‘Southland’ star Regina King books ABC pilot; what does this mean?

If “Southland” fans were not worried already about the future of the fan favorite show, they probably are now. Why? One of the show’s biggest stars, and an actress that is consistently overlooked, has landed a new potential part someone else.

According to a brand-new report coming in via Deadline, Regina King has signed on to appear in the ABC comedy pilot “Divorce,” where she will specifically play the part of Cassandra, a dental hygienist and wife to Adam Goldberg’s character. This pilot also stars Andrea Anders as well as Jason Jones from “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” and it makes some sense for King to do this given that she did just have a stint on “The Big Bang Theory” as the snarky head of a Human Resources department.

So does this mean that “Southland” is for sure dead? Not necessarily. The TNT drama is still on the bubble in theory, and this pilot is in second position so that King would return to her original series if it is renewed. However, actors typically do not sign on to new projects unless they believe that the future is bleak on their old ones, and this would give us more cause for concern than anything else.

We will probably know the fate of “Southland” before the ABC upfront presentation in May, which is probably a good thing since that is when we will ultimately learn whether or not “Divorce” is picked up to series.

What do you think about this casting, and are you going to be sad if “Southland” ends? Be sure to share some of your thoughts below, and you can read some more news when it comes to Regina King over at the link here.

Photo: ABC