NBC'S Sunday Police Drama SHADES OF BLUE Receives Greenlight Third Season

"Shades of Blue," NBC's gritty drama starring Jennifer Lopez and Ray Liotta about corruption in the NYPD and the ramifications that ensue, has been renewed for a third season.

The announcement was made by Jennifer Salke, President, NBC Entertainment.

"We're so hugely appreciative of everything Jennifer and Ray do, and know it is due to their dedication, as well as the hard work of our incredible cast and producers, that 'Shades of Blue' has so clearly and compellingly earned a third-season renewal," Salke said. "This show continues to mine powerful stories that always leave us hungry for more."

Thus far in its second season, "Shades of Blue" is dominating the Sunday 10 p.m. ET hour among the ABC, CBS and NBC dramas, generating a +50% margin of victory in the timeslot in adult 18-49 rating. In total viewers, "Shades of Blue" also wins decisively, averaging 5.0 million viewers in "live plus same day" ratings from Nielsen Media Research.

Additionally, "Shades" leads the timeslot's broadcast competition in all other key measures - adults, men and women 18-34; men and women 18-49; and adults, men and women 25-54.

"Shades" adds substantial viewership from time-shifting and video on demand, with the show's March 5 season premiere growing by 66% in "live plus three day" Nielsens to a 1.6 rating in adults 18-49, and in total viewers by 2.5 million persons to a total of 7.8 million, accounting for the biggest L+3 lifts of the night on the Big 4 networks.

Harlee Santos (Jennifer Lopez) is a charismatic single mother and resourceful detective at the heart of a tight-knit crew of Brooklyn detectives, led by enigmatic Lt. Matt Wozniak (Ray Liotta) who often leads the team to step outside the limitations of the law in order to effectively protect their precinct and their own.

Harlee navigates her fractured relationship with Wozniak as she struggles to conceal her deepest secret: She killed her daughter's father. Following his discovery that Harlee collaborated with the FBI, Wozniak is confronted with a gut-wrenching dilemma of his own. The crew is under tight scrutiny from Stahl (Warren Kole) and the FBI, as well as from Internal Affairs, in the form of a gregarious detective, Verco (guest star Dov Davidoff), who investigates the disappearance of one of their own. Meanwhile, a former member of their crew, Julia Ayres (guest star Anna Gunn) runs for mayor and her complex relationship with Harlee and Wozniak comes to the fore. Neither Harlee nor Wozniak anticipates that Ayres' corrupt connections will trap them in a dangerous war with the Mafia.

The cast includes Drea de Matteo, Dayo Okeniyi, Vincent Laresca, Hampton Fluker, Sarah Jeffery and Gino Anthony Pesi.

Showrunner Jack Orman and Jennifer Lopez serve as executive producers along with Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Benny Medina, Ryan Seacrest and Nina Wass.

"Shades of Blue" is a production of Universal Television, Nuyorican Productions, EGTV, Ryan Seacrest Productions and Jack Orman Productions.

Image courtesy of NBC.

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