That "LA" is not a typo. This new NBC production created by Ann Biderman which debuted just last month is a cop show with the City of Angels as backdrop.
It's a gritty, gripping portrait of Los Angeles presented from the point of view not only of people in the police department, but of crime victims, criminals, and their families as well.
In its effort towards authenticity, "SouthLAnd" utilizes a neorealist style with on-location shoots, hand-held camerawork, use of non-professional actors (including actual off-duty cops), street lingo, and documentary-like visuals.
I like the fact that the show does not employ any scoring in its entirety, except for the first sequence of the very first episode, and the opening billboards, of course. There is no accompanying mood music to cue the viewer what to feel because the narrative is enough to keep the story engaging.
The show has a multi-character format which gives viewers different points of view of a story. The narrative is well-driven by motivations of the characters in focus. The dynamics between characters, even those that share very little screen time, are strongly palpable.
Regina King and Michael Cudlitz turn in committed performances. Ben McKenzie is a solid on-screen presence, not to mention a hot man-in-uniform.
I was able to catch SouthLAnd's pilot episode and have been following the show since then. I'm only on the third episode and already I'm hooked.
I just hope the show lasts long enough for its efforts to be recognized because TV gems, already hard to come by, are always in danger of meeting an early, undeserved death, such as what happened to "Pushing Daisies".
Here's a sampler from the pilot.
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