Book to TV: Tess Gerritsen's Rizzoli & Isles

I heard rumors that there was a new novel-based series coming to TV, but I don't know if I realized it was from Tess Gerritsen. I've read some of her medical thrillers (in my quest for more books along the same vein as Kathy Reichs & Iris Johansen) but somehow I missed her Rizzoli & Isles series. I'm currently reading an advance copy of Tess Gerritsen's upcoming release in the Rizzoli & Isles series, Ice Cold, and loving it... and it's got me excited about the premiere of Rizzoli & Isles on TNT this summer.

I haven't seen a lot of promotion for this, but I don't start watching TNT until Leverage and The Closer return, so that's not a huge surprise. It stars Angie Harmon as Jane Rizzoli, detective, and Sasha Alexander as Maura Isles, medical examiner. If you're not familiar with the series, here's TNT's official summary:

RIZZOLI & ISLES follows Boston detective Jane Rizzoli (Harmon) and medical examiner Maura Isles (Sasha Alexander), complete opposites and good friends who solve crimes and bust some of Boston’s most notorious criminals. Growing up at opposite ends of the economic spectrum, the two remain strikingly different from one another in many ways. Jane, the only female detective in Boston’s homicide division, is a tough and gutsy cop who doesn’t let her guard down (except with Maura), dodges her overprotective mother and is better at basketball than her other. Maura, meanwhile, is usually more comfortable among the dead than the living. She is always impeccably dressed in designer duds with a steady, sometimes icy temperament. And she is working on curbing her tendency to diagnose the people she meets – including her first dates. Jane and Maura often find themselves working together as both use their brilliant minds and expertise to figure out the “who done it” as well as the “how done it” of Boston’s most complex cases.

Despite their many differences, Jane and Maura are best friends, with a quirky and supportive relationship. As Tamaro explains, “That Jane and Maura are so different and yet so effective as a team makes them unusual.… There’s something rare about their relationship that I see in the world but not enough on television: two smart, strong, competent women who instinctively drop the protective shield when they’re with each other.”

Is there room in the TV repertoire for another crime show, especially a book to small screen series? I think so. While Patterson's Women's Murder Club failed at it's attempted jump to the little screen, Kathy Reichs' Temperance Brennan series has thrived with Bones going into it's 6th season with a 7th season already signed. I think Reich's series had an edge because it was so different and well scripted whereas WMC seemed to have some plot direction problems.

Will Gerritsen's series be able to hold it's own? I hope so. It's not under as much pressure being a summer show on TNT. Angie Harmon is a perfect choice ~I love her and am thrilled to see her back in this type of roll (although she is still the voice of Lindsay Boxer, even as I read). TNT has also taken a leaf out of Castle's book and they have created twitter accounts for their characters which is great transmedia without being too much (like Heroes online comic books that I never had time to keep up with).

There is a niche out there for this kind of show and I think this might fit the bill. TNT does 'know drama' and I look forward to this new venture. I know I'll be tuning in July 12th at 10pm!