TNT Greenlights Recurring Series THE CLOSER, with Kyra Sedgwick, and RUSH (working title), with Gary Cole

THE CLOSER Produced by The Shephard/Robin Company in Association with Warner Bros. Television, with James Duff (The D.A.) and Greer Shephard and Michael Robin (Nip/Tuck) Executive-Producing

RUSH (working title) Comes to TNT from Spelling Television and Jorge Zamacona (Homicide: Life on the Street, 10-8)

Turner Network Television (TNT), television�s destination for drama, has given the greenlight for episode production to move forward on two original recurring drama series: THE CLOSER, starring Kyra Sedgwick (The Woodsman, Loverboy, Cavedweller), and RUSH (working title), with Gary Cole (The West Wing, Office Space), announced Michael Wright, senior vice president of original programming for TNT.

THE CLOSER comes to TNT from The Shephard/Robin Company in association with Warner Bros. Television. James Duff (The D.A., The Agency), Greer Shephard (Nip/Tuck, The D.A.) and Michael Robin (Nip/Tuck, The D.A., NYPD Blue) serve as executive producers. RUSH (working title) comes to TNT from Spelling Television and Jorge Zamacona (Homicide: Life on the Street, 10-8). It is being executive-produced by Aaron Spelling (Charmed, Seventh Heaven, Beverly Hills 90210), E. Duke Vincent (Charmed, Seventh Heaven, Beverly Hills 90210) and Zamacona. Both shows will receive a 13-episode order and are slated to premiere on TNT in summer 2005.

�We�re very pleased to be able to bring these two shows to our audience,� said Wright. �They are just the sort of provocative, high-quality dramas we were expecting to get when we enlisted the help of the incredibly talented people who created them, and we think they�re the perfect complement to TNT�s drama brand.�

THE CLOSER is a taut police drama that tells the story of Deputy Police Chief Brenda Jean Johnson (two-time Golden Globe nominee Sedgwick), a police detective who transfers from Atlanta to LA to head up a special unit of the LAPD that handles sensitive, high-profile murder cases. Johnson�s quirky personality and hard-nosed approach often rubs her colleagues the wrong way, but her reputation as one of the world�s best interrogator eventually wins over even her toughest critics.

Joining Sedgwick in the series are J.K. Simmons (Spider-Man, Law & Order, Oz) as Johnson�s boss, Assistant Police Chief Henry Pope; Robert Gossett (Arlington Road, The Net) as Captain Taylor, head of the robbery homicide division; and Jon Tenney (You Can Count on Me, Get Real) as FBI Agent Fritz Howard.

In RUSH (working title), an elite team of crime fighters from various federal and local law enforcement agencies form a covert, undercover strike force to help track down L.A.�s 100 most-wanted fugitives.

Joining Cole is an ensemble cast that includes Rashida Jones (Boston Public, Little Black Book), Ryan Hurst (Taken, Remember the Titans) Benjam�n Ben�tez (Tru Calling) and singer Josey Scott in his acting debut.

Turner Network Television (TNT), television�s destination for drama and consistently one of cable�s top-rated networks, offers award-caliber original films, such as the Johnson & Johnson Spotlight PresentationSM 14 Hours; highly anticipated original series, including Into the West, an epic 12-hour series from DreamWorks Television and executive producer Steven Spielberg; powerful one-hour dramas, such as Law & Order, Without a Trace, ER, NYPD Blue, Charmed, Judging Amy and Angel; broadcast premiere movies; and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR and the NBA. TNT is also available in high-definition.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, is a major producer of news and entertainment product around the world and a leading provider of programming for the television industry.