Your favorite TV shows may be going on hiatus for the summer, but don’t worry, the cable networks have got you covered. Here’s the first of our looks at the shows you’ll be watching when it’s summertime and the living is easy.
First up is TNT.
This Turner network has made quite a name for itself with their outstanding original dramas. On June 8, they’re packing a one-two punch when two of their biggest shows return. It’s The Closer and Raising the Bar.
The Closer
The Closer is in its fifth season and it’s going to be a year of change for Brenda Leigh Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) and her major crimes unit. TNT is known for its strong female leads and nobody is tougher or smarter than Sedgwick’s Johnson. This top-notch investigator can handle anything that’s thrown at her as long as it doesn’t involve home and family.
Watch The Closer every Monday night at 9:00 beginning June 8.
Raising the Bar
TNT’s courtroom drama, Raising the Bar is back for a second season also beginning on June 8. Emmy-winner producer Steven Bochco has assembled a quirky cast to characters that will have you laughing and crying as they navigate the treacherous waters of the United States legal system.
Mark-Paul Gosselaar stars as idealistic public defender Jerry Kellerman and Gloria Reuben (another strong TNT woman) is his hard-lined but supportive boss. Jane Kaczmarek co-stars as the outrageous Judge Trudy and she alone makes this a series worth watching.Raising the Bar airs Monday nights at 10:00 on TNT beginning June 8.
Hawthorne
TNT adds a new show to the mix starting on June 16. It’s Hawthorne and it stars Jada Pinkett Smith as the Chief Nursing Officer at a busy hospital. Medical dramas are coming back in full force and Hawthorne is one to watch.
Co-starring with Smith is Alias star Michael Vartan, Suleka Mathew from Men in Trees and 90210’s Christina Moore. It’s politics versus patient care in this compelling new drama.Watch Hawthorne Tuesdays at 9:00 on TNT beginning June 16.
Saving Grace
After Hawthorne, stay tuned for the third season premiere of Saving Grace. Holly Hunter’s Grace is probably the strongest female character on TV today. Her take-no-prisoners mentality has her putting it all on the line week after week as she hunts down a slew of brutal criminals.
Don’t miss another exciting season of this high rated drama.Saving Grace airs Tuesdays at 10:00.Go to July 15 on your calendar and write in the word WOW, because that’s what TNT is going to deliver that night.
Leverage
First up it’s the return of Leverage. This fast-paced caper show has Timothy Hutton leading a band of former criminals who are pros as scamming the scam artists. Christian Kane is hot and hunky as “retrieval specialist” Eliot. The lovely Gina Bellman is a grafter with a gift for cornering the mark. Beth Riesgraf is the quirky cat burglar Parker and Aldis Hodge is the computer whiz who can do just about anything with a lap top and an Internet connection.
Doling out their special brand of justice, it’s Leverage, every Wednesday night at 9:00 beginning July 15.
Dark Blue
Following Leverage on Wednesdays is the new undercover police drama Dark Blue. It’s the brainchild of CSI producer Jerry Bruckheimer and it stars Dylan McDermott, Logan Marshall-Green, Omari Hardwick and Nicki Aycox as a team so covert that even they don’t know what each other are up to!
Dark Blue is the perfect compliment to Leverage, with cops instead of crooks working around the system in order to extract a little justice out of this upside down world.
Wedding Day
Finally, TNT steps into the real world with a docudrama that’s just as compelling as any of their scripted series. It’s called Wedding Day and it’s from reality giant Mark Burnett.
Every couple dreams of a perfect wedding, but for some, life’s curve balls have made it an impossible dream. Take Capt. Shawn Fitzgerald & Capt. Christina Fanitzi whose wedding plans had to be put on hold due to their military tours in Iraq. Then there’s Sarah & Bryan who met while Bryan was still dealing with the death of his first wife. Both truly deserving couples, they’ll finally have a chance to see their dreams come true as celebrity wedding producer Diann Valentine and her team of experts organize the biggest day of their lives.
There’s going to be a wedding every Tuesday night at 8:00 on TNT and you’re invited. Wedding Day premieres on June 16.Stars, drama and excitement — you’ll find it all this summer on TNT.
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