Southland

The most underrated TV show ever has been canned. Southland has been cancelled after 5 seasons. Why is crap reality dominating the airwaves yet amazing drama’s failing? What happened to real scriptwriters, hardcore drama and actual acting? What is TV coming to?

Michael Cudlitz, who played the phenomenal John Cooper has tweeted -
Thank you all for the amazing support. TNT gave us 3 extra years… Be kind. ; )

If you have never seen the show, try it. It’s on SoHo on Foxtel and season 5 (the best ever) should come to late nights on Nine. I accidently taped the show and got hooked in series 3. After all the TV I watch, I can say is the best drama show I have ever seen. Continue reading »

Glee has been renewed for not one but two more seasons. They should of quit when they were ahead seasons ago.

Kim Kardashians divorce is final – so now we will move on to the baby name I guess!

The X Factor NZ has already caught the attention of international media thanks to Mitchell Wahl, with the Huffington Post dubbing it ‘X Factor’ Audition May Be The Weirdest One Ever”. Continue reading »

Couple of changes to late nights on Nine with Southland (last seen on GEM) on Sunday nights, and Nikita (last seen on GO!) on Monday nights. Otherwise – very stable programming for Nine. Continue reading »

Falling Skies has been granted a third season. The Steven Spielberg-produced sci-fi drama currently airs on FOX8 Thursdays at 8.35pm. The 10-episode Season 3 will premiere next year.

Also getting picked up for more seasons are Rizzoli & Isles (for a Season 4, last seen on Gem), Dallas (to be seen on Nine) and Southland a Season 5 pick-up (Nine, Gem and Foxtel).

Sunday July 8 at 7.40pm on W

In the second season of this critically acclaimed drama, Ben is unable to escape his troubled Beverly Hills background background and finds himself personally involved in a case on his first solo day on patrol Following a public and finds himself personally involved in a case on his first solo day on patrol. Following a public humiliation by her partner, Chickie makes an effort to regain her confidence and footing in the field. Lydia struggles with loyalty and the stress of balancing her personal life with the difficulty of her job. Meanwhile, Nate and Sammy join a drug task force with Nate’s old friend Gil Puente.

Seems that GEM only just noticed that Ten have scheduled new episodes of season 20 of Law & Order at 9.30pm tonight – the same time that GEM have scheduled classic Law & Order from season 6.

So, to avoid conflicts with Law & order fans, and as a result, GEM makes another very last minute programming change.

GEM will avoid the Law & Order conflict, by playing double The Mentalist from 8.30pm tonight Fri Feb 18, and every Friday from 8.30pm, thereby leaving classic Law & Order at 10.30pm. The change of course affects the late night replays.

This now means, that between Nine and GEM, there are four episodes a week of The Mentalist. Two new ones on Nine on Sunday, two repeats on GEM on Friday. Bit of over exposure maybe?

GEM have also changed their mind about Sunday night after the Infiltration encore. Crime Investigation Australia will now play at 10.30 instead of the Maria Korp Story.

This will also be the case for the following week, with Crime Investigation Australia at 10.30 instead of Jindabyne.

Finally, on Monday Feb 28, Southland is no longer on, replaced by Friends and The Zoo.

Some bad news for some of the first run content on GEM, with some last minute programming changes pushing Southland back half an hour from tonight (Mon Jan 31) and Hotel Babylon back half an hour as of Wednesday night (Feb 2).

Tonight (Mon Jan 31), an episode of Friends will air at 11.15 after the movie, with Southland now starting at 11.45pm. Same will happen next Monday (Feb 7) with Southland on at 11.40pm.

On Wednesday, Hotel Babylon gets the same treatment – being moved back to an 11pm start time, with Friends at 10.30pm. That also means that Conan is not on until midnight.

 These changes come less than a week after new show Rizolli & Isles was bumped from Tuesday night.

I can understand tweaking of the schedule to help ratings, but making the change as of tonight? How can that possibly help ratings? It’s more likely to annoy fans of Southland who have to wait up another half an hour for their show. Then there will be some who turn off, thinking it is not on instead. Are they trying to kill it off?

Yet another programming make over by the Nine Network.

Today, it is GEM that gets an overhaul.

Changes start from tonight.

As predicted, seeing that a last minute movie change on Monday got GEM a share of 4.0%, they have done it again for tonight (Wed Dec 15). Tonight, the movie As Good as It Gets will be seen instead of The Mentalist, The Big C and Weeds.

The last minute removal of The Big C from tonight’s schedule comes just as the show receives an Emmy nomination.

The Mentalist will now move to Thursday nights from next week, instead of movies on Thursday nights. The changes also include confirmation that movies will now regularly air on GEM on Monday nights and Wednesday nights. This comes after a GO make over that has seen movies on GO instead of regular programming on Tuesday and Thursday nights.

So – we get the strategy here. Movies seem to help the multi channels. Nine are using GO and GEM to alternate as movie nights during the week. GEM has movies on Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. GO also has a movie on Sunday, as well as Tuesday and Thursdays now. All three channels have movies on Friday and Saturday nights. Problem is though – most of these movies are now running at very short repeat cycles – sometimes as short as a month between airing on two different channels.

Nine, GO and GEM have all seen major overhauls in their summer schedules.

Here’s the latest GEM changes in summary.

Wed Dec 15
8.30 Movie: As Good as it Gets
11.15 Conan
12.10 Friends
The Mentalist, The Big C and Weeds are out.

Mon Dec 20
8.30 Movie: US Marshals
11.15 Southland
12.15 Friends
Law & Order, Rizzoli & Isles are out

Tue Dec 21
10.30 The Closer replaces the Tuesday night encores of The Big C and Weeds as they were not aired on Wed Dec 15.

Wed Dec 22.
8.30 Two Weeks Notice
10.30 The Big C
11.00 Weeds
11.30 Conan

Thur Dec 23
8.30 The Mentalist
9.30 Amazing Medical Stories
10.30 Embarrassing Bodies
11.30 Conan

Sat Dec 25
9.45 CSI: Miami
10.45 CSI: NY
11.40 Conan
Scheduled movie: Meet Me in St Louis is out.

Sun Dec 26
8.30 Man on Fire
11.20 The Wings of Eagles.
Movies Legends of the Fall and Birds of a Feather are out.

Mon Dec 27
8.30 Movie: The Perfect Storm
11.30 Southland
12.30 Friends
Again Law & Order and Rizzoli & Isles are out

Wed Dec 29
8.30 Movie: Made of Honour
10.30 The Big C
11.00 Weeds

Thur Dec 30
8.30 The Mentalist
9.30 Amazing Medical Stories
10.30 Embarrassing Bodies
11.30 Movie: Confessions of a Young Bride

Mon Jan 3
8.30 Movie: Breach
10.50 Southland
11.45 Friends

Wed Jan 5
8.30 Movie: Friends with Money
10.20 The Big C – season final
11.00 Weeds
11.30 Friends (Conan off over holidays)

Thur Jan  6
8.30 The Mentalist
9.30 Amazing Medical Stories
10.30 Embarrassing Bodies

Fri Jan 7 (a weird one?)
8.30 The Mentalist
9.30 Law & Order double

GEM’s new Monday night lineup presents two Australian firsts, with Rizzoli and Isles followed by Southland, from Monday, November 29.

In Rizzoli and Isles (at 9.30pm) detective Jane Rizzoli (Angie Harmon) and medical examiner Dr Maura Isles (Sasha Alexander), complete opposites and good friends, solve crimes and bust some of Boston’s most notorious criminals. With a quirky yet supportive relationship and the smarts to decipher some of the toughest cases in town, they make a dynamic duo.

The series also stars Jordan Bridges (Mona Lisa Smile), Lee Thompson Young (FlashForward), Bruce McGill (Law Abiding Citizen) and Lorraine Bracco (The Sopranos). It is based on two crime novels from international best-selling author Tess Gerritsen, The Surgeon and The Apprentice.

Following Rizzoli and Isles at 10.30pm is the Australian premiere of Southland, a raw and authentic look at a police gang unit in Los Angeles. From the beaches of Malibu to the streets of East Los Angeles, Southland is a fast-moving drama that takes viewers inside the lives of cops, criminals, victims and their families.

Michael Cudlitz (A River Runs Through It) plays John Cooper, a seasoned LA cop assigned to train rookie Ben Sherman (Benjamin McKenzie, The O.C.). Cooper’s honest, no-nonsense approach to the job leaves Sherman questioning whether or not he has what it takes to become a police officer. 

Cudlitz and McKenzie are joined by cast members Regina King, who plays Detective Lydia Adams. She lives with and is the primary carer for her mother. Her partner, Detective Russell Clarke (Tom Everett Scott), is an unhappily married father of three. Michael McGrady plays Detective Daniel Salinger who oversees fellow detectives Nate Moretta (Kevin Alejandro) and Sammy Bryant (Shawn Hatosy). Arija Bareikis plays patrol officer Chickie Brown, a single mother who dreams of being the first woman accepted into SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics squad).

The Monday night summer line up on GEM is really hotting up with these brand-new Australian premiere series.

Rizzoli and Isles: Monday, November 29, at 9.30pm on GEM

Southland: Monday, November 29, at 10.30pm on GEM