The Closer Scores 9.3 Million Viewers As TNT Lands Three Series Premieres with at Least 8.0 Million

TNT’s blockbuster hit The Closer scored a massive audience of 9.3 million viewers in Live + 7 delivery for its July 11 season premiere. Rizzoli & Isles followed with a remarkable 8.6 million viewers in Live + 7. Both season premieres rank as basic cable’s top scripted telecasts for the year-to-date and, combined with the June 19 series premiere of Falling Skies, mark the first time in basic cable history that three shows have premiered with at least 8.0 million viewers in the same year.

The Closer’s strong seventh season premiere outpaced last year’s sixth season premiere by 5%. Among key adult demos, the seventh season premiere of The Closer scored 2.7 million adults 18-49 and 3.5 million adults 25-54, while the Rizzoli & Isles season premiere delivered more than 2.3 million adults 18-49 and 3.1 million adults 25-54.

The Closer stars Emmy® winner Kyra Sedgwick as Deputy Police Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson, a top-notch investigator whose career may now be on the line as a result of her frequently unorthodox methods. The Closer’s seventh season will feature 10 episodes this summer, with additional episodes in the winter and the conclusion of the series in 2012. The Closer will be followed next year by the new series Major Crimes. Created by James Duff, The Closer is produced for TNT by The Shephard/Robin Company, in association with Warner Bros. Television.

Based on characters created by best-selling crime novelist Tess Gerritsen, Rizzoli & Isles stars Angie Harmon as Jane Rizzoli, a tough-as-nails Boston police detective, and Sasha Alexander as Maura Isles, a smart, impeccably dressed medical examiner from a privileged background. Despite being complete opposites, the two women share an offbeat chemistry and strong working relationship that has helped them bust some of Boston’s most notorious criminals. Rizzoli & Isles ranked as basic cable’s #1 series during its first season. It is currently neck-and-neck with The Closer for 2011. Rizzoli & Isles is produced for TNT by Warner Horizon Television, Janet Tamaro’s Hurdler Productions and Bill Haber’s Ostar Productions.

Falling Skies takes place in the chaotic aftermath of an alien attack that has left most of the world completely incapacitated. Noah Wyle stars as Tom Mason, a Boston history professor and the father of three sons, must put his extensive knowledge of military history to the test as second in command of a regiment of resistance fighters protecting a large group of civilian survivors. Falling Skies also stars Moon Bloodgood. Will Patton, Drew Roy, Maxim Knight, Connor Jessup, Colin Cunningham, Sarah Sanguin Carter, Seychelle Gabriel, Mpho Koaho and Peter Shinkoda. Falling Skies comes to TNT from DreamWorks Television and is executive-produced by Steven Spielberg, along with DreamWorks Television heads Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank. Graham Yost and Robert Rodat also serve as executive producers.

About TNT
TNT, one of cable’s top-rated networks, is television’s destination for drama. Seen in 100.5 million households, the network is home to such original series as The Closer, starring Emmy® winner Kyra Sedgwick; Rizzoli & Isles, starring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander; Falling Skies, starring Noah Wyle; Franklin & Bash, with Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Breckin Meyer; Leverage, starring Timothy Hutton; Hawthorne, with Jada Pinkett Smith; Memphis Beat, with Jason Lee; and Southland, from Emmy-winning producer John Wells (ER). TNT also presents such powerful dramas as The Mentalist, Bones, Supernatural, Las Vegas, Law & Order, CSI: NY, Cold Case and, starting next year, Castle; broadcast premiere movies; compelling primetime specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards®; and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR, the NBA and the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. TNT is available in high-definition.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news; entertainment; animation and young adult; and sports media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.

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