By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Thursday, January 7, 2016
TNT's longest-running drama "Rizzoli & Isles' is coming to an end this year after seven seasons.
The police procedural, starring Angie Harmon as uptight Boston detective Jane Rizzoli and Sasha Alexander as know-it-all medical examiner Maura Isles, is the network's most popular show with overall listeners but does skew on the older side.
According to Nielsen data compiled by the network, the show averaged 8.5 million viewers in Live + 7 television viewing, including more than 2 million adults 18-49 and 2.5 million adults 25-54. When factoring in multiplatform viewing, it reached an average of 11.4 million viewers per episode.
Kevin Reilly, president of TNT & TBS as well as chief creative officer for Atlanta-based Turner Entertainment, told the Television Critics Association press tour: "I think both ladies have had a really satisfying experience. I don't know if they wouldn't do any more, but...it felt like it was time...let's finish out with 13 great ones and call it a day."
The next original episodes air Feb. 16.
TNT recently dropped "Agent X" and "Legends" and renewed "The Librarians," "Major Crimes," and "Murder in the First." "The Last Ship" is returning as well. Most of these shows were developed under Steve Koonin's watch before he left in 2014.
Reilly has cleared several new projects including "Animal Kingdom" and "Tales from the Crypt" in the pipeline. He passed on DC Comics drama "Titans," which was developed under the previous regime.
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