Rizzles Out

So, that’s that. After its upcoming seventh season “Rizzoli & Isles” is ending. The ratings stalwart for TNT has been cancelled to make way for more prestigious and edgy fare. New TNT/TBS network chief Kevin Reilly is shaking up the Turner brand entirely. Gone are popular, if not entirely critically acclaimed, shows like “Rizzoli & Isles,” in are more “muscular” FX-style shows. (Oh, have I mentioned Reilly is also the former FX chief?)

You know what that sounds like to me? Bye, shows that lots of chicks like. Hello, shows that dudes and (often) dude critics like.

Sorry, maybe I’m just being cranky at this news. A show starring two female leads and created (and currently run by) female showrunners – not to mentioned based on characters created by a female author – is such a rarity it’s deeply personal to see one go.

Also, duh, I enjoy the show. Sure, it’s not “The Sopranos” or “Breaking Bad” or Mad Men” or “The Wire” or “Game of Thrones” or anything else that has launched a million thinkpieces. But it’s a fun show and easy to watch build entirely on cast chemistry. There’s no shame in liking that.

So what will replace “Rizzoli & Isles,” which is should be noted has been TNT’s second-most-watched show in its history behind only “The Closer?”

One of the first programming announcements is a two-hour horror block led by an M. Night Shyamalan (who is a dude) reboot of “Tales from the Crypt.” Then there’s also “Animal Behavior (created by a dude),” a series about a 17-year-old boy who moves in with his crazy crime family relatives. And “Good Behavior” starring “Downton Abbey” star Michelle Dockery as con artist recently released from prison (based on a book series written by a dude and showrun by a dude) – but hey, the lead is definitely a lady. Also in production is “The Alientist” (based on a book by a dude, created by the dude who helped produce and direct “True Detective” and two other dude co-screenwriters).

Got it, dudes. Like I said, I’m a little grumpy. I’m grumpy because a fun show I like is going off the air (the second in the last year – sniffle, oh, “Lost Girl,” I miss you so) to be replaced by serious things for serious people (often dudes). I’m grumpy because the reason for its dismissal has nothing to do with poor performance and everything to do with the chase for buzz. (I get it, “Rizzoli & Isles” has negative buzz, except among us gay ladies who buzz about its gay potential). And finally I’m grumpy because its end spells the end of the dream of Rizzles.

While I never expected it to happen, there was always the fantasy that if the show went on long enough finally they’d just stop throwing men at the ladies, throw up their hands and throw the ladies at each other as chemistry demands. Sure, it was a long shot. Sure, it was never the plan. But, hey, we can dream. And now, with 13 episodes to wrap things up, that Big Gayzzoli Ending seems an impossibility.

But, goodness, imagine if they did. And wouldn’t that be the most delicious irony? That there, at the very end, it was finally “edgy.”