‘Rizzoli & Isles’ season 5 official; plus, ‘Perception,’ ‘Major Crimes’ renewed

TNT is not wasting any time at all making sure that fans of its summer series know that they are not going anywhere in the near future. In a statement today, the cable channel announced that “Rizzoli & Isles,” “Major Crimes,” and “Perception” are all going to be back for another season, which will (appropriately) premiere in the summer.

Out of the trio, it is pretty clear that “Rizzoli & Isles” is the one everyone expected to come back. It is the network’s most-watched original drama, and it also serves as a great way to launch other potential hit shows. Meanwhile, “Perception” gets plenty of viewers despite virtually no one in the press talking about it, and “Major Crimes” continues the bloodline established by “The Closer” for a little while longer.

Meanwhile, the jury is still out on “Franklin & Bash,” which is clearly bad news for the show’s fans given that it was not a part of the initial batch of shows picked up. As a big Kumail Nanjiani fan, we’d love to see the show get another pickup, and there is no real reason to lose hope just yet. Last year, the show was not renewed until later in the fall, and that could be the same sort of thing that happens here. (“Dallas” was also put into a similar situation in the spring, and forced to wait for weeks following its finale to know for sure that it would be back.)

We do expect TNT to trim their lineup in some way, though, given that they have renewed so many shows and have two high-profile dramas coming in “The Last Ship” (from Michael Bay and starring Eric Dane) and “Legend” (from Howard Gordon and starring Sean Bean).

We’ve been covering “Rizzoli & Isles”, so be sure to click here if you want to check out our latest episode review. We’ll be back with another one next week.

Photo: TNT