TNT did its renewals backwards this season, with flagship drama Rizzoli & Isles the last to get a pickup. The crime procedural starring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander has been renewed for a 18-episode sixth season to launch next summer.
A renewal for Rizzoli & Isles, once again the most watched basic cable series of summer 2014 with 7.6 million viewers in Live + 7, was never in doubt though negotiations with series producer, TNT sibling Warner Horizon, proved difficult as the two sides reportedly went back-and-forth on license fee and size of the pickup. (I hear a two-season renewal had been discussed.)
Rizzoli & Isles joins fellow renewed TNT dramas Major Crimes, Falling Skies and rookies The Last Ship, Murder In the First and Legends, likely to be joined by another freshman, just launched The Librarians.
Rizzoli & Isles, which successfully weathered the departure of creator/showrunner Janet Tamaro, has ranked as a Top 5basic cable series for five consecutive years. Including multiple platforms,Rizzoli & Isles reached a total of 13.6 million viewers per episode this past season.
Based on characters created by best-selling crime novelist Tess Gerritsen and developed for television by Tamaro, Rizzoli & Isles stars Harmon as Jane Rizzoli, a tough-as-nails Boston police detective, and 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, an authentic and deep friendship and a unique working relationship that together, helps them to solve the most complex murder mysteries in the city of Boston. Rizzoli& Isles co-stars Jordan Bridges, Bruce McGill, Idara Victor and Lorraine Bracco. Bill Haber and showrunner Jan Nash serve as executive producers.
Trending
Who's making headlines in television, music, movies and more from Hollywood to the Heartland.