The series premiere of TNT's original series "Memphis Beat" brought home 4.3 million viewers on Tuesday night, beating out the openings of the network's other recent drama premieres.
The performance was up 13 percent over the June debut last year of its lead-in, "Hawthorne." It also outperformed the debut of crime drama "Dark Blue" by 29 percent.
Perhaps most notably, "Memphis Beat" built on its lead-in from "Hawthorne." The second-season premiere of the medical drama delivered 3.4 million viewers.
"Memphis Beat" didn't beat TNT's top series launch from last year. The December 2009 series premiere of "Men of a Certain Age," which stars Ray Romano and Scott Bakula, delivered 5.4 million viewers.
The "Men of a Certain Age" debut was bolstered by its lead-in, TNT's top series, "The Closer," which drew 6.1 million viewers.
"Memphis Beat" stars Jason Lee as Dwight Hendricks, a police detective who moonlights as an Elvis impersonator. Alfre Woodard plays his straight-laced boss, Lt. Tanya Rice.
