From OC to Southland

After just one episode of NBC's new police drama Southland, I am hooked. Not only does it have a good mix of police officer and detective plot lines, but it is NOT a hospital drama. THANK GOD. I'm THROUGH with hospital dramas. Can the TV industry unanimously proclaim a 2 year grace period in which no more hospital dramas land prime time spots? Enough is enough. You may argue that there are more police dramas on TV. But hospital dramas are all the same because of one crucial aspect: setting. They are all shot inside the confines of a building. As far as I'm concerned, House could be limping around be a different ward of the Grey's Anatomy hospital. Sure, fleeting references and sky line shots of Seattle appear throughout Grey's Anatomy, but those shots feel more like postcards from the outside world that the doctors never see.

Okay, back to Southland. The cases in the first episode had a Law and Order feel to them, but there was more meat to the character development throughout the episode. I suspect that Southland will provide more insight into characters' personal drama than Law and Order. I would try to compare Southland to the CSI shows, but I have actually never watched an episode. I'm already thrilled with the casting of the show. Ben McKenzie, who made his claim to fame on The O.C., is perfectly cast as the fresh faced Bel Air boy who's taking a shot a being a cop. Obviously a rookie, McKenzie's character is already taking a lot of grief from the other cops. The whole cast seems comfortable in their roles, and it's just been one episode. I look forward to seeing Regina King on a prime time spot. She's been a sleeper actress for far too long.

Finally, Southland holds nothing back from the underbelly of Los Angeles. It is time for American television to depart from the shameless extravagance and privilege of shows like The O.C., The Hills, Gossip Girl, The Fabulous Life, Cribs, and Real Housewives of [fill in location]. Also, now that reality shows have reached a new point of surreality, I want dramas to provide a bit more photojournalism. Clearly, Southland is going to embellish a little, but the fact that the show is not shot on a studio lot makes the gritty cop drama more genuine.

Southland is just the cure to the hemorrhage of hospital dramas.