After delivering groundbreaking ratings, Raising the Bar has been renewed by TNT for yet another season. The series premiered on September 1 and garnered 7.7 million viewers, the biggest audience ever for a new-series launch on basic cable. According to Nielsen, the show beat the previous record set by USA Network’s The 4400 with 7.4 million and the 2005 debut of TNT’s The Closer with 7 million.
After completing its first season in November, the series will return next year with a 15-episode second season.
“Before Raising the Bar debuted, we were confident that the series would be a strong addition to TNT,” TNT senior vice president Michael Wight said in a statement. “The series, however, has gone beyond our expectations. What has been most satisfying to us is to watch the creative growth of the show across the episodes and to see these characters and stories pay-off as the season progresses.”
The brainchild of Emmy-winning executive producer Steven Bochco and lawyer/writer David Feige, Raising the Bar revolves around a group of law school classmates who find themselves on opposite sides of the criminal law. The drama features Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Jerry Kellerman, Jane Kaczmarek as Trudy Kessler, Currie Graham as Nick Balco, Gloria Reuben as Rosalind Whitman, J. August Richards as Marcus McGrath, Jonathan Scarfe as Charlie Sagansky, Melissa Sagemiller as Michelle Ernhardt, Natalia Cigliuti as Roberta “Bobbi” Gilardi and Teddy Sears as Richard Patrick Woolsley.
“It was an easy decision to bring back Raising the Bar for a second season and to continue our great relationship with Steven Bochco and the entire cast and crew,” Wight added.
“TNT has done a tremendous job marketing and launching this solid hit from Steven Bochco,” ABC Studios president Mark Pedowitz said. “We are thrilled to continue this collaboration and the studio’s expansion into production for cable.”
Fans can catch a new episode of Raising the Bar every Monday at 9pm on TNT.
-Kris De Leon, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: TNT
(Image courtesy of TNT)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
