Under the terms being negotiated, TNT will buy the seven episodes that ran last spring as well as the six new episodes that Warner Bros. and John Wells Productions made for NBC. The show is not going back into production because TNT will decide whether to order additional episodes of "Southland" after it sees how the drama performs. The show isn't expected to make its cable debut until after the new year, and the new episodes might not run until late February or early March.
via Los Angeles Times.
That's pretty much what I expected the deal to be. TNT salvages the episodes already produced and waits to see the ratings until ordering more. I wouldn't bet on that happening, but the deal means the chance is no longer absolutely zero.
Southland could be a surprise, that show is SO-TNT. i hope it works
I really think we could see more episodes of Southland after that, but we have to wait
that’s *exactly* what Nellie Andreeva wrote over a week ago. I go to Nellie not Nikki for my Southland scoop
Joseph, if you’re a caring person, you should prepare not to see them. TNT might not even know if it wants more episodes for six months. Do you expect people who work on the show to turn down other jobs in the meanwhile?
Robert, considering it’s (now) a cable show, I’m not sure that’s enough reason to assume it won’t be seen again. Most cable shows are produced well before they are aired, and yet they manage to keep most of their cast members. I would assume TNT will have the cast contracted at least through when the show airs. Even if some of the cast does other pilots or whatnot, they can still be back if the show gets another season.
Julia, why would you assume after production has been shut down that TNT would have the cast contracted at least through whenever the show airs? I assume the contracts have already been completely been nullified with the shutdown of production with no current plans for future production. Plus, now that it’s on cable, it seems like those contracts would need to be completely renegotiated anyway.
That said, if the scheduling works out as the article suggests (with the six episodes from season two set to air in February or March) it’s really NOT that far away. But I don’t think there’s any reason to believe its going to perform well on TNT in February or March. If it got a 1.9 on NBC in May…
Oh, I agree that it’s not likely to do well on TNT, but I don’t think the fact that it will be a while before there’s a decision is enough of a reason to assume it’s dead for good.
I may be wrong about the contracts, but I can’t imagine that TNT wouldn’t at least try to get everyone on a contract. Besides, the contracts are with the studio. While NBC may have shut down the production, WB obviously didn’t think it was dead, so I would think they would keep everyone contracted.
Julia, I think you’re wrong about the contracts. I can imagine that TNT wouldn’t try to get people under contract, and I’d be surprised if they did. What I heard in the case of Southland, which could definitely be wrong was that the existing contracts w/WB expired with the shutdown of production. I can’t imagine that Warner Bros would want to keep people under contract for months — which would require paying something — with no certainty of future production.
Okay, so the cast filmed these six episodes in what, July? And TNT will air the 13 episodes sometime between February and May? The show is not going to be a ratings winner, that’s a known fact, but we don’t know what TNT’s magic number is for renewal. Let’s just say, hypothetically of course, they decide to order new episodes. That would put filming at around Fall/Winter 2010?
There won’t be any new episodes. The cast is not going to wait over a year to get another paycheck.
Robert, I seriously doubt that NBC’s decision to shut down production nullified WB’s contracts with the stars. Most especially since Wells and WB were shopping the show a day later. Also, contracts run for a certain amount of time; WB wouldn’t have to pay the stars anything more until the contract runs out. At that point, there’s a provision for an extension or agents may renegotiate, but given that WB thought it was getting 13 episodes on NBC, I’m betting those contracts have a while before they’re done.
Actually, Kevin, filming on episode six of the second season just wrapped Friday, October 16.
TNT should have a good idea by week 4 or 5 if the show deserves a pickup. If airing starts, say, the second week of January, a decision could be made by the end of February. (Right around pilot season, when the actors could book new projects in second position to SOUTHLAND). With an episode order by March, shooting could start as early as May.
Not saying that any of this is *likely* just that it’s possible.
Did NBC’s cancellation of “Medium” nullify the contracts?
I was just taking a shot in the dark Bill, I clearly don’t know how they schedule when to film…lol.
But yeah, either way more new episodes is not likely.
Cammy, what I heard is that the contracts expired, again, that could be wrong.
The notion that contracts run a certain amount of time is correct. The notion that they exist without HAVING TO PAY PEOPLE is nonsense.
If your’re suggesting that the contracts were front-loaded in such a way that they don’t have to pay anything additional because they’ve already paid it, that could be the case, though it is definitely not what I heard.
TV Bill, I don’t think they will have a good idea until week 9 or 10 by which time 2 or 3 of the never before seen episodes will have aired.
Robert, even without contracts, I think it would be easy enough to make a decision in time to keep all the actors. It probably depends on how much the actors are committed to the series, but they can easily sign on to pilots with the understanding that if Southland is renewed, they will be doing that instead. As long as a decision to renew is made by May, I think they can keep everyone.
Maybe I’m wrong about this, but I think the actors would probably be smart to do that, since if Southland would be in its second season on a cable network, and shows don’t get pulled mid-run on cable. If they stuck with a new series on broadcast, they could be in the same position they are right now, with production stopped after six episodes.
I’m not even sure why I’m arguing this. I never watched the show and really don’t care what happens to it.
I think you’re right about the contracts, Robert. I imagine NBC’s cancellation of the series nullified all existing contracts (‘force majeure’ maybe?).
I’m not sure TNT necessarily needs to wait until any of the new episodes air til they make a decision. Although, for them, that’s probably the best case scenario.
But even if wanted to see how all of them did, they could probably be back in production by June.
But yeah, it’s a long shot we’ll ever see any new ones produced. Unless it’s a big hit on TNT.
Just happy there will be a commitment to air the eps already made of Southland. Southland is so much better then Dark Blue, hope it can perform better.
NBC’s cancellation of Southland didn’t nullify the actors contracts with Warner Bros. (that’s the key point, btw). Immediately after learning of NBC’s decision, Warner Bros. began shopping the show around and less than a month later has secured a deal with TNT (its corporate sibling in case anyone forgot). While they may not produce new episodes until assessing ratings potential/future revenue of the show, the actors are legally required to return to SOUTHLAND the minute production resumes unless there is a stipulation in the actors’ contracts that states otherwise. This is similar to The CW’s cancellation of THE GAME earlier this year.
Unlike that show, the contracts for the SOUTHLAND cast didn’t lapse long enough where there was no network agreeing to air the series.
As far as the show being on cable, there is a possibility the contract will be re-negotiated, but it’s likely to be re-negotiated down due to assumed ratings constraints on cable vs broadcast (even though we know otherwise).
All in all, the actors are free to get work while the show is not in production, but you better believe they’ll be back on set when TNT/Warner Bros. makes the call even if they are filming for a pilot for CBS or ABC (you know those actors will never work on an NBC show again).
Errol, very interesting info on the contracts, but I wonder about ” (you know those actors will never work on an NBC show again).”
Do actors really shun a network after it cancels one of their shows?
Errol, they were shopping the show around the next week because the show was canceled. There is no network agreement to air any additional episodes of the series.
At this point, whether anyone is under contract seems pretty irrelevant. TNT is not so committed to the show that it was willing to start production back up. The odds of even one additional episode of SOUTHLAND ever being made are so close to zero that I’d definitely take the “under” bet if the the over/under is ONE additional episode!
In the meanwhile, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if TNT slips the show all the way until summer, even further protracting its fate at least as far as fans are concerned!