TNT's 'Memphis Beat' Draws 4.3 Million Viewers

TNT kicked off its Tuesday night lineup of summer originals in fine
fashion as its newest original drama series Memphis Beat
garnered 4.3 million viewers.

The series, starring Jason Lee as a

quirky Memphis detective, also averaged 1.4 million adults 18-49 and 1.7
million adults 25-54, said the network.

Memphis Beat's lead-in,
sophomore drama series HawthoRNe, drew 3.4 million viewers in
its season premiere. HawthoRNe, which stars Jada Pinkett Smith
as a caring but no-nonsense Chief Nursing Officer at fictitious Richmond
Trinity Hospital, outdelivered its first season average of 3.3 million
viewers but fell just short of the 3.8 million viewers the show
generated for its series premiere last June.

The two series premieres follow the June 20 third season debut of the
Timothy Hutton-starrer Leverage, which averaged 3.1 million
viewers - below the 4.1 million viewer average of the action-drama
series' second season. 

"Tuesday looks to be a strong night for
TNT,
anchored by two exceptional, engaging, character-driven dramas," said
Michael Wright, executive vice president and head of programming for
TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies (TCM) in a statement. "The success of
Sunday's Leverage and Tuesday's HawthoRNe and Memphis
Beat
have set the stage for another outstanding summer on TNT."

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.