EXCLUSIVE
TNT will use the upcoming season of "The Closer" to help launch its new Angie Harmon/Sasha Alexander drama "Rizzoli & Isles."
TVMoJoe has learned that TNT will schedule "R&I" for Monday nights at 10 p.m. -- immediately following new episodes of "The Closer," the biggest show on TNT. Both series will bow July 12.
This will be the sixth season for "The Closer," which this season is returning a bit later in the summer (mid-July vs. last year's early June bow). By pushing the return of "The Closer" to mid-summer, TNT is ensuring the Kyra Sedgwick series will air the closing episodes of the series' new season in early fall, opposite the onslaught of broadcast premieres.
As for "R&I," the post-"Closer" scheduling should help the series get sampled by viewers. But it's not guarantee of success: TNT slotted "Raising the Bar" behind "Closer" last June, but when it ended up losing a big chunk of the "Closer" audience, TNT ended up killing it.
Meanwhile, TNT sister net TBS has decided on a return date of comedy "My Boys": The show's new season will bow Sunday, July 25 at 10 p.m. The series is headed into its fourth season. It had been airing on Tuesdays.
