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TNT Renews Rizzoli & Isles for Third Season

By April MacIntyre Aug 8, 2011, 4:49 GMT

01/30/2011 - Angie Harmon and husband Jason Sehorn - 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards - Arrivals - The Shrine Auditorium - Los Angeles, CA, USA © Bob Charlotte / PR Photos

TNT has booked its blockbuster series Rizzoli & Isles for a third season.

The female buddy drama – from Warner Horizon Television and starring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander – is in its second season, running neck-and-neck with The Closer as this year’s top basic cable series.

Based on characters created by best-selling crime novelist Tess Gerritsen, Rizzoli & Isles stars Angie Harmon as Jane Rizzoli, a tough-as-nails Boston police detective, and Sasha 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 and strong working relationship that has helped them bust some of Boston’s most notorious criminals. Lorraine Bracco co-stars as Jane’s demanding and intrusive mother. Rizzoli & Isles also stars Lee Thompson Young, Bruce McGill and Jordan Bridges.

TNT has ordered 15 episodes of Rizzoli & Isles for its third season, which is slated to launch in summer 2012. The show’s second season will continue airing Monday nights at 10 p.m. (ET/PT) through Sept. 12. Rizzoli & Isles will return to wrap up its second season with new episodes in November and December.

Rizzoli & Isles launched this summer with 8.6 million viewers, joining The Closer and Falling Skies in giving TNT three premieres with at least 8.0 million viewers, the first time a cable network has ever achieved that level of success. The Closer and Rizzoli & Isles are currently basic cable’s top two series for the year-to-date, with Falling Skies ranking as the top new series.

“This summer, Rizzoli & Isles has proven that last year’s record-breaking ratings were just the beginning of this show’s remarkable track record,” said Michael Wright, executive vice president and head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies (TCM). “With a terrific cast, a top-notch production team and the kind of stories TNT fans crave, Rizzoli & Isles is poised to continue its success alongside blockbuster TNT series like The Closer and Falling Skies.”