From Michael Wright, president, head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies (TCM), "For the past three summers, TNT has had great creative and commercial success with 'Falling Skies,' which has inspired us to continue to program for fans of sci-fi and action. This year, we're going to launch 'The Last Ship' and 'Legends,' two expertly crafted shows that bring the storytelling scope and thrill-ride excitement of our favorite summer movies to series television. With their great writing, expansive casts and outstanding production quality, these are really fun, smart and addictive shows."
The press release provided the news that "The Last Ship" will kick off TNT's summer action series on Sunday, June 22, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT). Executive produced by Michael Bay ("Transformers"), the new series is about a Navy vessel that may be humanity's last hope in the wake of a worldwide catastrophe and stars Eric Dane ("Grey's Anatomy") and Rhona Mitra ("Strike Back").
The fourth season premiere of "Falling Skies," from Amblin Television and executive producer Steven Spielberg, will follow "The Last Ship" at 10 p.m. (ET/PT).
TNT's new drama, "Legends" premieres in August, and comes from Homeland executive producers Howard Gordon and Alexander Cary and Fringe co-executive producer David Wilcox. It is scheduled to premiere on Wednesday, August 20, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT) and stars Sean Bean ("Game of Thrones") as a deep-undercover FBI agent who may be losing his grip on reality.
The release provided detailed descriptions and trailers for the three shows:
"The Last Ship" – New Series Premiere: Sunday, June 22, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT)
This summer, TNT is going to take take viewers on an action-packed ride with the exciting new drama series The Last Ship, starring Eric Dane ("Grey's Anatomy") and executive-produced by blockbuster filmmaker Michael Bay ("Transformers"). "The Last Ship" opens with a global catastrophe that nearly decimates the world's population. Because of its positioning, the Navy destroyer U.S.S. Nathan James avoids falling victim to the devastating tragedy. But now, Captain Tom Chandler (Dane) and his crew must confront the reality of their new existence in a world where they may be among the few remaining survivors. Rhona Mitra ("Strike Back") plays Rachel Scott, a strong-willed, intelligent and fearless paleomicrobiologist assigned to the ship. Adam Baldwin ("Firefly," "Chuck") is XO Mike Slattery, a former homicide detective and Chandler's second-in-command. Also starring in The Last Ship are Travis Van Winkle ("Heart of Dixie"), Charles Parnell ("Pariah"), Christina Elmore (Fruitvale Station), Sam Spruell (Snow White and The Huntsman) and Marissa Neitling ("Leverage"). Based on William Brinkley's popular novel, "The Last Ship" comes to TNT from Bay's Platinum Dunes and its partners, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form, whose credits include the upcoming "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles." Bay, Fuller and Form serve as executive producers, along with showrunner Hank Steinberg ("Without a Trace," "The Nine"), Steven Kane ("The Closer") and director Jack Bender ("Lost"). Steinberg and Kane wrote the series pilot, which was directed by Jonathan Mostow ("U-571").
"Falling Skies" – Season 4 Premiere: Sunday, June 22, at 10 p.m. (ET/PT) TNT's epic drama "Falling Skies" – from Amblin Television and executive producer Steven Spielberg – tells the extraordinary story about life and survival in the wake of a catastrophic alien invasion. Noah Wyle stars as Tom Mason, a college professor who became an unlikely resistance leader. Moon Bloodgood is Dr. Ann Glass, a pediatrician who became the survivors’ primary physician and eventually fell in love with Tom. Will Patton is Colonel Weaver, the gruff and emotionally scarred commander leading the battle against the invaders. Also starring in Falling Skies are Drew Roy, Connor Jessup, Maxim Knight, Seychelle Gabriel, Colin Cunningham, Mpho Koaho, Sarah Carter and Doug Jones. Since premiering as basic cable's #1 new series of 2011, Falling Skies has ranked as one of the Top 20 original series on basic cable with total viewers and key adult demos. In addition to Spielberg, "Falling Skies" is executive-produced by Amblin Television heads Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank, along with David Eick and Greg Beeman.
"Legends" – New Series Premiere: Wednesday, Aug. 20, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT) Screen Actors Guild Award® winner Sean Bean ("Game of Thrones," "The Lord of the Rings") stars in "Legends," TNT's new, suspense-filled drama based on the award-winning book by master spy novelist Robert Littell. Bean plays Martin Odum, an undercover agent working for the FBI's Deep Cover Operations (DCO) division. Martin has the uncanny ability to transform himself into a completely different person for each job. But he begins to question his own identity when a mysterious stranger suggests that Martin isn’t the man he believes himself to be. Legends also stars Ali Larter ("Heroes") as Crystal Quest, a fellow operative who has a history with Martin; Morris Chestnut ("American Horror Story," "Nurse Jackie") as Tony Cimarro, a smart, quick-witted and charming DCO agent; Tina Majorino ("Grey's Anatomy," "True Blood") as Maggie Harris, the newest member of the DCO team; Steve Harris ("The Practice," "Awake") as Nelson Gates, the director of the DCO Task Force; and Amber Valletta ("Revenge") as Sonya Odum, Martin's ex-wife; and Mason Cook ("The Lone Ranger") as Martin's pre-teen son, Aiden. Legends is being produced by Fox 21, with Howard Gordon ("Homeland," "24"), Alexander Cary ("Homeland," "Lie to Me") and Jonathan Levin ("Charmed") serving as executive producers, along with showrunner David Wilcox ("Fringe"). The Legends pilot was written by Jeffrey Nachmanoff ("Traitor"), who developed the story with Mark Gordon ("Criminal Minds") and Mark Bomback ("The Wolverine"). The pilot was directed by David Semel ("American Horror Story").
-Larissa Mrykalo