said Los Angeles, where the show is based, is a prime example of 21st Century America, where “the richest zip codes are 10 miles away from third world-like areas.”
McKenzie didn’t stay for the screening, saying he was on his way back to California to see Texas and Alabama face off in the BCS national championship game. But those in attendance were privileged to see a brand new episode of the show about two months before it airs.
TNT, having picked up Southland after NBC canceled it, is re-airing the first episodes already aired before completely new ones are shown. But McKenzie did say fans should expect some extras/differences to episodes they’ve already seen, including six additional minutes to the pilot airing at 9 p.m. Tuesday.
The critically-acclaimed TV series was abruptly dropped by NBC last October — but TNT has given it a new chance to prove its viewership potential.
Southland, by all accounts, got a raw deal from NBC when that network canceled the second season premiere only a couple weeks before it was scheduled to air. Blame risk aversion — blame Dateline — blame Leno — but mostly blame the major networks’ sudden disinterest in adding (or even keeping) unestablished drama series in their prime-time lineup.
Enter TNT, who saw the potential for the edgy, gritty, darker-than-usual network cop drama, and determined to give it a shot in their programming lineup.
The episode that was set to premiere on NBC on October 23 will now be aired — in altered (enhanced?) version — on TNT next Tuesday, January 12, at 9 p.m. Central.
Austin native Ben McKenzie — who many will remember from his portrayal of Ryan Atwood in The O.C. — stopped by the W Hotel in Dallas this Wednesday to promote the show. Here’s a sample of what he talks about in the audio interview:
How he gets along — on screen and off — with co-star Michael Cudlitz.* His hair-raising experiences riding around with undercover L.A. gang units.
“I couldn’t do it for a living. I get enough adrenaline boost just riding around with them occasionally.”
Whether he’s seen (or even wants to see) Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans.
What he misses most about living in Texas — and what he doesn’t miss at all.
Changes in the show resulting from the move to TNT.
While we North Texans are shivering in our long handles, Ben will be enjoying himself in the shirtsleeves weather at tonight’s big Rose Bowl matchup between the University of Texas Longhorns and that other team. (Something about a Crimson Tide?)
Three guesses who he’ll be rooting for — and the first two don’t count.
Ben will be appearing on the “Live with Regis and Kelly” show on Tuesday, Jan. 12 The other guest for that day is Jennifer Connelly. Live with Regis and Kelly – Guest Guide
Since Ben’s Apple store appearance is scheduled for Jan. 11, it’s possible that he will be taping “Regis and Kelly” on Jan. 11, for airing the following day.
THE VIDEOLAND VIEW: Benjamin McKenzie tells us it’s been frustrating waiting to find out the fate of “Southland,” but he feels good about the show’s future now that it’s found a new home at TNT. “It was obviously unfortunate the way it went down. Shows do get canceled. We didn’t see it coming so it was a bit of a shock for all of us,” admits McKenzie about NBC greenlighting a second season and then abruptly canceling it. “It’s frustrating when you’re in the middle of that. You get angry and impatient because we had to sort of sit around for the last couple of months while they went through the process of selling it. But if the end result of this whole process is that we end up on TNT and we have a home there for years to come, and we can make the show that we want to make that we weren’t able to make on NBC, then that’s a great outcome,” he notes.
TNT will begin airing the entire first season starting Jan. 12 and then they will air six episodes that have already been shot for season two. “TNT needs a little time, obviously, to gear up to promote the show. I’m excited for people to see not only the new version of the pilot, which has additional footage in it, but these new episodes, which I think are some of the best we’ve done. I think fans of the show will be rewarded for their patience,” he says. “Now that we’re on cable, we don’t have to deliver as big of a number as we did on NBC. If we get that core audience to follow us to TNT, then I think we could be around for a while.”
In the meantime, McKenzie plans to take it easy during the Christmas holidays. “I’m just going back home to Austin, Texas, where I’m from, to spend time with my family. I’ll eat some good food, get some gifts and just enjoy my time off.
Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated (2010)
Southland (2009-2010)
Sin Bin (2010)
The Eight Percent (2009)
Johnny Got His Gun (2008)
