NEW YORK -- When Southland returned to TNT on Wednesday, viewers saw the character of Los Angeles police Detective Lydia Adams as a new mom desperately in need of sleep.
"She's not juggling things so well. Motherhood is not coming naturally," said actress Regina King, who plays Adams, in a recent interview.
"I think Lydia has always been one of those [people] who has been pretty good at everything she's done, so I wouldn't say that it's coming as a shock to her. It's just a lot. She didn't anticipate having a colicky baby, so she's not getting any sleep, and that affects everything, especially being a detective.... She's not, like, 100 percent."
Off-camera, King can definitely relate. She's not a new mom, but she has been pulling double duty, directing and acting in an upcoming episode of the acclaimed series.
"It's tiring because as a director you have to be thinking about everything," she said.
King directed the fifth episode of the new season, but says she began prepping while filming Episode 4.
"First day up on Episode 5 I'm in every single scene," she recalled. "It seemed like not a good idea, but it was [actually] such a great idea because I was able to get most of my stuff out of the way. And it just felt never-ending, like I never slept.... [It was] constantly Southland, 24/7."
"Thankfully, I really like the show," she deadpanned, "so it worked out OK."
Now that the episode is done filming, King is involved in the editing process. Plus, she's acting in subsequent episodes.
The 42-year-old, who landed her first acting job as a teen on the sitcom 227 as the daughter of Marla Gibbs, says she enjoys the challenge of directing.
