TNT Announces 2012 Summer Premiere Dates

The drama is back in full force this summer as TNT unveils the premiere dates for its slate of outstanding original series. Rizzoli & Isles, Falling Skies, Leverage and Franklin & Bash are among the hit series set to return this summer. They will be joined by four brand new series: Dallas, Perception, Major Crimes and the unscripted competition show The Great Escape. Certain to be one of the summer’s biggest programming events, fans will also bid a fond farewell to The Closer as the blockbuster drama series wraps up its extraordinary seven-season run with six final episodes.

“Each show in TNT’s summer lineup entertains in its own unique voice, but together these drama series are designed to appeal to viewers who want to be taken on a great ride,” said Michael Wright, executive vice president, head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies (TCM). “Whether it’s a clever procedural, an action-adventure drama, or a sweeping family saga, the dramas on TNT all have that popcorn sensibility. They’re meant for viewers who crave smart storytelling and engaging characters, and who above all else simply want to pull up a seat and have a good time.”

The following is TNT’s summer schedule, including series premiere dates. Hi-res photos are available for download from TNT’s online pressroom at http://on.tnt.tv/3KTSdW.

Rizzoli & Isles
•    Season Premiere: Tuesday, June 5, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT)
•    Season 3: 10 summer episodes
For 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 episodes
Mark-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 episodes
This 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 episodes
The 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 episodes
This 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 episodes
TNT’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 episodes
Drama 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 episodes
Television’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 episodes
This 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 Closeras 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 fellowCloser 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.