via press release:
TNT’s Successful Three-Night Strategy of Original Programming Continues with 3.9 Million Viewers Tuning in to the Season Premiere of LEVERAGE and 3.5 Million Viewers for the Series Premiere of DARK BLUELEVERAGE Outperforms First Season Average
23.5 Million Viewers Watch TNT’s Monday-Wednesday Originals this Week
Last night, TNT launched its third successful night of original programming as3.9 million viewers tuned in for the second-season premiere of LEVERAGE, from executive producer Dean Devlin and starring Oscar® winner Timothy Hutton, and 3.5 million viewers watched DARK BLUE, the new series from executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer and featuring Golden Globe® winnerDylan McDermott. LEVERAGE also outdelivered its first-season average among viewers and households.
The success of TNT’s Wednesday night lineup is the latest step in the network’s plan to create three nights of outstanding original programming, which this week was watched by a combined 23.5 million viewers. TNT’s Monday night original series lineup features THE CLOSER and RAISING THE BAR, while Tuesday night pairs HAWTHORNE with SAVING GRACE.
“Last year, we laid out a strategy to create three nights of high-quality, original programming on TNT,” said Michael Wright, executive vice president, head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies (TCM). “The success of LEVERAGE and DARK BLUE proves once again what can happen when you work with the very best talent in the industry.”
Last night’s second-season premiere of LEVERAGE was watched by 3,890,000 viewers and 2,724,000 households. It also scored a 2.8 coverage household rating/2.4 national household rating. The episode outdelivered its first-season Live + Same Day average, with viewers up 24% and households up 20%. It also elevated TNT’s Wednesday 9-10 p.m. time period over the same night last year, with viewers up 113% and households up 70%.
DARK BLUE continued the success of its LEVERAGE lead-in by delivering 3,542,000 viewers and 2,717,000 households. It also garnered a 2.8 coverage household rating/2.4 national household rating. When compared to the same night last year, DARK BLUE raised TNT’s Wednesday 10-11 p.m. time period deliveries by 129% among viewers and 104% among households.
On Mondays, TNT’s THE CLOSER continues to rank as ad-supported cable’s #1 series, averaging 6.5 million viewers and 4.8 million households for its fifth season. The second season of RAISING THE BAR has been the #1 entertainment program in its time slot among viewers (3.3 million, +7% vs. last season) and households (2.6 million, +5% vs. last season).
TNT’s successful Tuesday night lineup of originals kicks off withHAWTHORNE, which in its first season is averaging 3.3 million viewers and 2.6 million households. HAWTHORNE is followed by SAVING GRACE, which is averaging 3 million viewers and 2.3 million households in its third season.
Sponsors for the premiere of LEVERAGE included Hyundai and Sprint, while premiere sponsors for DARK BLUE included The Weinstein Group, which presented special footage from Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming film Inglourious Basterds.
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; and Dark 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.
good Job TNT
so nice to see Grace and Breand with the Emmy Nods again this year
Really happy for both Leverage and Dark Blue. Leverage was a good, but not great premiere. But, I loved Dark Blue. It felt like a 45 minute feature film. Looks like Bruckheimer has got another hit to his resume as Producer.
Leverage = Great cable TV.
Yay for Leverage!
Fabulous numbers for Leverage! And great news for Dark Blue! TNT knows how to woo an audience!
Leverage is one great show! Downloaded the season two premiere last night, but haven’t watched it yet.
Here’s a scene from season one:
Leverage – Why I Hate Guns
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nwJr8pxU14
And another funny scene:
Elliot Spencer Explaining Knife Usage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcYR0EEkGmI&feature=related
And this one from the pilot:
Elliot Spencer – Leverage – What I Do..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyvdlQIkpVw&feature=related
Thank goodness for cable channels willing to broadcast scripted dramas. We can’t rely on much from the big networks.
I love Leverage. You might find the British version interesting. Hustle, starring of Robert Vaughn (U.N.C.L.E.). It’s available on Net Flix.
In keeping with today’s theme, I really don’t like the way this is trending. USA and TNT being rewarded for I’m sorry, I really am, mediocre crime dramas. ( OK, crime or ” intrigue!!” ) I have a friend who loves Monk, I mean is crazy about it. All I see there is a misfit-does-good angle which if you’re my age you saw a dozen times at least in the 70’s. Carson even did funny bits about Barnaby Jones, Cannon,etc. because it got so absurd – a blind cop,a deaf mute cop,a cop with amnesia,a cop with hemophilia …( About the best of those shows was Ironsides. Raymond Burr was terrific, better than he was in Perry Mason.) Every time I decide to check out Burn Notice on a boring rainy afternoon,again, i see one ad after another and I just boycott shows when that happens. The Closer – a joke. Not even good as a cop drama. Anyway, at least the old Silk Stalkings ( remember that anyone? On USA?) actually DID have sexual chemistry back when that was OK – the woman lead ( it is shameful I can’t remember her name – think I’ll google her for old times sake) was just fine and from what I hear Rob Estes wasn’t exactly hideous. To wind this rambling up, for me, just for me, I would rather see cable at this price after ten at night go more in the ” Dirt,” ” The Riches,” even “NipTuck” and Rescue Me direction than the ” Meet the Fat Black Guy Again” or ” plucky heroine in a man’s world who even tho she’s attractive and smart juuuust can’t seem to get any.” direction. Seen it,seen it, and seen it.
Good numbers for Leverage. I found the premiere pretty slow-moving though, and I HATE Sophie’s new haircut, it makes poor Gina Bellman look about 10 years older. I wonder whose idea it was?
Jay, I remember Silk Stalkings (though I was way too young to be watching the show at the time). And the actress’s name was Mitzi Kapture.
Leverage 2nd season premiere was not that good, but I am sure it will improve,
I hope it maintains its original premise and doesnt turn into a quirky irreverant
semi- comedy like Boston Legal did and totally self-destucted, in my opinion.
Was impressed with Dark Blue..
I liked Leverage, but I loved Dark Blue. This is a great line up, and I’m glad it got good ratings.
Very good for Leverage and Dark Blue, I think Dark Blue would have done better if it had been behind The Closer but we’ll have to wait and see how it does in the coming weeks especially since Leverage is splitting its season.
The reception for Dark Blue has been mixed by critics but it seems to have had a positive reaction by viewers, I wonder if we could see Dark Blue improving on Leverage like Burn Notice/Royal Pains and L&O:CI and IPS.
Great for Leverage. Hopefully its rating continue to improve over the weeks. I enjoyed the season premiere. I really enjoyed the scenes with Hardison and Parker.
Leverage is perfect summer fun, just what the doctor ordered. I like the entire cast and they work great as a team on screen. I almost don’t care about the stories as much as their shenanigans, and that means a lot. Also, Beth Riesgraf is simply adorable.
Leverage is by far the best show on TNT out of the six first run scripted shows. Dark Blue was interesting but I think the storyline is problematic. It will be interesting to see where they take it.
Lizard
i love raising the bar. it has been great this season
Agree. I love Raising the bar too and I’m glad TNT is doing great!
Shelly: Just watched Leverage premiere and I didn’t mind Sophie’s cut. I don’t think she looked older, just different. Her wardrobe wasn’t up to their usual, though, probably because of the “London dolly” part she was playing. She wasn’t as sultry and slinky as she usually is.
Be interesting to see where the “boy friend” business goes (assuming she wasn’t lying). They gave Fiona a boy friend for a little while in season two of Burn Notice, but that didn’t last, and I expect Sophie’s won’t either.
Also want to see where Hardison and Parker’s relationship goes this season.
Nate waking up to Parker in a nun’s habit scarfing down his food was hilarious, not to mention the whole “is Elliot’s crotch going to blow up” bit.
I liked Dark Blue a lot more last night than Leverage which I consider the best cable show.
Enjoyed it. Like all Leverage episodes, nothing spectacular, but a lot of fun, done reasonably well. Watching it also reminded me that lighter cable shows don’t have to be as poorly written as, say, Warehouse 13.
I can only see Leverage’s audience rising at this point, as word of mouth gets it more and more viewers.
Thank goodness most people do not agree with jay. I love vanilla ice cream. I don’t care that its the same thing over and over again. I have been eating it for over 30 years. Same thing with TV. I don’t care if the same type of stuff was on in the 70’s. I was not watching it so what do I care. But even if I was, I like certain kinds of TV and will continue to watch the same type of stuff as long as it is on.
I agree with Jay 100%!! I fear the continued cookie cutter crime drama/procedurals. Networks need to take risks to bring out trully great writing and acting. I’ve seen Dark Blue before. It’s been done 100 times and frankly it bores me. Thank god for AMC and FX.
RSH & Shelley
We won’t see sultry Sophie for a while because Gina Bellman is pregnant and I’m sure they will keep having her wear clothing that hides her pregnancy. For instance at the beginning there was no reason for her to be wearing Nate’s clothing except to downplay her stomach.
Jay’s opinion is worth nothing more than his viewership. There is clearly a place for all these shows. His preferences are obviously for more skin (and apparently not Holly Hunter’s somewhat emaciated form). That’s what PrOn is for…
Are any of the TNT shows up to the standards of Rescue Me? I would say not, but that is my opinion (and maybe the awards givers’ too). But what these “formulaic” shows give is almost universally, a lighter, funn(i)er slant on crime procedurals. Much lighter than L&O, CSI:XYZ, Cold Case, WAT (RIP) etc. if you want grit, you can have that too – Several cable shows exceed broadcast net grittiness (sex, violence, and rock and roll (in the soundtrack)) significantly.
And so what if it was done 30 years ago – most of those viewers who remember are outside the prime demo anyway – buh-bye, thanks for playing.
Light fare: Monk, Psych, Leverage, Closer (mostly), Royal Pains
Middle ground: HawthoRNe, Rescue Me, Nip/Tuck (RIP), Burn Notice, IPS
Gritty: Saving Grace (mostly), L&O:CI, Dark Blue, Sons of Anarchy, Mad Men, Damages, The Beast, Breaking Bad
Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t – Free Cable seems to give us a lot of good choices. Couldn’t say that 5-10 years ago. There is some well done fluff and some great gritty goodness, and overall a pretty high level of quality, especially considering cable vs. broadcast budgets.
Leverage is an interesting take on the original “Hustle” series, produced in England. For those enjoying this ‘Americanized’ version, I suggest you find the original: it is much better, in so many ways. Unfortunately, there is little new to appreciate in the new Dark Blue series – this has been done numerous times in the past, the most recent being Patrick Swayze’s ‘The Beast’ – which, unfortunately, far too many people failed to appreciate and watch.
Go, team Leverage!!!
I really enjoyed DARK BLUE, we needed a fresh new show like it….keep up the good work TNT
jay’s post was really a mindless mishmash of mixed up references, so much so that I seriously question whether he’s actually watched any of the shows he’s criticizing. Firstly, Monk is most definitely not a misfit by any stretch of the imagination. He’s got OCD (admittedly a bit of a silly portrayal but your preference whether you like it or not) which was aggravated by the death of his wife. His character has always had a strong sense of justice (not to mention the fact that he’s an ex-cop). There’s nothing about that that says misfit to me. Also, I think Tony Shaloub has earned enough critical praise and awards to merit some respect. I think you’re describing Psych, which is quite a silly show that if you can’t simply “go with it” as it were, you won’t like it. You described Psych when you were criticizing Monk, which tells me you don’t know the difference.
Ads in Burn Notice? I don’t recall an excessive amount of product placement (in fact very few if any instances) so I have no clue what you’re criticizing there.
The Closer? Wow, you really missed the mark. Just comparing it to Silk Stalkings means you have never even watched a commercial for The Closer much less watch an episode. Firstly, there is absolutely no insinuation of sensuality in The Closer aside from a little tiny bit about her relationship with her husband. It doesn’t even attempt sexual chemistry, it’s not that kind of show. Maybe you’re thinking of Saving Grace, a show I don’t like and don’t watch, but you’re definitely not describing The Closer. I don’t even know where you’re getting those impressions. Secondly, just using Silk Stalkings as a positive reference point tells me all I need to know about your valuation of “taste.” SS was a shameless cable skin show that survived on… you guessed it… cable-allowable skin. It didn’t even attempt a plot, it just marched sexy people in front of you with guns and badges. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, but don’t even tell me about bad writing and try to use SS as an example of it done right.
Finally, your “ramblings” fail on your concept that it isn’t good because you’ve seen it before. Was Goodfellas crap because Godfather came before? Was Raging Bull crap because Rocky came out a few years earlier? How about Platoon and River Kwai? Shane and Unforgiven? I could go on and on, but it all illustrates the same point: good material is good material, it doesn’t matter what came before it. Your logic of something being crap because you’ve seen it before is complete garbage.
Leverage is definitely not the US version of Hustle… the similarities are there, but about 90% is completely different. Hustle is great, though. I love how they experiment with lots of stuff every time, like, for example, in the episode I watched today – Robert Vaughn enacted the Emperor’s New Clothes tale with animation. The other day, they broke the fourth wall while explaining a con to the audience. One of the best was a scene done like a Bollywood film, with costumes and Indian lyrics that reflected the plot. It’s up on Youtube. Leverage has a completely different approach and style, but I like it equally.
Yeah, I heard about Gina Bellman’s pregnancy. I really hope it doesn’t get written into the show. Still don’t think Gina looks as good with short hair.
Richard, I think it’s pretty obvious the boyfriend won’t last. Besides the fact that they’re not adding to the cast, it’s also pretty clear the writers will eventually pair up Nate and Sophie.
I really don’t want Hardison and Parker getting together because I like the team’s dynamic the way it is now (like a squabbling family, with Nate and Sophie as the “parents” and Eliot, Parker, and Hardison as the “kids”) but the writers certainly seem to have it heading that way.
Btw, clip of next week’s episode of Leverage I found at TWOP:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iwThXf93wQ
Poor Hardison, OUCH!
Shelley,
I went to one of the season premieres where we got to talk to a couple writers and they said they will eventually go down the romance track with Hardison and Parker but they will do it at a slow, natural pace.
That clip of Hardison had me laughing throughout the entire scene.
The preview clip was great!
SPOILER ALERT!!!
As for Gina’s pregnancy, this is how they’re going to handle it (from IFMagazine.com):
Due to Gina Bellman’s now confirmed pregnancy (congratulations Gina!), a new character is slated to appear early in the second half of the season while Sophie is away for a couple episodes. Jeri Ryan will join the LEVERAGE cast as one of Sophie’s grifter friends, Tara. She’s a smart ass street-wise woman who is said to get sucked into the team after Sophie calls on her for some help. With a team made up of three men and two women, it’s no surprise that they decided to bring in another woman to help even the odds. Poor Nate might have his hands full with this one, already having too much to handle with the other four. Nothing else is yet known about this new character, so it’s sure going to be fun and interesting to see how she fits in with the rest of the team. Something tells me not all of them will accept her willingly into their little group. Nothing is confirmed, yet she apparently will be joining the team for the last half of the season, and so far she is only known to be a reoccurring character, but anything can happen.
Thanks RSH! That’s very interesting news and could be a fun twist. Jeri Ryan is a good actress and could fit in well with the cast.
Lizard
Chrisjozo, even if you hadn’t gone to the writer thing, it’s pretty obvious they’re headed that way but thanks anyway for the info. Hope you had fun. I would love to go to one of those writer things myself one day but I doubt I’ll be able to.
As for Gina Bellman, I believe she will still be on the show while Jeri Ryan comes in. Gina just wont be helping the team out alot as she will probably be sitting down on the action while Jeri will be doing the action.