“Southland” Star Michael Cudlitz: I Don’t Think John Has Any Sort of “Gay Agenda”

Eric Hegedus of the New York Post has a Q&A with Michael Cudlitz of TNT’s Southland which was canceled by NBC before the start of its second season. Michael, who plays gay cop John Cooper on the show, was very vocal with his displeasure with NBC via Twitter and it made him something of a hero to the show’s loyal fans.

TNT picked up the show and NBC had egg on its face after The Jay Leno Show tanked in the ratings. Leno running five days a week at 10 p.m. was the reason why NBC needed fewer scripted shows like Southland.

Here is an excerpt from the interview:

Q: Are you feeling a little smug about NBC’s decision to cancel Jay Leno’s 10 p.m. show?
A: No. That’s like poking the monkey in the cage. They’re a major network; they’ve got issues and are gonna deal with whatever they’re gonna deal with. I hope they put five more hours of scripted drama back on television. Right now it’s about our show succeeding and getting our people back to work.

Q: You play Cooper — the gay guy — and he seems to have a lot more issues than any other character.
A: Well, that’s because he’s older. (He laughs.) It helps to deflect the audience. It’s funny that people actually make that, like, “Oh, John has so many problems — and God, he’s gay!” A lot of people are, and they got their lives going on — like their mom’s dying of cancer, or they’re abused, or had a great time growing up. It’s just one more thing; he’s really sorting out more. I don’t think John has any sort of “gay agenda” — he has a lot of personal experiences that he’s working through.

Q: Where do you think you would be if TNT hadn’t nabbed “Southland”?
A: Probably looking for more work like every other actor does when their shows go down. We are, you know, migrant workers. (He laughs.) I think you do it, you finish it, and, you know, all the tomatoes are picked here. Great, where are we going next? I don’t know — orange season! You go where the work is.

For the complete interview, click on the link to access the New York Post interview.

Ben McKenzie: Southland’s “Very Grateful” for TNT

Ben McKenzie called in to Ryan Seacrest’s radio show on Monday to talk about Southland’s revival on TNT.

Here’s what he had to say about TNT, how he found out Southland was canceled and his Halloween costume…

On learning of Southland’s cancellation: “We were ’sposed to premiere on NBC October 23 - we were on set shooting, I was making plans to go to New York with my publicist and the producers came to the set and said ‘We’re canceled!’

On being thankful for a second shot: “TNT’s a great network and we’re excited about it…..It’s very rare that a network show gets to have a second airing - we’re very grateful for that.”

On his Halloween costume: “I went as Jay Leno! He kind of canceled our show, so I thought…[I wore] The Jay Leno mask, jeans shirt and jeans that Jay Leno wears when he’s not in the suit.”

Southland will begin airing on TNT Tuesday, January 12th at 10:00 pm (EST).

Southland Lives, Thanks to TNT!

TNT has picked up the cop drama Southland and will air it on Tuesday nights starting in January.

The drama stars Ben McKenzie, Regina King and Tom Everett Scott, among others and, best of all, has the prominent gay character of officer John Cooper played by Michael Cudlitz (pictured above).

As you recall, NBC produced 13 episodes of the series (seven aired last spring) then in a bizarre move, canceled the series before it even made its scheduled season premiere this fall.

TNT, already home to such terrific dramas as The Closer, Saving Grace and Raising the Bar, will air all of the completed episodes of Southland. If the ratings are strong, the cable channel will produce new ones.

“This is a perfect opportunity for us to introduce the series to new viewers,” Steve Koonin, president of Turner Entertainment Networks, said in a statement.

Talks Ongoing to Revive Canceled "Southland"

Keep up the faith, "Southland" fans.

John Wells, executive producer of the recently canceled NBC drama, called actors on the show late last week to tell them he is in talks with two networks about the cop series finding a new home.

Wells reportedly didn't identify the networks, but TNT, corporate sibling of show producer Warner Bros. TV, has been interested in acquiring the series and is considered the most likely contender to pick it up.

Even if a deal is to be made to go to another network, there are indications that "Southland," whose production was shut down by NBC this month, won't resume filming anytime soon. The potential buyer would run the seven episodes from the first season and the six produced episodes from the second as a 13-episode freshman cycle.

NBC Cancels Cop Show "Southland"

It's the end of the road for NBC's cop drama "Southland," which has been canceled before the launch of its second season.

Although supportive of the show, NBC brass considered the six episodes produced for the new season to be too dark and gritty for broadcast TV -- especially now that the network's 10 p.m. week-night dramas must air an hour earlier to accommodate "The Jay Leno Show."

"Southland" was originally slated to debut in its new Friday 9 p.m. time slot last month. But NBC decided to push the start to October 23 and air "Dateline NBC" in the meantime. It is not clear when the six produced episodes will air.

"Southland" got off to a good start when it premiered in midseason in the Thursday 10 p.m. time period, succeeding NBC's long-running medical drama, "ER." But despite solid reviews, the series suffered ratings erosion.

It hasn't been a good start for NBC's scripted dramas this fall, with rookies "Trauma" and "Mercy" struggling along with most of the returning veterans, including "Heroes" and "Law & Order: SVU," which is still settling into its new Wednesday 9 p.m. slot.

There is a possibility that "Southland" could be shopped to cable networks. The cancellation of "Southland" ends (for now) a long relationship between NBC and executive producer John Wells, the man behind such hits as "ER" and "The West Wing."

Gay Characters on the Rise in TV Land!

The number of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) characters on broadcast TV is again on the rise, according to a new report from The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). The group’s 14th annual TV study found that 18 LGBT characters will account for 3% of primetime scripted series regulars in the 2009-2010 broadcast TV season. That’s up from 1.3% in 2006, 1.1% in 2007 and 2.6% in 2008.

New LGBT characters include bisexual Ella on Melrose Place, Southland’s gay police officer John Cooper, Modern Family’s gay couple Mitchell and Cameron, and coming-out high schooler Kurt on Glee.

ABC continues to lead the networks with eight LGBT characters, or 5% of its 168 total series regulars. Fox, which had no regular LGBT characters two years ago, now has 4 characters (4%). NBC has 3 characters (3%), The CW has two (3%), but CBS had no LGBT characters out of its 132 regulars.

Fall TV Premieres: Friday Night

This year's Fall TV Premiere Week continues tonight as several of your favorites return for their TGIF engagement. Here's what's new...

DOLLHOUSE (FOX 9:00 pm): Season two of this Sci-Fi drama with Echo (Eliza Dushku), a programmable human employed/enslaved by a shadowy organization, will include more character story lines into the mission-of-the-week template.

GHOST WHISPERER (CBS 8:00 pm): The fifth season starts off with Melinda (Jennifer Love Hewitt) going through a traumatic labor scene which was direct by Hewitt. Then the action leaps forward five years to Melinda and Jim (David Conrad) now a doctor that is the centerpiece of the dark places the producers intend to go.

LAW & ORDER (NBC 8:00 pm): Entering it's 20th season, with the producers promising to get even rippier-from-the-headlines including an episode on the shooting of an abortion doctor and one which puts Dick Chenet and the torture clique on trial.

MEDIUM (CBS 9:00 pm): Now on CBS, season six will pick up four months after NBC's June finale with Allison (Patricia Arquette) out of a coma. Also watch out for the Halloween episode in late October which will incorporate footage from George A. Romero's 1968 classic "Night of the Living Dead."

NUMB3RS (CBS 10:00 pm): Season six will stay focused on solving crimes after Anita (Navi Rawat) responds to Charlie's (David Krumholtz) proposal. Gary Cole will guest star in an episode where he turns up as a suspected sniper with plenty of math involved.

SMALLVILLE (THE CW 8:00 pm): Clark's (Tom Welling) relationship with Lois (Erica Durance) provides the heart of season nine. Lois will hold the key to Clark's journey which you will begin to learn on the last second of the premiere episode.

SOUTHLAND (NBC 9:00 pm): On the second season opener, Lydia (Regina King) finds herself teamed up with an aggressive new cop (Amaury Nolasco) after the shooting of her partner Russell (Tom Everett Scott). In addition, more details about the private lives of rich-boy-turned-cop Ben (Ben McKnenzie) and closeted blowhard John Cooper (Michael Cudlitz) will unfurl.

All schedules are based on Eastern Time.