In our final part of our roundup of this summer’s television scores, we’ll take a look at the shows on TNT, Syfy, HBO and Lifetime. Also check out Part 1 and Part 2 of the series for the composers on all the other major network and cable shows of the summer.
TNT:
The most successful new show of the summer on TNT is the sci-fi series Falling Skies. The project starring Noah Wyle, Moon Bloodgood, Drew Roy, Sarah Carter and Maxim Knight is produced by Steven Spielberg and centers on an alien invasion of Earth and the resistance formed by the survivor. Also producing are Graham Yost (Justified) and Robert Rodat (writer of Saving Private Ryan). Noah Sorota is scoring the show. Check out our announcement from earlier this year here and visit Tracksounds for an audio interview with the composer. The two-hour season finale is airing tonight on TNT. The show has already been renewed for a second season. For updates on the series, visit TNT’s official show website.
The other new summer show on the cable station is the legal comedy Franklin & Bash. The show centers on two lawyers and lifelong friends who are recruited by a large firm’s major partner after winning a high-profile case. The series is created by Kevin Falls and Bill Chais and stars Breckin Meyer, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Malcolm McDowell, Dana Davis, Reed Diamond, Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon and Kumail Nanjiani. John Robert Wood (Psych, .45) is scoring the series. Franklin & Bash has already completed its first season, but it has recently been renewed for a second season to air next summer. For more information, visit the official show website.
Currently in its fourth season is the drama Leverage starring Timothy Hutton, Gina Bellman, Aldis Hodge, Christian Kane and Beth Riesgraf. The show follows a five-person team of professional thieves, computer experts and con-artists who use their skills to right corporate and governmental injustices inflicted on common citizens. Joseph LoDuca (Xena: Warrior Princess, Army of Darkness) is the composer on the show. Leverage is currently airing every Sunday night. Visit TNT’s official show webpage for more information.
Also airing on TNT is the second season of the crime drama Memphis Beat. The show revolves around a police detective assigned to the General Assignment division of the MPD, who loves his mother, the blues, his city, and Elvis Presley and calls himself “the keeper of Memphis”. Jason Lee is starring alongside Alfre Woodard, Sam Hennings, DJ Qualls, Celia Weston, Leonard Earl Howze and Abraham Benrubi. The show’s score is composed by Keb’ Mo’ and A. Patrick Rose. Keb’ Mo’ also wrote the opening titles theme for the project. To watch a number of video features on the music from the show, click here. The show is currently airing every Tuesday night on TNT. For more information, visit the official Memphis Beat website.
Another TNT show is the drama Rizzoli & Isles. The series stars Angie Harmon as police detective Jane Rizzoli and Sasha Alexander as medical examiner Dr. Maura Isles. Jordan Bridges, Lee Thompson Young, Bruce McGill and Lorraine Bracco are co-starring in the show based on a series of novels by Tess Gerritsen and adapted for TV by Janet Tamaro. The show’s score is by composer James Levine (Glee, Damages, Royal Pains). Rizzoli & Isles is airing its second season every Monday night. A third season has already been announced for 2012. For updates, visit the official show website.
James Levine is also scoring the long-running hit drama The Closer on TNT. In the show created by James Duff, Kyra Sedgwick stars as Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson, a Georgia police detective who leads the Priority Murder Squad in Los Angeles. Levine has been scoring the series since its beginning in 2005. The Closer is currently airing in its seventh and last season every Monday night on TNT. A spin-off, entitled Major Crimes starring Mary McDonnell will be premiering next summer. To learn more about The Closer, visit the official show webpage.
Syfy:
One new show premiered on the cable channel this summer. The sci-fi show Alphas starring Azita Ghanizada, David Strathairn, Laura Mennell, Malik Yoba, Ryan Cartwright, Warren Christie and Valerie Cruz centers on five people with superhuman abilities who discover that a group with similar abilities called Red Flag uses them to commit crime. The show is created by Zak Penn (X-Men: The Last Stand, The Incredible Hulk) and Michael Karnow. Gail Berman and Jack Bender (Lost) are among the executive producers. Edward Rogers (Warehouse 13) composed the score for the first four episodes that already aired in the last couple of weeeks. Alphas airs Monday nights on Syfy. Click here for more information on the show.
Edward Rogers is also scoring the hit show Warehouse 13, which is currently airing its third season. The show created by Jane Espenson and D> Brent Note follows a group of United States Secret Service Agents who are assigned to the government’s secret Warehouse 13 for supernatural “artifacts”. Eddie McClintock, Joanne Kelly, Saul Rubinek, Genelle Williams, Allison Scagliotti and Simon Reynolds are starring in the series. A soundtrack featuring Rogers’ score from the second season has recently been announced. Check out our previous article for more information. Warehouse 13 currently airs every Monday night on Syfy. Visit the official show website for news and updates on the project.
Also airing this summer is the fourth season of the sci-fi show Eureka. The series set in the town of Eureka, Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest, which is inhabited almost entirely by geniuses and scientists is created by Andrew Cosby and Jaime Paglia. The cast includes Colin Ferguson, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Joe Morton, Jordan Hinson, Ed Quinn, Erica Cerra and Neil Grayston. Bear McCreary (Battlestar Galactica, The Walking Dead) has been scoring the show since its second season. Eureka will bending it series run in 2012. The last episodes of season 4 are currently airing every Monday night. Check out Syfy’s official show website to learn more.
Lifetime
Two new shows premiered on Lifetime this summer. The Protector revolves around a single mother who struggles to balance her family and professional life as an LAPD homicide detective. The drama stars Ally Walker (Profiler), Tisha Campbell-Martin, Miguel Ferrer and Chris Payne Gilbert. Michael Nankin (Life Goes On) and Jeffrey Bell (Angel, Alias) created and developed the project. Gabriel Mann (Modern Family, the upcoming Ringer) is scoring the show, which currently airs every Monday night on Lifetime. Visit Lifetime’s official series webpage for more information.
Also new on the cable station is the crime drama Against the Wall. In the show created by Annie Brunner, Rachel Carpani stars as a police detective who joins the Internal Affairs division which causes a stir in her family. Brandon Quinn, Chris Johnson, Kathy Baker, Treat Williams, James Thomas, Marisa Ramirez and Steve Byers are co-starring. The show’s score is composed by Danny Lux (Grey’s Anatomy, Boston Legal). Against the Wall airs every Sunday night on Lifetime. To learn more, check out the official show website.
Also airing on Lifetime is the comedy drama Drop Dead Diva, which has recently entered its third season. The show created by Josh Berman stars Brooke Elliott as Jane, a plus size woman whose body is inhabited by the soul of a fashion model. Co-stars include Margaret Cho, April Bowlby, Kate Levering, Jackson Hurst, Josh Stamberg and Ben Feldman. Scott Starrett (The Event) is scoring the show, which is airing every Sunday night. For updates and news on the project, visit Lifetime’s official Drop Dead Diva website.
HBO
The vampire drama True Blood has recently entered its fourth season. The show created by Alan Ball and starring Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Ryan Kwanten and Sam Trammell centers on Sookie Stackhouse, a waitress who discovers a new world of creatures when she falls in love with Bill Compton, a vampire. Nathan Barr (Hostel, Cabin Fever) has been scoring the show since its first season. Score albums from the first two seasons have been released on Varese Sarabande. Also available are two song compilation soundtracks with a third one coming out this September. Check out a video interview with Barr talking about the current season of True Blood on Buzzfocus. The show airs every Sunday night on HBO. For more information, check out the official show website.
Also airing on HBO this summer are the new seasons of Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Both show typically don’t feature any original score.
