TNT’s new legal dramedy Franklin & Bash premiered with 2.7 million viewers last night, 1.1 million of them in the 18-49 demographic. That is a tad higher than the premiere of Season 2 (and first on TNT) of critical darling Southland (2.5 million) but lower than the debuts of other recent TNT series, including the now-canceled Dark Blue (3.5 million) and last year’s Rizzoli & Isles (7.6 million) and Memphis Beat (4.3 million). However, all those had lead-ins, while Franklin & Bash, which did well with younger male demographics, was a self-starter in the 9 PM spot. It was used to launch the third season of dramedy Men of a Certain Age (1.8 million, 591,000), which dropped alarmingly from its lead-in and was far older-skewing. It was also down 33% from the Season 2 premiere in December.
CMT has renewed country singing competition CMT’s Next Superstar for a second season to launch in late 2011/early 2012. Nigel Lythgoe and his son Simon are executive producing.
Trainer Dolvett Quince, whose clients have included Justin Bieber, has been added as a third trainer on the upcoming 12th season of NBC’s The Biggest Loser alongside veteran Bob Harper and fellow new addition Anna Kournikova.
Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy.
