TNT's 'The Closer' and 'Raising the Bar' show signs of summer softening

TNT can still round up a big audience for its summer shows, but the season premieres of "The Closer" and "Raising the Bar" hint at the first signs of viewer fatigue.

"The Closer," the network's hit crime drama with Kyra Sedgwick, opened its fifth season Monday with an average of 7.1 million total viewers, according to early data from Nielsen Media Research. That's the largest audience for a scripted show on basic cable so far this year. But it's also down 9% from the series' Season 4 premiere last July and the worst performance for any "Closer" season opener since the year the show launched, 2005.  

Meanwhile, "Raising the Bar," the legal drama from legendary producer Steven Bochco, looks to be in trouble. The September premiere drew 7.7 million viewers, a record for basic cable. But the Season 2 bow delivered just 3.6 million, for a stunning 53% decline.

TNT's summer rollout continues next week with the series launches of Mark Burnett's reality show "Wedding Day" and the hospital drama "HawthoRNe," plus the Season 3 premiere of "Saving Grace" with Holly Hunter. And on July 15 comes the Season 2 premiere of "Leverage" with Timothy Hutton and the series launch of Jerry Bruckheimer's "Dark Blue."

— Scott Collins

Comments

[Karen Lee]

IF THE CLOSER & RAISING THE BAR (2 EXCELLENT PROGRAMS) ... HAD PROMOTED THEIR SERIES' DEBUTS ACROSS ALL NETWORK AFFILIATES AND CABLE NETWORKS : THEIR VIEWERSHIP WOULD HAVE INCREASED DRAMATICALLY,

BURN NOTICE AND ROYAL PAINS WERE HEAVILY PROMOTED ACROSS ALL TV & CABLE NETWORKS --PLUS ONLINE CONTESTS & PROMOS.
EACH SHOW GOT APPROX, 7 MILLION VIEWERS FOR THE FIRST SHOWING OF EACH.

ERGO: IT PAYS TO PROMOTE HEAVILY IN TIMES LIKE THESE ...

[Jamesvic]

Yea, whoever did marketing for these shows did an awful job. I watched raising the bar last season and did not know it was back until this article.

[Margie]

Part of the reason viewership may be down is because The Closer is only being shown at 5:00 and 6:00 on TNT on DirecTV. The times are not geared to a Calfornia audience so there have got to be less CA people watching. Rasing the Bar will suffer not having The Closer as a lead-in.
I really like The Closer, and it is really annoying to me that I am unable to watch it in the evening. During the last season it was broadcast at 8 or 9 PM for CA audiences.

[Tay]

The Closer was my favorite show until Raising the Bar came alone. but they are both my favorite 2 shows. Raising the Bar is EXCELLENT! It should not be in trouble. I agree - advertise it more. Most of the people I work with have never heard of it!