17 Years Later, a Forgotten Crime Drama Series With 90% on RT Hits Netflix’s Top 10 Chart

February 1, 2026, 5:52pm

In a surprising turn of events, this cop show, which finished airing all the way back in 2013, is climbing the charts on Netflix, taking the #8 spot on the Netflix Top 10 Streaming list. The series still holds an impressive 90% with critics, while casual viewers have given it a shocking 98% on the Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter, saying that it still holds up today.

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Southland, which was wildly popular in its heyday, was put forward as a “raw and authentic look” at the lives of LAPD officers and follows veteran Los Angeles cop John Cooper (Michael Cudlitz), who lives deep in the closet, as he’s assigned to train rookie officer Ben Sherman (Benjamin McKenzie). Other members of the police team include Detective Lydia Adams (Regina King), who lives two different lives: one as a police officer and one as her mother’s caregiver; Lydia’s partner, Russell Clarke (Tom Everett Scott), a father with an unhappy home life; and others who have big dreams where their positions within the LAPD are concerned. The series is lauded for being incredibly real and authentic, and one that gets better with each season that was released.

What Separates Southland from Other Cop Shows?

“It’s exceptionally well made, with sharply drawn characters and, happily, more intense focus on the best of them in these initial patrols,” says Brian Lowry of Variety. Matt Zoller Seitz of Vulture agrees, adding, “Watching Southland puts knots in my stomach, and I mean that as praise. It’s the most engrossing cop series since season one of NBC’s Homicide, and maybe the most raggedy and real.”

And critics weren’t the only ones who raved about the series. General audiences went nuts for the crime drama, too. One viewer rates the series 9 out of 10 stars, saying, “Southland is absolutely one of the best cop dramas to ever be made! There are thousands of cop shows out there to choose from, but this is among the best and most original I’ve ever seen. The cast is excellent and makes it a very believable show. It really is one of the more underrated shows in television history!”

Another also rated it 9 out of 10 stars, making a pretty bold claim about the kind of hype the series deserved: “I think Southland deserves to be considered amongst the great series: The Sopranos, The Wire, Breaking Bad, Deadwood, Better Call Saul, Rome, Dexter, Oz, Lilyhammer, Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones, Ray Donovan andPeaky Blinders. It is also, arguably, the most underrated. It should never have been on NBC, which NBC realized, and then it went to cable at TNT. It flourished creatively, in its 4 seasons there, but never found its audience. If this show had been on HBO, I think more people would have found it and sung its praises.”

It seems that Southland managed to fill some pretty big shoes while it was airing, and audiences today are still craving the tension and action that it brought to the small screen—at least enough to give it a second life and millions of views on Netflix nearly 20 years after it ended.

Did you enjoy Southland? Tell us your favorite moment from the series in the comments. And don’t forget to check out the ComicBook forums to see what other fans are saying.