Summer may be months away, but it’s not too soon for networks to start planning out their primetime lineups. TNT laid out their summer plans, which include the return of Rizzoli & Isles, Franklin & Bash, and other shows, including the final season of The Closer. And there are some new series being added to the line-up, including the reboot of Dallas.
Falling Skies is also among the returning dramas. The series stars Noah Wyle as a former history teacher who is now trying to survive, and help others survive, in a post-alien-apocalyptic world. Leverage returns mid-July. Meanwhile, The Closer’s seventh season has just six episodes remaining, and they’re set to get going this July.
As for what’s new for TNT, those looking forward to Dallas have only to wait until June 13 for the updated version of the classic series to make its debut. Unscripted series The Great Escape also premieres in June. The competition series will have people put into their own action/adventure movie scenarios. There’s also the Eric McCormack starring drama series Perception to look forward to, though people anticipating that one will have to wait until July for its premiere, which takes place following the return The Closer.
Here’s the full list of new and returning programs for TNT, and some information about them as shared by the network.
Rizzoli & Isles• Season Premiere: Tuesday, June 5, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT)• Season 3: 10 summer episodesFor the past two summers, Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander have proven that two heads are better than one in this drama series based on the crime novels by best-selling author Tess Gerritsen. As Boston detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles, the pair share a quirky chemistry and put away some of Boston’s most notorious criminals.Franklin & Bash• Season Premiere: Tuesday, June 5, at 10 p.m. (ET/PT)• Season 2: 10 episodesMark-Paul Gosselaar and Breckin Meyer star in this light-hearted legal drama as two fly-by-the seat-of-their-pants lawyers working for a button-down law firm. Malcolm McDowell plays the firm's wonderfully eccentric patriarch. Also starring are Garcelle Beauvais, Dana Davis, Kumail Nanjiani and Reed Diamond.Dallas• New Series, Two-Hour Series Premiere: Wednesday, June 13, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT)• Season 1: 10 episodesThis summer, Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy and Linda Gray reprise their famous characters as J.R., Bobby and Sue Ellen Ewing return to Southfork with secrets, schemes and betrayals. This time, they’re joined by the next generation of Ewings, played by Josh Henderson and Jesse Metcalfe, who take ambition and deception to a new level. Dallas also stars Jordana Brewster, Julie Gonzalo and Brenda Strong. Shot on location in the title city, Dallas comes to TNT from Warner Horizon Television, with premiere episode writer Cynthia Cidre and director Michael M. Robin serving as executive producers. It was developed by Cidre and created by David Jacobs.Falling Skies• Two-Hour Season Premiere: Sunday, June 17, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT)• Season 2: 10 episodesThe wait is nearly over as basic cable's #1 new series of 2011 returns to continue its extraordinary story about life and survival in the wake of a catastrophic alien invasion. Noah Wyle stars as a college professor who becomes an unlikely resistance leader in this gripping series from DreamWorks Television and executive producer Steven Spielberg. Moon Bloodgood, Will Patton, Drew Roy, Maxim Knight and Connor Jessup also star.The Great Escape• New Series Premiere: Sunday, June 24, at 10 p.m. (ET/PT)• Season 1: 10 episodesThis fast-paced, nail-biting competition series drops ordinary people into the middle of their own epic action/adventure movie. Each week, Rich Eisen (NFL Total Access) hosts as teams of competitors try to find their way out of seemingly impossible situations for a chance to take home a cash prize. The series, from Fox Television Studios, is executive-produced by the Oscar®-winning team of Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, as well as the Emmy-winning producers of The Amazing Race, Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri. The series is created and executive produced by Justin W. Hochberg (The Apprentice) and Charlie Ebersol (The Wanted).The Closer• Premiere: Monday, July 9, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT)• Season 7: Six final episodesTNT’s record-breaking series returns one last time to bring its extraordinary seven-year run to an end. Emmy® winner Kyra Sedgwick stars as Los Angeles Deputy Police Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson, whose impeccable investigative and interrogation skills have resulted in countless confessions and convictions. Mary McDonnell, who will continue her role as Captain Sharon Raydor in TNT's upcoming series Major Crimes, also stars.Perception• New Series Premiere: Monday, July 9, at 10 p.m. (ET/PT)• Season 1: 10 episodesDrama fans are about to meet one of the most unique crime solvers on television when TNT premieres this fascinating new series about an eccentric neuroscience professor who is recruited by the FBI to help solve complex cases. Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Award winner Eric McCormack stars as Dr. Daniel Pierce, who possesses an intimate knowledge of human behavior and a masterful understanding of the way the mind works. Although Pierce's mind may be brilliant, it's also damaged as he suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. Perception also stars Rachael Leigh Cook, Arjay Smith and Kelly Rowan. Produced by ABC Studios, the series was created by executive producer Ken Biller and co-executive producer Mike Sussman, with McCormack serving as producer.Leverage• Season Premiere: Sunday, July 15, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT)• Season 5: 10 summer episodesTelevision’s coolest gang of thieves, grifters and con artists are back in the fifth season of this fast-paced, light-hearted caper series from blockbuster executive producer Dean Devlin and Electric Entertainment. Academy Award® winner Timothy Hutton stars, along with Gina Bellman, Christian Kane, Beth Riesgraf and Aldis Hodge.Major Crimes• New Series Premiere: Monday, Aug. 13, at 10 p.m. (ET/PT), following The Closer finale• Regular Timeslot: Mondays at 9 p.m. (ET/PT)• Season 1: 10 episodesThis all-new drama series is ready to take television's favorite squad of detectives into bold new territory. Two-time Oscar® nominee Mary McDonnell will continue her role from The Closer as Los Angeles Police Captain Sharon Raydor. Major Crimes will focus on how the American justice system approaches the art of the deal as law-enforcement officers and prosecutors work together to score a conviction. Joining McDonnell are fellow Closer veterans G.W. Bailey, Tony Denison, Michael Paul Chan, Raymond Cruz and Phillip P. Keene, with guest appearances by Jon Tenney and Robert Gossett. New cast members include Graham Patrick Martin as a homeless juvenile and Kearran Giovanni as an ambitious undercover detective. Major Crimes is produced by The Shephard/Robin Company, in association with Warner Bros. Television, with The Closer's James Duff, Greer Shephard and Michael M. Robin serving as executive producers.
