Steven Spielberg once said that Steven Spielberg has been directing movies since the 1970s. He's seen it all in Hollywood. Spielberg has worked with countless writers, producers, and other creatives, and not just in film. His early career was marked by directing stints on Columbo, The Name of the Game, and Night Gallery. His executive producing credits on television are even more impressive, with credits in everything from The Pacific to Under the Dome.

If there's anyone who knows quality, it's Steven Spielberg. One of the irable parts about him is that he has always been willing to the arts and voice his appreciation for works and people he thinks deserve it. Unlike a director like Quentin Tarantino, who is famously unapologetic about his opinions on film and television, Spielberg is a bit more of the kind, grandpa type. When it comes to writing for TV shows, it can be hard to maintain consistency and excellence for long, but Southland was able to, and Spielberg noticed.

Steven Spielberg Once Called Southland A "Genius" TV Show With Great Writing

Spielberg Said That The Best Writing Was Happening On Television

In May 2009, Steven Spielberg received an honorary doctorate from Boston University, and in the lead-up to the ceremony, he did an interview with BU Today. Spielberg starts off by talking about how good TV is as a training ground for filmmakers and that some of the best modern writing is happening in television. When asked what shows he'd been watching, Spielberg answered, "I watch the new show Southland that John Wells does, which I think is genius." That was the first season of the series that Spielberg was talking about.

Spielberg Is Right About The 5-Season Procedural

Southland Is A Tightly Written And Focused Series

Steven Spielberg was on to something when he said Southland was genius. The five-season police procedural drama series premiered in 2009 and lasted until 2013. The series has a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes and follows the lives of the of the Los Angeles Police Department. Starring rookie officer Ben Sherman (Ben McKenzie) and his veteran training officer, John Cooper (Michael Cudlitz), Southland is even more focused on the personal lives of the officers than most police procedurals. Operating with fewer serialized storylines, Southland kept a tight focus.

Though it had a large cast, Southland mostly focused on a tight group of individuals, including Cooper, Sherman, Lydia Adams (Regina King), and Sammy Bryant (Shawn Hatosy). This focus meant each character was given their due and fleshed out in a way characters in most procedurals are not always. It's a realistic look at police work, with each drive to a crime scene, enough to put your heart in your throat as you wonder what the LAPD will need to deal with this time. It's fast-paced and gripping, and the straightforward plots show a real confidence in the writing.

The Reason Southland Was Canceled Despite Its Great Quality

Some Of The Actors Were Starring In Pilots

Despite its strong critical ratings, Southland was canceled in May 2013, just a month after the Southland season 5 finale (via Deadline). Southland originally premiered on NBC, but when the network dropped it, TNT picked it up for the next four seasons, making it something of a point of pride for the network. However, TNT had to make the difficult decision to cancel, with a rep from the network saying, "TNT has made the difficult decision not to renew Southland for another season. We are enormously proud of Southland, which stands as one of the best police dramas ever made."

Executive producer of Southland, John Wells, has also produced ER, Shameless, and The Pitt.

While no official reason was given, the fact that three of the stars had roles on pilots that year that were in contention to be picked up may have had something to do with it. Hatosy appeared in CBS's Reckless, King in ABC's Divorce: A Love Story, and McKenzie in CBS's The Advocates. It's a bummer that the show was canceled while it was in its prime, but at least viewers, like Steven Spielberg, have five seasons of Southland to return to.