‘The Closer’ hits new ratings high

The third-season premiere of TNT’s “The Closer” broke its own ratings record Monday, scoring 8.8 million viewers and 6.3 million households, according to Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research.

While the procedural drama, starring Kyra Sedgwick as a shrewdly sweet LAPD interrogator who leads an all-male staff, was already the most-watched series on basic cable, the numbers represent a new high for a series on ad-supported cable.

The third-season opener was 6% higher than the series’ second-season premiere, including increased numbers among viewers in the categories of ages 18 to 49 and ages 25 to 54.

Michael Wright, senior vice president in charge of Turner Entertainment Networks’ Content Creation Group, called the numbers “mind-blowing.”

The show tends to appeal more to women than to men, but because “a rising tide lifts all boats,” he said, the series did well across all demographics.

Commercial-free premieres tend to draw high numbers that drop in subsequent weeks. Still, he said, “I choose to believe ‘The Closer’ has a loyal audience and is still growing its audience.”