TV: SouthLAnd (S4) (8/10)

Why did I watch it?

I've watched every season of SouthLAnd since it first aired in the UK only a few years ago and rate it as one of the finest police shows on TV. Hugely underrated on this side of the Atlantic.

What's it all about?

Season four of the character focused LAPD cop drama, SouthLAnd. Detective Lydia (Regina King) has a new partner and changing personal circumstances, John (Michael Cudlitz) returns clean from rehab and is partnered with new character Jessica (Lucy Liu) and Sammy (Shawn Hatosy) returns to patrol to partner recent P1 graduate Ben Sherman (Benjamin McKenzie).

Should you watch it?

Yes, SouthLAnd consistently delivers a raw, gritty and unfiltered adult cop drama week after week. The acting is superb again as you would expect from the small but experienced cast and although procedural, the small cast allows great attention to be given to all the characters, giving the show a more rewarding experience in comparison with the likes of Blue Bloods. What I particularly enjoy about SouthLAnd is the focus given to the officers of the LAPD, every cop show focuses on detectives solving cases, but SouthLAnd gives as much time, if not more, to Officers Sherman, Cooper etc. and their gritty dangerous day to day jobs.

Taking a leaf out of The Shield's book and then running with it, SouthLAnd has always stood out with its brutally realistic, almost documentary style approach to filming and the fourth season is no different.