Rizzoli & Isles

Rizzoli & Isles
Genre	Crime Drama Police Procedural
Created by	Tess Gerritsen
Developed by	Janet Tamaro
Starring	Angie Harmon Sasha Alexander Jordan Bridges Lee Thompson Young Bruce McGill Lorraine Bracco
Opening theme	"I'm Shipping Up to Boston" by Dropkick Murphys
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	25 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Bill Haber Janet Tamaro Jeff Hayes Michael M. Robin
Running time	45–55 minutes
Production company(s)	Hurdler Productions Ostar Entertainment Warner Horizon Television
Broadcast
Original channel	TNT
Original run	July 12, 2010 (2010-07-12) – present
External links
Website

Rizzoli & Isles is a TNT television series starring Angie Harmon as police detective Jane Rizzoli and Sasha Alexander as medical examiner Dr. Maura Isles. The one-hour drama is based on the Rizzoli & Isles series of novels by Tess Gerritsen. It premiered on July 12, 2010.^[1]

Contents 1 Overview 2 Production 3 Cast 3.1 Main cast 3.2 Recurring cast 4 Ratings 5 Book series 6 DVD release 7 International broadcasting 8 References 9 External links

Overview

The series' backstory is inspired by The Surgeon. Boston detective Jane Rizzoli (Angie Harmon) was investigating a serial killer named Charles Hoyt (Michael Massee) some time before the series began. Hoyt, who was banned from medical school for fondling a corpse, used his vast medical knowledge to systematically torture and kill vulnerable women. Eventually, he captures Rizzoli and pins her to the floor with scalpels. As he prepares to cut Rizzoli's throat, her partner, Vince Korsak (Bruce McGill), shoots Hoyt and saves Rizzoli's life. Rizzoli reasons that, after seeing her so vulnerable, Korsak would never trust her as a partner.

The series pilot, "See One. Do One. Teach One", is largely based on the novel The Apprentice. Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles (Sasha Alexander) investigate a killer with Hoyt's modus operandi, plus an interest in necrophilia. Rizzoli and Isles discover that the copycat was a soldier named John Stark (Brendan McCarthy) who met Hoyt in medical school, had his identity erased for CIA black operations, and mimicked Hoyt's MO in a killing spree during said operations. Meanwhile, Hoyt escapes from prison and rejoins his apprentice. They capture Rizzoli and attempt to kill her, but she manages to disarm them by tasing them and impaling Hoyt in the eye with a flare. She shoots the apprentice to death and, when Hoyt reaches for Rizzoli's gun, she shoots him through the hands, giving him injuries similar to the ones he gave her.

Hoyt returns eighteen months later through another apprentice, Lola (Scottie Thompson), in "I'm Your Boogie Man." Having murdered Lola's abusive husband two years earlier, Hoyt uses her Stockholm syndrome to his advantage, and uses her to stalk Rizzoli. Lola seduces and captures Frankie Rizzoli (Jordan Bridges) before tying Jane up. She plans to kidnap Jane until Hoyt can escape from prison, but Rizzoli manages to distract Lola long enough for Frankie to kill Lola with her own revolver.

Production

The untitled project was on TNT's development slate as early as March 2008.^[2] In October 2009, TNT placed a cast-contingent pilot order under the original title, Rizzoli.^[3][4] The pilot script was written by Janet Tamaro.

Main casting announcements began in late October. Angie Harmon was the first actor cast, in the title role of police detective Jane Rizzoli.^[5] Sasha Alexander came on board next to portray medical examiner Dr. Maura Isles.^[6] Bruce McGill signed as Rizzoli's former partner, Vince Korsak.^[7] Her current partner, Barry Frost, is portrayed by Lee Thompson Young.^[7] The role of Rizzoli's younger brother, Frankie, was filled by Jordan Bridges.^[7] In mid-November, Lorraine Bracco signed on as Rizzoli's mom, Angela.^[8] In early 2010 Billy Burke was announced as FBI agent Gabriel Dean.^[9]

In late January, TNT green-lighted the pilot to series with the new title Rizzoli & Isles.^[9][10] Ten episodes were ordered.^[9] Reports in April stated that the show would premiere on July 12, 2010,^[11] and this was confirmed by TNT at its 2010 cable upfront presentation in mid-May.^[12] The series is produced on the Paramount Pictures lot in Hollywood, California.^[13]

Due to a sponsorship deal between MillerCoors and Turner Broadcasting for the summer 2010 season, the series included product placement for MGD 64, including billboards in the backgrounds of some scenes.^[14][15] The first season was additionally sponsored by Vonage.

The series was renewed for a 15-episode second season on July 30, 2010, after having aired three episodes,^[16] which premiered on July 11, 2011. On August 5, 2011, TNT ordered a 15-episode third season of the series, set to premiere in the summer of 2012.^[17]

Cast

Name	Portrayed by	Occupation	Seasons
			1	2
Jane Rizzoli	Angie Harmon	Boston Homicide Detective	Main
Dr. Maura Isles	Sasha Alexander	Massachusetts Chief Medical Examiner	Main
Barry Frost	Lee Thompson Young	Boston Homicide Detective	Main
Vince Korsak	Bruce McGill	Boston Homicide Sergeant	Main
Frankie Rizzoli, Jr.	Jordan Bridges	Boston Police Officer	Main
Angela Rizzoli	Lorraine Bracco	Waitress, Boston Police Cafe	Main
Frankie Rizzoli, Sr.	Chazz Palminteri	Businessman, Plumber	Recurring
"Dr." Charles Hoyt	Michael Massee	Medical Student (Expelled), Soldier (Discharged)	Recurring
Gabriel Dean	Billy Burke	FBI Agent	Recurring [18]
Tommy Rizzoli	Colin Egglesfield	Dog Walker		Recurring
Constance Isles	Jacqueline Bisset	Visual Artist		Recurring

Main cast

• Angie Harmon as Jane Rizzoli, a Boston detective who was traumatized by Charles Hoyt. She has scars in the center of her hands where Hoyt stabbed her with scalpels. As a child, she was slightly chubby, earning her the nickname "Rollie Pollie Rizzoli". She adopted a dog named Joe Friday whom Korsak rescued during the pilot episode. She also played field hockey as an attacker in junior college. She is the eldest Rizzoli sibling,^[19] and graduated high school in the class of 1994.^[20]
• Sasha Alexander as Dr. Maura Isles, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Chief Medical Examiner and a forensic expert. She is Rizzoli's best friend. She is socially awkward and has trouble with men due to her brutal honesty and habit of revealing all their medical conditions. She has a pet tortoise named Bass and is an adopted only child of a wealthy family. In high school, she was nicknamed "Maura-The-Bore-A". Her coworkers call her "The Queen of the Dead". It is later revealed that her biological father is an Irish crime boss named Paddy Doyle, something she finds out while investigating her half-brother's death.
• Lorraine Bracco as Angela Rizzoli, Jane, Frankie and Tommy's mother. In the first season, she is a housewife who later works a part-time job selling "Miracle Juice". She and Frank Senior are getting a divorce.
• Bruce McGill as Vince Korsak, Rizzoli's original partner. It is revealed in the series pilot that he saved her life from Hoyt. He will drop whatever he is doing on a moment's notice to rescue a small animal, and enjoys watching videos of dogs on the internet.
• Lee Thompson Young as Barry Frost, Rizzoli's second partner who gets ill when around dead bodies. Frost is an expert when it comes to computers. He is very protective of Rizzoli.
• Jordan Bridges as Frankie Rizzoli, Jr., Jane and Tommy's brother. He is a police officer against his mother's wishes, and sees his sister as a role model.

Recurring cast

• Jacqueline Bisset as Constance Isles, the adoptive mother of Dr. Maura Isles.
• Colin Egglesfield as Tommy Rizzoli, the brother of Jane and Frankie, arrested for running a priest over at a cross walk on his third DUI violation. He returns to the family fold following his release from prison. As of the season 2 episode "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" he is 32 years old.^[21]
• Billy Burke as Gabriel Dean, an FBI agent often seen working with the Boston Homicide detectives and Medical Examiner's Office.
• Chazz Palminteri as Frank Rizzoli, Sr., Jane, Frankie and Tommy's father. He owns and runs a plumbing business called "Rizzoli and Sons". He and Angela are getting a divorce.
• Michael Massee as Charles Hoyt, a former serial killer that stabbed Jane in both hands and, even after he was behind bars, was still a threat in Jane's life. Jane killed him in the episode "Remember Me".

Ratings

The series started strong in the ratings, as 7.55 million viewers tuned in for the premiere episode. Rizzoli & Isles was the second most-watched cable program on the evening of July 12, 2010, behind its lead-in, The Closer, which had 110,000 more viewers.^[22] The show finished the week in third behind The Closer and the final episode of Deadliest Catch to feature the late Phil Harris.^[23]

The premiere set a record as the highest-rated debut for a commercial-supported cable series, and it was the second-highest debut ever for a basic cable TV series.^[24][25] Rizzoli & Isles is second only to the 2008 premiere of Raising the Bar, which attracted 7.7 million viewers during its commercial-free debut.^[25][26][27] Live + 7 day ratings for the premiere updated the show's status as the all time most watched cable series launch, with DVR viewers increasing the show's rating to just over 9 million viewers.^[28]

Season	Season Premiere			Season Finale
	Date	Viewers Total (in millions)	Viewers 18-49	Date	Viewers Total (in millions)	Viewers 18-49
1	July 12, 2010	7.55[29]	2.1[29]	September 13, 2010	6.56[30]	1.5[30]
2	July 11, 2011	6.38[31]	1.2[31]	N/A	N/A	N/A

Book series

Title	Year	Notes	Protagonist	Secondary Protagonist	Tertiary Protagonist
The Surgeon	2001	Introduces Jane Rizzoli	Detective Thomas Moore	Detective Jane Rizzoli	Detective Darren Crowe
The Apprentice	2002	Introduces Dr. Maura Isles	Detective Jane Rizzoli	Detective Vince Korsak	Agent Gabriel Dean
The Sinner	2003		Dr. Maura Isles	Detective Jane Rizzoli	Detective Darren Crowe
Body Double	2004		Dr. Maura Isles	Detective Jane Rizzoli	Detective Barry Frost
Vanish	2005		Detective Jane Rizzoli	Dr. Maura Isles	Agent Gabriel Dean
The Mephisto Club	2006		Dr. Maura Isles	Detective Jane Rizzoli	Detective Barry Frost
The Keepsake	2008	Keeping the Dead (UK title)	Detective Jane Rizzoli	Dr. Maura Isles	Detective Barry Frost
Ice Cold	2010	The Killing Place (UK title)	Detective Jane Rizzoli	Dr. Maura Isles	Detective Barry Frost
The Silent Girl	2011		Dr. Maura Isles	Detective Jane Rizzoli	Detective Barry Frost

DVD release

Season	Region 1 Release Date	No. Discs	Features	Main Cast
The Complete First Season	June 28, 2011	3	All 10 episodes from the First Season Rizzoli & Isles: Bringing the Characters to Life Unaired Scenes Gag Reel Rizzoli & Isles: Chicks in a Bottle	Angie Harmon Sasha Alexander Jordan Bridges Lee Thompson Young with Bruce McGill and Lorraine Bracco

International broadcasting

Rizzoli & Isles overseas ^[32]

Country	Network	Premiere date
Canada	Super Channel	02010-10-05 October 5, 2010[33]
Sweden	Kanal 9	02010-11-11 November 11, 2010
Norway	TVNorge	02010-11-11 November 11, 2010
Hungary	Viasat 3	02010-11-24 November 24, 2010
Australia	GEM	02010-11-29 November 29, 2010
France	TPS Star	02011-01-10 January 10, 2011
South Africa	Series	02011-09 September 2011
Singapore	Warner TV	02011-02-01 February 1, 2011
Netherlands	NET 5	02011-01-01 January 1, 2011[34]
Argentina	Space	02011-04-04 April 4, 2011
Italy	Mya	02011-02-11 February 11, 2011
Israel	HOT Zone	02011-11-19 November 19, 2011
Turkey	CNBC-e	02011-02-15 February 15, 2011
Belgium	VIJFtv	02011-02-21 February 21, 2011
Belgium	RTBF	02011 2011
Poland	TVN	02011-03-06 March 6, 2011
Saudi Arabia	MBC 4	02011-01 January 2011
Spain	Nova	02011-06-17 June 17, 2011
Croatia	Doma TV	02011-02-22 February 22, 2011
India	Zee Café	02011-10-01 October 1, 2011
United Kingdom	Alibi	02011-09-13 September 13, 2011[35]
Mexico	Space	02011-04-06 April 6, 2011[36]
Portugal	Fox Life	02011-06-29 June 29, 2011
Japan	WOWOW	02011-10-03 October 3, 2011

References

External links

• Official website
• Rizzoli & Isles at the Internet Movie Database
• Rizzoli & Isles at TV.com

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