Southland: The Complete Second, Third and Fourth Seasons

Southland, debuting on NBC in 2009, marked a return to the gritty, life-on-the-streets law enforcement drama that has largely been replaced by colorful murder mysteries and high-tech procedurals. When NBC canceled the series after one short season, TNT stepped in to keep it going with its core cast and sensibility intact. The stories revolve around a number of people on the LAPD, but four characters anchor the show: idealistic rookie Ben Sherman (Ben McKenzie), dedicated veteran patrol officer John Cooper (Michael Cudlitz), compassionate detective Lydia Adams (Regina King), and anxious young detective Sammy Bryant (Shawn Hatosy), who returns to uniform after seeing his partner killed. C. Thomas Howell has a recurring role as angry, foul-mouthed, recovering alcoholic officer Dewey Dudek, and Lucy Liu signs on as Cooper's new partner for the fourth season. These crime-fighters don't all get along and they don't always make the right choices, which is what makes Southland so interesting. Shot in Los Angeles and stylishly directed, this series is all about the folks behind the badges, who are doing their best to keep the peace, enforce the law, and stay alive; the best of these episodes powerfully reflect the human drama at the center of the investigations and street crimes. Compiling all 26 episodes from the 2010-12 second through fourth seasons, DVD extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes and deleted scenes. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)