TNT gears up for summer, announces upcoming premieres

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Brenda Leigh Johnson, we hardly knew ye. Time is approaching to close the book on ‘The Closer.’ TNT announced Thursday that the seventh -- and final -- season of the crime drama will premiere in July.

The series has been a top performer for the cable channel. But back in December word came that the seventh season would be its last. The decision to end the show came from series star Kyra Sedgwick.

‘The Closer’ will return on July 11, along with ‘Rizzoli & Isles.” TNT also announced premieres for its new series. The legal drama “Franklin & Bash,” starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar (“NYPD Blue”) and Breckin Meyer (“Road Trip”), will kick off on June 1, and the science fiction drama “Falling Skies,” starring Noah Wyle (“ER”) and produced by DreamWorks Television and executive-producer Steven Spielberg, will launch June 19.

Also returning this summer are the TNT original series “Men of a Certain Age” (June 1), ‘HawthoRNe’ and ‘Memphis Beat’ (both on June 14), and ‘Leverage’ (June 26).

-- Yvonne Villarreal
twitter.com/villarrealy