Radio Times: Review by:; Alison Graham

This visceral, stripped-down and spare cop show isn’t a huge hit either in its native America or over here. But Southland’s knot of devotees, me included, loves its very bones.

Instantly, at the start of a new series, we are back on the piercingly hot, blasted streets of South Los Angeles. Poverty and murder are routine and trying to hold back the tide are the Southland cops, cruising the parched landscape, watching for trouble. And trouble always comes.

Tough-but-not jaded detective Lydia is dogged by one of her hopeless cases, a drug addict informant who wants help, while a now sprightly John Cooper has a new partner, the brutally pragmatic and ambitious Jessica Tang (played by Lucy Liu, an excellent addition to the series). We know that sooner or later there will be blood.

About this programme

1/10. New series. John Cooper returns to duty and teams up with new partner Jessica. Lydia worries about the safety of a former confidential informant, while Ben, Sammy and Dewey chase an armed man into a school. Crime drama, starring Michael Cudlitz and Regina King.