‘Rizzoli & Isles’ season 5, episode 13 preview: When could Angie Harmon, Sasha Alexander return?
Tonight, TNT will air the summer finale for “Rizzoli & Isles,” but with this comes another question right now: When will the show be back on the air? Sometimes, this is an easy answer to predict, but not so much in this case. It is almost as complicated as one of the show’s many mysteries.
The first thing to take note of is the fact that only 15 episodes were reportedly ordered for season 5, which means that there are only three left of this season. That is not a lot to make up a sizable programming block, given that you could feasibly air all three in primetime and be done with the season. (We don’t think that is actually happening, though.)
Another thing to look at here is history. The third season chose to air its episodes throughout late November and December, and even aired a new one on Christmas Day. Meanwhile, season 4 aired its final four episodes starting in late February. The ratings were down versus the summer seasons either way, so the time doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of difference.
If we were to put our two cents in here, we’d prefer to see Sasha Alexander and Angie Harmon back on the air sooner rather than later, and late November / early December is a good spot to us for a couple of reasons:
- It’s less time to forget about what happened over the summer.
- There’s no point on making us wait until February for just three episodes.
- There is less competition on over the holiday season, and if promoted right, we do feel like the show could do fairly well.
Regardless of when it airs, there is still no reason to worry about the long-term future. The ratings were great all summer long, and that has become a fixture in the TNT lineup.