TNT Picks Up Southland, Pits Against Leno

As predicted, TNT has picked up Jay Leno's first scripted casualty, Southland, after a month of negotiations with Warner Bros. Fittingly enough, when the sophomore cop drama makes its cable premiere in January, the unceremoniously ousted series will face off directly against its death maker.

Beginning January 12, TNT will air Southland on Tuesday nights at 10 PM, opposite The Jay Leno Show. When NBC dumped Southland in early October after delaying its second season premiere, the network cited its "gritty," un-Leno-like content as reason for cancellation. Now "gritty" can go up against Leno's grisly, and possibly follow up in the network-trouncing footsteps of Sons of Anarchy.

TNT has agreed to show all 13 episodes of the program, beginning with John Wells' first season and leading into the unaired second season. Depending on the success of the program, TNT may restart production. President of Turner Entertainment Networks Steve Koonin trumpeted in the new series this morning:

"This is a great win for fans of Southland and a perfect opportunity to introduce the series to new viewers. It's also another outstanding example of how TNT has established itself as the go-to place for the best dramas on television."

And we will finally get to see what happened to Michael Cudlitz's Officer John Cooper during that dangling Memorial Day fireworks storyline.