Another Strange Move by NBC

In August NBC decided to postpone John Wells' Southland's fall premiere, a move that was purportedly designed to prevent the series from having to compete too heavily with rival network starters; but this week, the Peacock announced that the sophomore season of the scripted police drama will not return as planned.

With six episodes in the can, it is reported that Wells is already seeking a new home for the show.

Should it get snagged up by a rival network, the situation would be eerily reminiscent of NBC's earlier decision to cancel Medium, only to have it picked up by CBS.

With the decision to fill up its Monday through Friday 10pm time-slot with The Jay Leno Show, it would appear that the struggling network is focusing its efforts on cost-saving measures; however, as reported by the LA Times, cutting a show short of its promised 13 episodes is pricey, as NBC is required to pay for completed installments in addition to fees associated with shutting down a production.

It is unclear whether monies saved will outweigh monies lost.

The only two new scripted dramas that remain, in an apparent attempt to fill the void left by ER, are the medical-centric dramas Trauma and Mercy.  According to people familiar with the situation, overtime outlays on the latter could be high:  Mercy was not intended for a fall premiere, and the New York production is therefore often pulling grueling extended work-weeks at the behest of suits on the Left Coast to complete ready-to-air-episodes prior to shortened holiday schedules.

NBC was noticeably absent from Nielsen's Top Ten in the week of September 28th, earning a rank only for its airing of Sunday Night Football.