TV Quick Hits: ‘Murder in the First’ ratings; Ariana Grande joins ‘Hairspray Live!’; ‘Kingdom’ renewed for season 3

The latest “Murder in the First” ratings report – We are two episodes into the third season of the TNT show, and so far, one sentiment we feel quality-wise is that this has been a great batch of episodes. Unfortunately, the ratings are not really reflective of that so far.

This past episode drew just a 0.2 rating in the 18-49 demographic, a slight decline from the week before. The interesting thing is that it actually rose slightly in total viewers, finishing with 1.39 million this time around. So far, season 3 is down close to 20% in the demo versus season 2, which is a trend we definitely want to see reversed.

As for some other news on the day…

“Kingdom” coming back – While this is hardly a surprise, AT&T Audience Network has officially renewed the series for a third season. With a strong cast and a really in-depth (fictionalized) look at MMA fighting, there’s a lot to like here and a lot to look forward to.

Ariana Grande joins “Hairspray Live!” – The upcoming NBC musical now has their Penny Pingleton! The pop star has signed on to play this role, which was popularized by Amanda Bynes in the movie version, for the production coming up late this year. Derek Hough, Martin Short, Jennifer Hudson, and Kristin Chenoweth are members of the star-studded cast, with Tracy Turnblad being played by newcomer Maddie Baillio. It has become a bit of a tradition over the years to have this character played by an up-and-comer in some shape or form.