Dark Blue
10/9c TNT
Executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer's gritty cop series about a deep undercover unit continues its freshman season. In this episode, team leader Carter Shaw — he of the street-smart focus, hard-bitten worldview and obligatory facial stubble — lurks deep in the shadows, consulting his dark underworld acquaintances to take down a crooked yet decorated cop. But this assignment to crush a fellow police officer tests Ty's moral code — particularly after his wife floors him with big news. Michael Biehn, who played Kyle Reese in 1984's The Terminator, guest stars.
Read on for previews of America's Got Talent, Crash Course, Great Performances and Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Cincinnati Bengals.
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Some recent ratings highlights:
Wednesday
• America's Got Talent topped the night with 11.38 million total viewers, up 9 percent over last week. Lead-out The Philanthropist dropped another 15 percent, to 4.34 mil.
• The premiere of TNT's Dark Blue copped 3.5 million viewers, retaining an impressive 90 percent of its Leverage lead-in. Leverage's Season 2 premiere garnered 3.8 mil, a 24 percent gain over its series debut.
Thursday
• Big Brother 11 won the 8 o'clock hour with 5.57 million viewers, down 17 percent from last week. ABC News' special on Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling placed third (behind a Bones repeat) with 4.38 mil.
• So You Think You Can Dance's results show drew 7 mil, down 750K from last week. NBC's The Listener (3.86 mil), in its second-to-last broadcast airing, gained 620 thou. (Following the July 23 airing, NBC.com will stream the final five episodes in August.)
Crave scoop on your favorite TV shows, from this summer or the upcoming fall season? E-mail senior editors Matt, Mickey and Tim at mega_scoop@tvguide.com and follow TV Guide on Twitter.
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Dylan McDermott is done practicing the law and ready to keep the order, as an elite undercover cop on the new TNT drama Dark Blue (premiering Wednesday at 10 pm/ET).
Also on TNT: Timothy Hutton previews Leverage's Season 2
Tackling the gritty and at times morally gray fare is part of a calculated plan by the actor to leave his righteous and sharp-dressed alter ego from The Practice behind him.
"People were used to seeing me as Bobby Donnell ...
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Dark Blue
10 pm/ET TNT
It's the pros against the cons in this visceral crime drama that tracks the shadowy derring-do of an undercover task force. In the premiere, brooding team leader Carter Shaw (Dylan McDermott) tries to take down a suave gang leader responsible for torturing an FBI agent and leaving him for dead. But the case turns messy when one of Carter's own embedded men (Logan Marshall-Green) seemingly flips loyalties. Executive produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the show features intriguing characters, bullet-blazing violence and a gritty edge, making it a fine counterpart to the lighter caper series Leverage, which precedes it on Wednesdays.
Read on for previews of Michael & Michael Have Issues, Top Chef Masters, The Philanthropist and Criminal Minds.
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Every week, senior editors Matt Webb Mitovich, Mickey O'Connor and Tim Molloy satisfy your need for TV scoop. Please send all questions to mega_scoop@tvguide.com.
I only have one question about the NCIS finale: Is Cote de Pablo returning to the show next season? — B.C.
MATT: Why, did it look like Ziva was on death's doorstep in that secretly filmed torture scene? If so, think back to what NCIS boss Shane Brennan said about that grim cliff-hanger: Come September, "all will be revealed and you will be surprised. It will come at you from left field." (But, in a word: Yes. Sources whisper to me that Cote will be back.) Bonus buzzlet: Season 6 arrives on DVD Aug. 25!
Please tell us the rumors aren't true, and that Desperate Housewives isn't going with a melodramatic miscarriage storyline for Lynette. — Steph
MICKEY: Egads, this is morbid, Steph, but let's retrace our steps: Marc Cherry has said that he thinks a mother losing a child would be ...
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