Southland
NBC | TNT | Release Date: April 9, 2009
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
77
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 59 Critic Reviews
Positive:
49
Mixed:
9
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
Philadelphia Daily NewsEllen GrayJan 4, 2011
Season 3 Review: Southland, which seems to be at pains to give each of its characters and their stories equal weight, may just be a little too evenhanded for its own good. Read full review
60
PopMattersCynthia Fuchs
Season 2 Review: Much like last season, this one already has Adams and Ben standing in for viewers. Their insights, or their reactions, mold yours. Read full review
60
Newark Star-LedgerAlan Sepinwall
Season 1 Review: It looks great, makes good use of Los Angeles locations and has a solid ensemble cast (including Regina King and Tom Everett Scott as detectives). But it feels emotionally empty in the same way "Third Watch" so often did. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesMary McNamara
Season 1 Review: In theory, Southland could turn out to be a rich and textured cross between, say, "Hill Street Blues" and "Crash" with a little "Training Day" on the side, but the pilot, for all its horrific crimes and grimy street scenes, is strangely bland. Read full review
60
PopMattersLesley Smith
Season 1 Review: If visuals are not mundane in Southland, neither is the dialogue, especially the incidental repartee that oils coexistence in a high-stress profession. Read full review
58
TimeJames Poniewozik
Season 1 Review: Ten years ago, Southland would have seemed revolutionary on TV. But now it does feel like network playing catch-up with cable. Read full review
50
HitfixAlan SepinwallJan 3, 2011
Season 3 Review: The show is trying to depict a good cross-section of the city's cop culture. But the scenes with the uniform cops - Ben McKenzie as a young quick study, Michael Cudlitz as his gruff but clever training officer - are just much more vibrant and memorable than anything with the detectives. Read full review
50
Washington PostHank Stuever
Season 1 Review: The pilot episode is laden with so much setup for countless other characters that the network should have supplied a flow chart. Read full review
50
Newark Star-LedgerAlan Sepinwall
Season 2 Review: It’s a bland, interchangeable bunch, with most of them having a single identifiable trait. Read full review
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