I Like to Watch TV: April 2015

April 02, 2015 Press Release

TNT Unveils Packed Summer Lineup

Network to roll out 7 returning hits & 3 new shows

TNT Unveils Summer Lineup, Featuring 10 Original Series

Slate Includes Returning Hits The Last Ship, Rizzoli & Isles, Major Crimes, Murder in the First, Legends and Cold Justice, Plus Final Season of Falling Skies

TNT Set to Launch Three New Summer Series: Proof, Public Morals and Cold Justice: Sex Crimes

TNT, home to more hit shows than any other cable network, is getting ready to light up summer with another dramatic lineup of original series. TNT will roll out a total of 10 shows this summer, including new seasons of the blockbuster hits The Last Ship, basic cable's #1 new series of 2014; Rizzoli & Isles and Major Crimes, which joined The Last Ship to rank as basic cable's Top 3 originals last summer; and Murder in the First, one of last year's Top 10 new series on basic cable. This summer, TNT will also present the fifth and final season of the epic sci-fi drama Falling Skies, along with a new season of the nail-biting undercover drama Legends and new episodes of the powerful real-life investigation series Cold Justice.

Three new series are set to make their debut on TNT this summer, including the 1960s-set police drama Public Morals, from writer, director, executive producer and star Edward Burns and executive producer Steven Spielberg; the unique drama Proof, starring Jennifer Beals and Matthew Modine and executive-produced by Kyra Sedgwick; and Cold Justice: Sex Crimes, the first spinoff of TNT's Cold Justice from Wolf Reality and Magical Elves.

In addition to airing on TNT's linear television platform, each of the shows on the summer slate will be available via VOD and digital on-demand, including the TNT Drama website and the Watch TNT mobile and tablet apps. New episodes will be made available the day after they premiere on linear television.

Below is a complete rundown of TNT's original scripted dramas slated for summer 2015. The network has also created a special TNT Summer Lineup Flipagram: http://on.fb.me/1y4a8wf.

Major Crimes – Season 4 Premiere: Monday, June 8, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT)

Television's favorite squad of detectives is on the case in Major Crimes, TNT's powerful crime-drama that ranks as one of basic cable's Top 10 original series. Major Crimes focuses on how the American justice system approaches the art of the deal as law enforcement officers and prosecutors work together to score a conviction. The elite team is back, headed by two-time Oscar® nominee Mary McDonnell as Los Angeles Police Captain Sharon Raydor, G.W. Bailey as Lieutenant Provenza, Tony Denison as Lieutenant Andy Flynn, Michael Paul Chan as Lieutenant Mike Tao, Raymond Cruz as Detective Julio Sanchez, Kearran Giovanni as Detective Amy Sykes, Phillip P. Keene as tech expert Buzz Watson, Robert Gossett as Assistant Chief Russell Taylor and Jonathan Del Arco as Dr. Morales. Graham Patrick Martin returns as Rusty Beck, the homeless teen who was officially adopted by Captain Raydor last season.

In 2014, Major Crimes ranked as one of basic cable’s Top 10 series for the third consecutive year. The series averaged more than 8.2 million viewers in Live + 7 delivery in its third season, with 2.5 million adults 18-49 and 1.9 million adults 25-54, all on par with the prior season’s performance. Overall, the show reached an average of 11.6 million viewers per episode in season three for its linear telecasts and DVR, VOD, digital and mobile plays. Major Crimes is produced by The Shephard/Robin Company and Walking Entropy, Inc., in association with Warner Bros. Television. James Duff, Greer Shephard & Michael M. Robin, Rick Wallace, Adam Belanoff and Leo Geter serve as executive producers.

Murder in the First – Season 2 Premiere: Monday, June 8, at 10 p.m. (ET/PT)

TNT will once again take viewers deep inside a complex murder investigation in Murder in the First, a powerful crime drama starring Taye Diggs (Private Practice) and Kathleen Robertson (Boss) and co-created by Emmy® winner Steven Bochco and Eric Lodal. This summer in the second season of Murder In The First, San Francisco homicide detectives Terry English (Diggs) and Hildy Mulligan (Robertson) will investigate a series of murders that could rip the city apart and shake the police force at its core. Caught in the crosshairs during one of the most shocking crimes in the city's history, Mulligan, English and the men and women of 850 Bryant Street find themselves trapped in a crumbling system where the lines are blurred – between friends and enemies, loyalty and corruption, legal and illegal, good and evil – as a threat from outside is matched by a threat from within. Joining the cast this season are A.J. Buckley (Justified), Emmanuelle Chriqui (Entourage), Laila Robins (Homeland), Mo McRae (Wild), Mateus Ward (Hostages) and John Cothran (Eastbound & Down). Returning series regulars include Raphael Sbarge (Once Upon a Time) and Lombardo Boyar (The Bernie Mac Show) as Homicide Inspectors David Molk and Edgar Navarro, Ian Anthony Dale (Hawaii Five-0) as Lt. Jim Koto, Currie Graham (Raising the Bar) as Chief Prosecutor Mario Siletti and Mimi Kirkland (Safe Haven) as Hildy's daughter, Louise.

In its first season, Murder in the First ranked as one of basic cable's Top 10 new series of 2014. The drama averaged more than 4.7 million viewers in Live + 7 delivery, including 1.3 million adults 25-54. Murder in the First drew a sizeable audience through TNT's various platforms, with each episode reaching an average of 9.3 million viewers. Murder in the First is produced by TNT Originals, with Bochco serving as executive producers.

Rizzoli & Isles – Season 6 Premiere: Tuesday, June 16, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT)

TNT's hit drama Rizzoli & Isles, which topped the charts as basic cable's #1 series last summer, stars Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander as Boston’s top crime-solving duo. Harmon plays Jane Rizzoli, a tough-as-nails Boston police detective, and Alexander is Dr. Maura Isles, a smart, impeccably dressed medical examiner from a privileged background. Despite being complete opposites, the two women share an offbeat chemistry, an authentic and deep friendship and a unique working relationship, a killer combination that helps them solve the most complex murder mysteries in the city of Boston. Rizzoli & Isles also stars Jordan Bridges, Idara Victor, Bruce McGill and Lorraine Bracco.

Rizzoli & Isles launched in 2010, finishing its first year as basic cable's #1 new series. Each year since, it has ranked as one of basic cable's Top 5 series with total viewers, as well as one of basic cable's Top 10 series with adults 25-54. The show topped the charts last summer as basic cable's #1 series, with 7.6 million viewers in Live + 7 delivery. It was also the #2 series (behind TNT's The Last Ship) among adults 25-54 and ranked among the Top 5 with adults 18-49 for the summer. When incorporating TNT's multiple platforms, including live viewing, DVR playback, set-top VOD and digital on-demand, the summer run reached a total of 13.6 million viewers per episode. Rizzoli & Isles is produced by Warner Horizon Television and Bill Haber’s Ostar Productions, with Haber and showrunner Jan Nash serving as executive producers. The show was developed by Janet Tamaro and is based on a series of novels by best-selling crime writer Tess Gerritsen.

Proof – Series Premiere: Tuesday, June 16, at 10 p.m. (ET/PT)

For millennia, the world's greatest scholars and philosophers have tried to answer one important question: Is death truly the end, or is there something else beyond? Now a brilliant surgeon is ready to take up the mantle in TNT's intriguing new drama Proof, starring Jennifer Beals (The L Word, Flashdance), Matthew Modine (And the Band Played On, Full Metal Jacket), David Sutcliffe (Private Practice, Gilmore Girls) and Joe Morton (Scandal, Terminator 2: Judgment Day). Beals plays Dr. Carolyn Tyler, who has suffered the recent, devastating loss of her teenage son, the breakup of her marriage and a growing estrangement from her daughter. Carolyn is persuaded by Ivan Turing (Modine), a cancer-stricken tech inventor and billionaire to investigate cases of reincarnation, near-death experiences, hauntings and other phenomena, all of it in the search for evidence that death is not the end. It’s both a journey of exploration toward finding an answer to a question many people have asked and a deeply personal and emotional journey for Carolyn, who hopes to find answers in the wake of her son's death.

Proof also stars Callum Blue (Dead Like Me, Royal Pains), Edi Gathegi (X-Men: First Class, Justified) Annie Thurman (The Hunger Games) and newcomer Caroline Rose Kaplan. The series is produced by TNT, with Kyra Sedgwick (TNT's The Closer), Rob Bragin (Greek, Murphy Brown), Tom Jacobson (Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Uncle Buck), Jill Littman and Emmy® winner Alex Graves (The West Wing, Game of Thrones) serving as executive producers.

The Last Ship – Two-Hour Season 2 Premiere: Sunday, June 21, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT)
The wait is nearly over. TNT's epic drama The Last Ship – basic cable's #1 new series of 2014 – is preparing to set sail again this summer in its quest to save humanity after a devastating pandemic. Eric Dane (Grey's Anatomy), Rhona Mitra (Strike Back) and Adam Baldwin (Firefly, Chuck) star in the high-impact series, which is produced by Platinum Dunes, with its partners – blockbuster filmmaker Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form – serving as executive producers. Co-creators and showrunners Hank Steinberg (creator of Without a Trace, The Nine) and Steven Kane (The Closer) are also executive producers, along with Jack Bender (Lost). Based on William Brinkley's popular novel, The Last Ship chronicles a global catastrophe that nearly decimates the world's population. Because of its positioning, the Navy destroyer U.S.S. Nathan James avoided falling victim to the devastating tragedy. But now the crew and its captain must confront the reality of their new existence in a world where they may be among the few remaining survivors. As the second season opens, Captain Chandler (Dane), XO Slattery (Baldwin) and the rest of the crew are working to disseminate the cure that paleomicrobiologist Dr. Rachel Scott (Mitra) developed at the end of season one.

The Last Ship also stars Travis Van Winkle (Heart of Dixie), Charles Parnell (Pariah), Christina Elmore (Fruitvale Station), Marissa Neitling (Leverage), John Pyper Ferguson (Unforgiven) and Jocko Sims (Masters of Sex), with Emmy® winner Alfre Woodard (True Blood, Memphis Beat) set to guest-star in a multi-episode arc. When it premiered last year, The Last Ship immediately hit the top of the charts and went on to finish the year as basic cable's #1 new series with total viewers and adults 25-54. For the first season, the show averaged 6.9 million viewers in Live + 7 delivery, including 2.7 million adults 25-54 and 2.2 million adults 18-39. Overall, it reached an average of 14.5 million viewers per episode across TNT's linear, on-demand, digital and mobile platforms.

Falling Skies – Final Season Premiere: Sunday, June 28, at 10 p.m. (ET/PT)
TNT's epic drama Falling Skies – from Amblin Television and executive producer Steven Spielberg – will come to a climactic end this summer with the show's fifth and final season. Falling Skies tells the extraordinary story about life and survival in the wake of a catastrophic alien invasion. Noah Wyle stars as Tom Mason, a college professor who became an unlikely resistance leader. Moon Bloodgood is Dr. Anne Glass, a pediatrician who became the survivors’ primary physician and eventually fell in love with Tom. Will Patton is Colonel Weaver, the gruff and emotionally scarred commander leading the battle against the invaders. Also starring in Falling Skies are Drew Roy, Connor Jessup, Maxim Knight, Colin Cunningham, Sarah Carter, Mpho Koaho and Doug Jones.

Since premiering as basic cable's #1 new series of 2011, Falling Skies has ranked as one of basic cable's Top 15 original dramas with total viewers and key adult demos. In its fourth season, the series averaged 4.7 million viewers, including 2.1 million adults 25-54 and 1.8 million adults 18-49. Across TNT's multiple platforms, the show reached an average of 8.4 million viewers per episode in its fourth season. Falling Skies is executive-produced by Steven Spielberg and Amblin Television heads Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank, along with David Eick.

Cold Justice – Summer Premiere: Friday, July 31, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT)

Spring Episodes: April 10 – June 5
Justice Served special with John Walsh: May 29
Summer premiere with Cold Justice: Sex Crimes: July 31

This spring and summer, TNT's real-life crime series Cold Justice will be back with more of its powerful and emotional third season as the show continues to have a real-world impact on cases that have lingered for years in small towns across America. Cold Justice follows former prosecutor Kelly Siegler and former crime-scene investigator Yolanda McClary as they dig into murder cases that have long gone unsolved. Working with local law enforcement, Siegler and McClary are helping bring about real results in real time for the police, investigators, district attorneys and families who have worked tirelessly on these cold cases for years. The impact of Cold Justice can be seen clearly in the results of the investigations featured on the show. Since the show's premiere in September 2013, Siegler and McClary have assisted local law enforcement in a long string of successful investigations, securing a total of 22 arrests, 11 criminal indictments, four confessions, three guilty pleas and three convictions. Just before the start of season 3, Cold Justice helped land its first jury trial conviction.

In May, John Walsh (CNN's The Hunt with John Walsh) will be back to host a new Cold Justice: Justice Served special, in which Siegler and McClary update viewers on the status of recent cases and the remarkable results that the show has helped achieved. And when Cold Justice returns for its summer premiere at the end of July, it will be joined by the new spinoff series, Cold Justice: Sex Crimes. Cold Justice is produced for TNT by Wolf Reality and Magical Elves. Emmy® winners Dick Wolf (Law & Order: SVU, Chicago Fire, Chicago PD), Dan Cutforth & Jane Lipsitz (Top Chef, Project Greenlight) and Tom Thayer (Hitchcock, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee) serve as executive producers.

Cold Justice: Sex Crimes – Series Premiere: Friday, July 31, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT)

TNT is expanding its real-life investigation series Cold Justice with the all-new spinoff, Cold Justice: Sex Crimes from Wolf Reality and Magical Elves. This new series is an extremely timely project, especially in light of the sobering statistics for sex-related crimes in America revealing that there are approximately 240,000 survivors of sexual assault in America, including men, women and children. In fact, every two minutes, someone is sexually assaulted in the United States. To combat these numbers and bring justice to the survivors of sexual assault, former Harris County, Texas, prosecutors Casey Garrett and Alicia O'Neill are traveling to small towns around the country to help local law enforcement close cases that have sat dormant for years.

Emmy® winners Dick Wolf (Law & Order, Chicago Fire), Dan Cutforth & Jane Lipsitz (Top Chef, Project Greenlight) and Tom Thayer (Hitchcock, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee) serve as executive producers on Cold Justice: Sex Crimes, with Cold Justice expert Kelly Siegler also serving as an executive producer on the new show.

Legends – Season 2 Premiere: Tuesday, Aug. 25, at 10 p.m. (ET/PT)

Screen Actors Guild Award® winner Sean Bean (Game of Thrones, The Lord of the Rings) enters new territory in Season Two of Legends, TNT's suspense-filled drama based on a character created by master spy novelist Robert Littell. Bean plays Martin Odum, an undercover operative who has learned he isn’t the man he believed himself to be. On the run for a murder he didn’t commit, Martin searches for his true identity, following a trail that takes him to London and the European continent, where he discovers a dark and violent past that holds the key to his future survival.

The first season of Legends averaged 3.2 million viewers in Live + 7 delivery. When viewing across TNT's multiple platforms is factored in, the show's reach jumps to an average of 6.5 million viewers per episode through linear telecasts, DVR viewing, set-top VOD and digital on-demand. Legends is produced by Fox 21 Television Studios, with Howard Gordon (Homeland, 24) and showrunner Ken Biller (Star Trek: Voyager, Smallville) serving as executive producers.

Public Morals – Series Premiere: Monday, Aug. 17, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT)
This summer, TNT is going to take viewers to the seedy, gritty streets and the bright, seductive lights of 1960s New York with Public Morals, a powerful, buzz-generating police drama from writer, director, executive producer and star Edward Burns (Saving Private Ryan, The Brothers McMullen, TNT's Mob City). Public Morals also stars Michael Rapaport (Justified, Prison Break) and Elizabeth Masucci (The Americans, Inside Amy Schumer). The series centers on Terry Muldoon (Burns), an officer of the Public Morals Division, which investigates vice crimes in the city. Many of Muldoon's fellow cops in the division walk a thin line between morality and crime as vice-related temptations threaten to snare even the best of officers, including Muldoon's partner, Charlie Bullman (Rapoport). As Muldoon watches the Hells Kitchen streets where he grew up devoured by an escalating war within two factions of the Irish-American Mob, he becomes more determined than ever to fight back against the city's dark underbelly so he can provide a safe place where he and his wife, Christine (Masucci), can raise their family.

Also starring in Public Morals are Ruben Santiago-Hudson (Castle, Low Winter Sun), Wass Stevens (House of Cards, The Wrestler), Keith Nobbs (In Plain Sight, The Pacific), Austin Stowell (Whiplash), Patrick Murney (Person of Interest, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit), Katrina Bowden (30 Rock, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil), Lyndon Smith (Parenthood, 90210), Brian Wiles (Person of Interest) and Cormac Cullinane (Honestly Amelia). In addition, Public Morals will feature guest appearances by Oscar® winner Timothy Hutton (Ordinary People, TNT's Leverage, American Crime), Golden Globe® winner Brian Dennehy (Death of a Salesman, Presumed Innocent, Cocoon), Satellite Award® winner Neal McDonough (Desperate Housewives, Boomtown, TNT's Mob City) and Satellite Award nominee Robert Knepper (Prison Break, TNT's Mob City). Public Morals is produced in collaboration with Amblin Television and executive producers Steven Spielberg, Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank, the team behind the network's hit series Falling Skies. Also serving as executive producer is Aaron Lubin.

About TNT

TNT is television's destination for drama. Seen in 101 million households and ranking among cable's top networks, TNT is home to such original drama series as Rizzoli & Isles, Major Crimes, Falling Skies, The Last Ship, Murder in the First, Legends, The Librarians and Transporter The Series. TNT's slate of upcoming scripted dramas includes Public Morals, Proof and Agent X. TNT also features such dramatic unscripted series as Cold Justice and the upcoming Cold Justice: Sex Crimes. In addition, TNT is the cable home to popular dramas like Castle, Bones, Supernatural and Grimm; primetime specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards®; blockbuster movies; and championship sports coverage, including the NBA and the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship.

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

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