via press release:

TNT Summer Strategy Gets Strong Start with Two Solid Nights of Originals, Paving the Way for Third Night in July

THE CLOSER Scores as Top Scripted Program on Monday Nights, While Second Season of
RAISING THE BAR Shows Excellent Growth Over First Season

HAWTHORNE and SAVING GRACE Continue Strong Showing in Second Week

LEVERAGE and DARK BLUE Launch on Wednesday, July 15

TNT’s summer strategy of building three nights of original programming is off to a very strong start, with Monday night’s THE CLOSER and RAISING THE BAR and Tuesday night’s HAWTHORNE and SAVING GRACE scoring solid numbers in their first weeks.

THE CLOSER, which continues to reign as ad-supported cable’s #1 series of all time, is cable’s top scripted series on Monday nights across the board, while RAISING THE BAR is enjoying solid growth compared to its first season.

Last night, HAWTHORNE and SAVING GRACE held firm in their second weeks, with 3.8 million viewers and 3.2 million viewers, respectively.  On July 15, TNT will expand its summer originals lineup to Wednesdays, with the second season of LEVERAGE, starring Oscar^® winner Timothy Hutton, and the launch of DARK BLUE, a new series from executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer that features Golden Globe^® winner Dylan McDermott.

“We made a promise to our viewers, advertisers and cable operators that we would build three nights of high-quality original programming,” said Michael Wright, executive vice president, head of programming, TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies (TCM).  “We’re fulfilling our pledge with strong deliveries for THE CLOSER, RAISING THE BAR, HAWTHORNE and SAVING GRACE.  With the July 15 season premiere of LEVERAGE and the launch of DARK BLUE, we are proud to bring our viewers another night of high-quality , diverse original  programming that features top talent, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes.”

TNT Monday Originals

• THE CLOSER ranks as ad-supported cable’s #1 scripted series over the past three Monday nights among viewers (6.7 million), households (4.9 million), adults 18-49 (2 million) and adults 25-54 (2.7 million).

• Over the past three Mondays, RAISING THE BAR has been the #1 entertainment program in its time slot among viewers (3.4 million) and households (2.6 million).  The series has shown solid growth when compared to its first season, with viewers up 8% and households up 7%.

TNT Tuesday Originals

• The season premiere of HAWTHORNE on June 16 ranked as ad-supported cable’s #1 program for the day among viewers (3.8 million) and households (2.9 million).  Last night, the show held firm, with 3.8 million viewers, 2.9 million households, 1.5 million adults 18-49 and 1.7 million adults 25-54.

• Last night’s episode of HAWTHORNE showed 5% growth over its series premiere among adults 25-54.

• Last week’s season premiere of HAWTHORNE ranked as the #1 telecast on all of television for the day among African-American viewers, households and adults 25-54.

• After SAVING GRACE’s strong third-season premiere June 16 (3.5 million viewers; 2.6 million households; 1.6 million adults 25-54), the provocative series continued its success.  Last night, it delivered 3.2 million viewers, 2.5 million households and 1.4 million adults 25-54.

TNT Wednesday Originals

• TNT’s three-night summer originals strategy will extend to Wednesdays beginning July 15.  The popular and critically acclaimed series LEVERAGE, executive-produced by Dean Devlin, will return for its second season, followed by the premiere of DARK BLUE.

TNT, one of cable’s top-rated networks, is television’s destination for drama and home to such original series as the acclaimed and highly popular detective drama The Closer, starring Kyra Sedgwick; Saving Grace, starring Holly Hunter; Raising the Bar, with Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Gloria Reuben and Jane Kaczmarek; Leverage, starring Timothy Hutton; Hawthorne, with Jada Pinkett Smith; andDark Blue, starring Dylan McDermott.  TNT also presents such powerful dramas as Bones, Cold Case, Law & Order, Without a Trace, ER and Charmed; broadcast premiere movies; compelling primetime specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards^®; and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR and the NBA.  TNT is available in high-definition.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.