Regina King as Det. Lydia Adams

Were you, like me, slightly irritated (yeah, that’s an understatement) at the blanket snub by the Emmy® Awards for SouthLAnd this year, considering the many outstanding performances and story lines that we saw in Season 2? Did you wonder, like me, if the lack of nominations probably had more to do with politics than talent & skills, especially considering the fact that the episodes were produced by NBC (so NBC would get the credit instead of TNT)?

Well, it looks like we aren’t the only ones who think so. Entertainment Weekly (and just about every other entertainment news organization out there) had predicted nominations in multiple categories for several of the cast members of SouthLAnd before they were announced. Now EW has posted and “Emmy Snubs” online poll, asking which actors and actresses you think should be the winners. In the Lead Actress in a Drama Series category is none other than our beloved Regina King, who we all know should have been nominated for the real Emmy.

Now it’s your chance to tell the Emmy voters that they got it wrong, and the remind the rest of the Internet just how amazing Regina King is. We need everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, to go to the link below and vote for Regina so we can get her into the #1 position. Vote yourself, then spread the word through Twitter, Facebook, email – every method you can – so we can knock that Bones woman out of the #1 spot!

So get your butts over to this page and vote, then tell everyone you know to do the same!

SouthLAnd and Ben McKenzie fans who can’t wait for the next season to premiere in January on TNT will get rare chance to see Ben live on stage this fall in Los Angeles as he takes on the Tennessee Williams class The Glass Menagerie. Appearing in the role of “the gentleman caller” in this beloved classic, Ben will be joining Two-time  Tony Award®-winner Judith Ivy (Nurse Jackie, Flags of Our Fathers, The Devil’s Advocate), Patch Darragh (Mercy) and Keira Keeley. The Glass Menagerie is directed Gordon Edelstein in what is called “a critically lauded re-imagining of the classic story.”

“…the  production is suffused with emotion from its first moments to its last,  turbulent with the confusions of love and hope and regret and fear that fill  any family living room in a time of crisis and stress.”

- The  New York Times

The play will be showing from September 1 through October 17 at the famous, and fabulous, Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, part of the Center Theater Group that includes the Ahmanson Theater and the Kirk Douglas Theater. This 750 seat theater is an intimate smaller stage, with seating on 3 sides that brings the audience closer to the “action” giving you a feeling of really being part of the production. For those with special needs, it is also wheelchair accessible and provides Phonic Ear sound system headsets on request. Situated in downtown Los Angeles, within walking distance of a multitude of restaurants and clubs and easily accessible to public transportation, the Mark Taper Forum is the perfect destination for a complete evening out on the town for dinner and a show.

To make things even more special, SouthlandTvFans.com visitors are being extended a special offer. From September 1-8 only, for all performances, tickets are only $25 for seats in Section A (directly in front of the stage) – that’s $10-$20 off the regular pricing, depending on the night! Don’t wait, though – tickets are selling out fast. To get the special discounted rate, simply call (213) 628-2772 and mention code CALLER or go to http://www.centertheatergroup.org/caller.

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SouthLAnd fans know her as the eccentric Tammi Bryant, wife of detective Sammy Bryant (played by Shawn Hatosy), but Emily Bergl is not to be confused with Tammi. Far from it! Emily is an extremely talented film, television and stage actress who has performed in everything from comedies to dramas. She is also a dedicated humanitarian and activist, spending much of her non-acting time volunteering for organizations like Habitat for Humanity building homes in the USA and around the world, or working with Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic.

Now in her musical debut, Emily brings us Kidding On the Square, a sexy vintage cabaret that invites the audience on a roaring 20s ride through love, heartbreak, and everything in between. Come and enjoy an old fashioned romantic evening told from the perspective of a modern girl and the eccentric characters she inhabits.  Emily Bergl, along with acclaimed musical director and pianist G. Scott Lacy, creates a cabaret world that blends classic Fats Waller and Cole Porter hits with vintage takes on modern favorites from the Scissor Sisters to Madonna.

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Following the news of SouthLAnd‘s renewal for a 3rd season by TNT late last month, even more countries have now picked up the critically acclaimed show, including South Africa and Brazil.

In South Africa, SouthLAnd will air starting May 13th on the M-Net Action satellite network, at 7pm every Thursday. Based on the website for the network, this actually appears to be for the entire region of the southern African continent, not just the country of South Africa, as their satellite service is split into regions for South, West and East Africa. This is great news for the international exposure of SouthLAnd!

Also starting on June 3, SouthLAnd will be airing in Brazil on TVA Channel 20 and Sky Channel 58.

Both join the already existing lineup of international venues for the show, including Bulgaria (Pro.BG), Canada (SuperChannel), Germany (Kabel1) and Iceland (Stöð 2) which just premiered on April 6th. Other countries that previously aired SouthLAnd and may still air reruns of the 1st two seasons include Italy (AXN), France (Orange), Norway (TV Norge), Sweden (Tv3), Portugal (Fox Portugal) and Turkey (DiziMax). The More4 channel in the United Kingdom aired Season 1 of SouthLAnd but has not yet announced any plans to air Season 2, but still retains the rights to the show.

With this latest round of new distribution, combined with the renewal by TNT for a 3rd season, we can hold out hope for even more countries to be added to the list. In particular, I know of more than a few people who are hoping for sooner rather than later in Spain and Japan. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for you!