or


[07/13/10 - 11:18 AM]
TNT's Rizzoli & Isles Sets Record with Cable's Biggest Ad-Supported Premiere After Outstanding Season Debut of the Closer
TNT spins the numbers for Monday, July 12.

[via press release from TNT]

TNT's Rizzoli & Isles Sets Record with Cable's Biggest Ad-Supported Premiere after Outstanding Season Debut of The Closer

Monday night's premiere of TNT's new original series Rizzoli & Isles now claims the record as cable's #1 commercial-supported series launch of all time, with 7.6 million viewers. The series, starring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander, raced out of the starting gate after an equally strong performance for the sixth-season premiere of The Closer, which delivered 7.7 million viewers, up 7% over its fifth-season premiere on June 8, 2009. Both premieres also rank as ad-supported cable's top series telecasts for the year-to-date among viewers and households.

"The tremendous viewer response to Rizzoli & Isles is very gratifying," said Michael Wright, executive vice president and head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies (TCM). "Rizzoli & Isles is shaping up to be a great companion for The Closer, which continues to deliver extraordinary numbers in its sixth season on our network."

Rizzoli & Isles premiered Monday at 10 p.m. (ET/PT) with 7,553,000 viewers and 5,647,000 households, making it cable's most successful commercial-supported series launch of all time. The episode ranks a close second behind the September 2008 commercial-free debut of Raising the Bar among all series premieres on ad-supported cable. Rizzoli & Isles built on its lead-in from The Closer among key adult demos, with 2,079,000 adults 18-49 and 2,722,000 adults 25-54.

The Closer, starring Golden Globe� winner and current Emmy� nominee Kyra Sedgwick, kicked off its sixth season at 9 p.m. (ET/PT) with 7,660,000 viewers and 5,716,000 households, ranking as ad-supported cable's top series telecast for the year-to-date in both categories. The telecast delivered strong growth when compared to the fifth-season premiere, with viewers and households up 7%. Among key adult demos, The Closer averaged 1,995,000 adults 18-49 and 2,680,000 adults 25-54.

Rizzoli & Isles brings two powerful women to TNT's roster of strong female characters. Based on the crime novels by best-selling author Tess Gerritsen, this crime drama stars Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander as Boston detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles, good friends and sometimes partners, who together solve crimes and bust some of Boston's most notorious criminals. Lorraine Bracco co-stars as Jane's demanding and intrusive mother. Rizzoli & Isles also stars Lee Thompson Young, Bruce McGill and Jordan Bridges. The series comes to TNT from Warner Horizon Television and is being executive-produced by Janet Tamaro and Bill Haber's Ostar Productions.

The Closer, which ranks as cable's #1 series of all time, stars Sedgwick as Deputy Police Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson, head of the LAPD's Major Crimes unit. She is joined by the show's four-time SAG Award�-nominated ensemble cast, including Corey Reynolds, G.W. Bailey, Tony Denison, Raymond Cruz, Michael Paul Chan and Phillip P. Keene. The series also stars Jon Tenney as Brenda's husband, FBI Agent Fritz Howard; J.K. Simmons as her demanding boss, Will Pope; and Robert Gossett as the head of Robbery-Homicide, Commander Taylor. The Closer is produced for TNT by The Shephard/Robin Company, in association with Warner Bros. Television. The series was created by James Duff, who serves as executive producer with Greer Shephard, Michael M. Robin, Rick Wallace and Kyra Sedgwick.

In addition to The Closer and Rizzoli & Isles, TNT's summer originals line-up includes the second season of Leverage, starring Timothy Hutton (Sundays at 9 p.m.); the second season of HawthoRNe, starring Jada Pinkett Smith (Tuesdays at 9 p.m.); and the debut season of the new hit series Memphis Beat, starring Jason Lee and Alfre Woodard (Tuesdays at 10 p.m.). In August, Jerry Bruckheimer's high-octane cop drama Dark Blue, starring Dylan McDermott, returns for its second season, with Battlestar Galactica's Tricia Helfer joining the cast.

About TNT

TNT, one of cable's top-rated networks, is television's destination for drama. Seen in 99.6 million households, the network is home to such original series as The Closer, starring Kyra Sedgwick; Leverage, starring Timothy Hutton; and Dark Blue, starring Dylan McDermott; the upcoming Rizzoli & Isles, starring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander; Memphis Beat, with Jason Lee; Men of a Certain Age, with Ray Romano, Andre Braugher and Scott Bakula; and Southland, from Emmy�-winning producer John Wells (ER). TNT also presents such powerful dramas as Bones, Supernatural, Las Vegas, Law & Order, CSI: NY, Cold Case and Numb3rs; broadcast premiere movies; compelling primetime specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards�; and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR and the NBA. The NCAA men's basketball tournament will appear on TNT beginning in 2011. TNT is available in high-definition.

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





  [july 2010]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· CLOSER, THE (TNT)
· RIZZOLI & ISLES (TNT)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[03/26/24 - 03:15 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers, Leading CBS' "After Midnight" and NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers"
Season to date, "Nightline" is growing versus the comparable weeks last season in Total Viewers (+1% - 925,000 vs. 912,000), posting its largest overall audience in 3 years - since the 2020-2021 season.

[03/26/24 - 10:04 AM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of Mar. 18: "Irish Wish" and "The Gentlemen" Take the Top Spots
"3 Body Problem," the new sci-fi series from David Benioff, D. B. Weiss, and Alexander Woo, began its invasion in second place with 11M views over four days.

[03/26/24 - 10:04 AM]
ESPN Platforms Deliver Most-Watched Women's NCAA Tournament First Round on Record
First Round action amassed 1.5 billion total minutes viewed, making it the most-consumed First Round on record.

[03/26/24 - 09:42 AM]
Top Original Series on Discovery, HGTV, Food Network, Investigation Discovery and TLC Helped Drive Warner Bros. Discovery to Deliver a 40 Percent Share of Adult Viewing on Sunday, March 17
In addition, WBD's strong March 17 performance was bolstered by the HBO original series "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

[03/20/24 - 12:41 PM]
Epic Drama "9-1-1" Scores Big on New Broadcast Home, ABC
After three days of viewing on its new broadcast home - ABC - as well as on Hulu and digital platforms, "9-1-1" jumped to 8.85 million Total Viewers, marking its most-watched multiplatform telecast since November 2022.

[03/20/24 - 09:15 AM]
"The Oscars" Tops 21 Million Multiplatform Viewers to Hit 4-Year High
After seven days of viewing on ABC, Hulu and digital platforms, the 96th Oscars grew to 21.01 million Total Viewers and hit a 4.35 rating among Adults 18-49.

[03/19/24 - 05:22 PM]
ABC's "The Bachelor" Hits 2-Year High in Total Viewers
"The Bachelor" skyrocketed +178% after just three days of multiplatform viewing (0.68 rating to 1.89 rating) and picked up an additional +2.44 million Total Viewers (3.82 million to 6.26 million).

[03/19/24 - 08:46 AM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of Mar. 11: "Damsel" and "The Gentlemen" Continue Their Reigns at No. 1
Fan-favorite "Avatar: The Last Airbender" held strong in second place in its fourth week on the list with 5.2M views.

[03/19/24 - 07:19 AM]
ESPN's Most-Watched Season of "NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC" in Five Years
The 2023-24 campaign averaged 3,133,000 viewers, up 12 percent from last year (2,801,000).

[03/15/24 - 09:30 AM]
ABC's "Will Trent" Grows to New Series High in Total Viewers
The series catapulted by +219% among Adults 18-49 (1.15 rating vs. 0.36 rating) after seven days of multiplatform viewing and increased by +4.19 million Total Viewers (9.02 million vs. 4.83 million) over its initial Live+Same Day average.

[03/14/24 - 12:02 PM]
"Tamron Hall" Grows Week to Week by Double Digits in Women 25-54 and 18-49
"Tamron Hall" scored its best performance since May in Women 18-49 and hit an 8-week high in Women 25-54.

[03/14/24 - 11:30 AM]
Season Premiere of ABC's "The Bachelor" Marks Series' Strongest Multiplatform Telecast in Nearly 3 Years
The season premiere shot up more than 5 times over its initial Live+Same Day rating among Adults 18-49, skyrocketing by +432% after 35 days of multiplatform viewing to score its biggest delayed-viewing increase ever.

[03/12/24 - 03:36 PM]
ESPN Platforms Wrap Up Successful Women's College Basketball Regular Season Slate
The 2023-24 regular season averaged 476,000 viewers across games on ESPN and ABC.

[03/12/24 - 09:56 AM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of Mar. 4: "Damsel" and "The Gentlemen" Take the Top Spots
"Avatar: The Last Airbender," which was recently renewed for two more seasons, held strong in second place with 9.1M views as the social fandom continues to heat up.

[03/11/24 - 04:30 PM]
Earlier Start Time Propels "The Oscars" on ABC to Hit 4-Year High in Viewers
Starting one hour earlier than usual, the 96th Oscars on ABC drew an average audience of 19.5 million Total Viewers and scored a 3.81 rating among Adults 18-49 based on Fast National Live+Same Day program data.