TNT’s “Rizzoli & Isles” was the inexplicable hit of the summer last year: the series debut pulled in 9 million viewers, and the show averaged 8.7 million a week — almost unthinkable numbers for cable. (To put that in perspective, “So You Think You Can Dance” is averaging 5 million viewers for Fox this summer.) Q: What’s the secret to show’s success?
The first season of TNT’s crime drama “Rizzoli & Isles” featured an episode with the title “I Kissed a Girl.” Its stars, Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander, played on a softball team, shared some intimate dinners, drank wine over candlelight and hopped into the same bed for girl talk. [LA Times]
A: LESBIAN SEXUAL TENSION!
However, despite the obvious sapphic undercurrent between the two leads, Harmon insists that they do NOT want to furiously scissor until the bedroom smells like Chinatown:
“I hate to disappoint, but these characters are straight,” Harmon insisted. “If we lose viewers because of it — sorry!” […]
“Women in the workplace are often portrayed as catty and competitive, and it’s rare that you get to see them as smart friends and colleagues who can debate and disagree,” Alexander said. “They don’t have to always sabotage each other and fall for the same guy.”
Uh huh, right. People like the show because of the non-catty female friendship. That’s what made “Xena: Warrior Princess” a hit, too.
