Hello, fellow awesome enthusiasts. Today I would like to talk to you about why you are watching Southland starting NOW.



Point 1: Detective Lydia Adams and Guns.

Meet Det. Lydia Adams, played by the inestimable Regina King.

Exhibit A.


Exhibit B.



In case you haven't seen it, there's a pretty iconic scene going around the intarwebs (here's a link: Detective Adams' Shotgun Scene) that involves Det. Lydia Adams being protective, smart, and FUCKING BADASS. With a shotgun.

Lydia is on a case against some local gangs where the only witness to testify is a teenage girl named Janila. After Janila almost gets killed a couple of times, Lydia agrees to take her home, in order to guard her.

Which is where the shotgun comes in.

Exhibit C.


Detective Adams goes forth in a hold-your-breath scene to protect the girl in her custody against home-invading killers. Totally BADASS! But that's not all. Yeah, it's a beautiful FUCK YEAH! moment of pure competence and bravery but it's also, for all that,a very human look at the situation. From the moment she goes on alert, Det. Adams is not only physically suiting up but also mentally gearing up. This is a woman who has a perfectly human reaction to the situation which is that fight or flight response that means the adrenaline is pumping, your breathing is going crazy, and every instinct is screaming at you to do something. And then she channels all that into the kind of badassery you would expect from a tough, competent, kickass police detective.


Point 2: Officer Chickie Brown on the Job

Chickie is the other main female protagonist. And get this, she's got problems. Yeah, I know. But wait for it.

Exhibit A.


What? She's human? Not perfect? Got a shitty alcoholic partner she doesn't know what to do with?

Exhibit B. Shitty alcoholic partner


The answer to all those questions is yes. Chickie has a tough time of it, with some of the other police officers giving her shit and intimating that she can't do her job. That she's lost her touch or never really had it. But that's alright because what Chickie does is, wait for it, . . . her job. Despite all the crap that gets rained down on her, she's there because she's following the maxim that seems to run through the heart and soul of the show.

"You're a cop because you don't know how not to be one." - John Cooper



Bascially, there's tons of reasons to be watching this show, starting with the intensely tight writing and ending with the beautifully realized characters played with grace and strength and humanity (<-- that oft missing feeling that what you're seeing is real, that these people and their choices matter). But the best reasons, of course, are the AWESOME WOMEN!

If you've got any Women of Southland Love, let's see it in the comments. This post is not comprehensive by any stretch of the imagination.