A few days after the big debut for its limited series “Into the West,” the cable network got even better ratings from the cop drama “The Closer,” its first original weekly series in several years.
The premiere of “The Closer” drew just over 7 million viewers Monday night, making it the most-watched cable telecast of the year, excluding sports. The previous best was the 6.5 million for “Into the West” three nights earlier.
“The Closer,” which stars Kyra Sedgwick as a gifted interrogator who leads a group of detectives in Los Angeles, also drew a 4.8 household rating, which TNT says is the best ever for an original series on basic cable.
“From ‘Into the West,’ which had such a huge opening weekend, to ‘The Closer,’ which just set a new record, it’s clear that our original productions are making this the summer of TNT,” says Steve Koonin, COO of TNT and TBS. “We are very proud to have created original dramatic programming that resonates so well with viewers.”
“The Closer,” which benefited from heavy promotion during TNT’s NBA playoff coverage, beat four of the six broadcast networks in total viewers during its time period, trailing only CBS and FOX.
Credit: Zap2It
