"Bar" and "Grace" earn pickups from TNT

By Kimberly Nordyke

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - TNT has renewed the rookie Steven Bochco legal drama "Raising the Bar" and the Holly Hunter cop show "Saving Grace," giving 15-episode pickups to each series.

"Raising the Bar" premiered just three weeks ago, breaking the record for a series debut on ad-supported cable (7.7 million). After three episodes, it is averaging 5.5 million viewers. The show, which stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Gloria Reuben and Jane Kaczmarek, follows the lives of young lawyers as well as those who sit in judgment on their cases. After finishing its first season in November, it will return next year.

"Saving Grace" was given a third-season pickup after averaging 4.4 million viewers over the summer. Hunter plays an Oklahoma City police detective. It wraps its second season early next year, with the third season set to bow later in 2009.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter