I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't an avid fan of "The O.C.,'' I watched the show religiously throughout its run. So when I was presented the opportunity to interview Ben McKenzie (Ryan Atwood on the show), I of course accepted. And it was a pleasure, because he was incredibly nice and gracious. I made the offhand comment that this was my first interview, and he loved it. After his attempt to make me nervous (jokingly), we did the interview.

I have a rule, anytime one of "The O.C." cast members is in a new show or movie, I always give it a chance. Thank God I did, because his new show "Southland" is fantastic, and I probably would not have checked it out on my own.

The show has had a pretty rocky run unfortunately. It had a reasonably strong first season on NBC and was renewed for a second season, only to be canceled because they felt it was too dark to lead into Jay Leno. Luckily, TNT picked up the series and are waiting to see how it fares. The show certainly isn't too dark for NBC who in the past couple of years have become well known for their myriad of dramas. As of right now, they are not producing new episodes and are waiting to see how it fares ratings wise.

You can check out the interview below, and please check out "Southland" on TNT on January 12, at 10/9C, where they will re-air the first season, before showing the second season episodes.

Interviewed by: John Mulhern
Edited by: Chase Whale