NBC had planned to air Southland season 2, but just before the season was scheduled to begin, the plug was pulled, a casualty of primetime Leno. TNT has now picked up the rights to the show.

Southland will premiere on TNT Tuesday January 12 at 10/9c. The network has grabbed the seven episodes of season 1 that aired on NBC, as well as the six episodes of season 2 that were scheduled to air.

So far, no plans have been made to film any new episodes.

Well, this is different. Cancellations are normally more predictable than this. Southland, which had been scheduled to premiere in two weeks, has now been cancelled.

The show, which had been a ratings success for NBC when it premiered earlier this year, fell quite noticeably as the season ticked on, but still finished on a positive note, particularly as compared to most NBC fare.

Regardless, it was renewed for a second season, although it was stuck in the Friday night deathslot. With Leno filling up 5 hours of the network’s schedule, there’s less need to keep as many shows alive, although it does leave me wondering what NBC’s going to do in a year when they have to cancel Leno.

Launching in ER’s old time slot, Southland is probably the only recent new success story from NBC. In recent episodes, its ratings have been getting progressively worse, particularly among adults 18-49, but it’s got enough promise that NBC is willing to give it a shot at continuing. NBC has confirmed that Southland has been renewed for season 2.