Lorraine Bracco gets to play against type on 'Rizzoli & Isles' as Angela Rizzoli, as the mother of Angie Harmon's Detective Jane Rizzoli. But according to Julie Chen on 'The Talk' (weekdays, syndicated on CBS), Bracco still sometimes has trouble shaking her roots in mobster movies like 'Goodfellas' and TV shows like 'The Sopranos.'

"It's fun," Bracco said of playing Rizzoli. "It's so different for me because she's kind of funny." Funny wasn't exactly the mood of the day when she was playing Karen Hill in 'Goodfellas,' but she has her fans. Chen recounted people coming up to Bracco in a restaurant and "kissing her ring, like she's the Godfather."

Before you know it, the summer will be upon us. For viewers, this is both bad and good news. The bad: The major networks resort to schedules filled with reality programming. The good: The cable networks rev up their schedules with original scripted programming. By the time July rolls around, AMC, FX, TNT and USA will be chock full of fan favorites.

For TNT, that means a new season of 'The Closer.' The network has just announced that season 6 will premiere on Mon., Jul. 12 at 9PM. Joining 'The Closer' on that evening will be the new drama 'Rizzoli & Isles.' Based on a series of Tess Gerritsen's novels, the show casts Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander as a Boston detective and medical examiner, respectively, who team up to solve cases. The series also stars Lorraine Bracco as Harmon's mother.

TNT has always excelled with shows featuring strong female leads. As long as the acting and writing is up to par on 'Rizzoli & Isles' it should have a long life on the network.

Donnie Wahlberg's acting arc has been a positive one, moving from killers and thugs to detectives and heroes. His latest arc will take place on TNT's upcoming police series, 'Rizzoli & Isles.'

The series stars 'Law & Order's' Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander of 'NCIS' in a drama that revolves around the friendship between Boston homicide detective Jane Rizzoli (Harmon) and her medical examiner friend Maura Isles (Alexander).

Lorraine Bracco ('The Sopranos') has reportedly booked a guest spot on 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent.' In the episode airing this summer, the Oscar and Emmy nominee will play a "woman who cares for foster children." Last night, 'Criminal Intent' had its ninth-season premiere on USA. [TV Guide]

More casting news after the jump.

If you can't choose one, why not choose them all?

That's exactly what TNT did yesterday with the pickup of three new pilots: 'Delta Blues,' 'Rizzoli and Isles' and the still-untitled alien-invasion series from producer Steven Spielberg. Each show received 10-episode orders, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

'Delta Blues,' from producer George Clooney, stars Jason Lee as a Memphis cop who moonlights as a musician and still lives at home with his mother. The Boston-set 'Rizzoli,' based on a series of mystery novels by Tess Gerritsen, stars Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander as detectives, with Lorraine Bracco playing Harmon's tough, but loyal mother.

Roles requiring a thick skin? Check.

Roles dispensing advice? Check.

Experience as both a tough mom and wife? Check.

In other words: Lorraine Bracco definitely has what it takes to play her next role.

The 'Sopranos' alumna is the latest star to join TNT's new drama 'Rizzoli.' The show is based on the series of popular mystery novels by Tess Gerritson.

(S01E03) "I could do a lot worse." - Madeleine about Wendy being her mother.

Indeed, Madeleine could do a lot worse. Wendy may not be a model mother but she is human and tries to make ends meet as best as she can. This week we saw more of how a scandalous book can affect someone and the control damage needed to smooth things over. Good thing that Wendy has a very good friend who is not afraid to play dirty!

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(S01E02) "Tsunami for bad mommy." - Janice after seeing a picture of Wendy crying because of the book.

After watching the Lipstick Jungle pilot last week, some of TV Squad readers commented on the fact that the series was not true to the book and that it was not light enough. One commenter even said that it left an ABC romantic TV movie aftertaste in her mouth. Other people thought it was good but not fantastic and that the actresses gave fair performances. Not having read the book, I cannot compare. The pilot didn't wow me but was interesting enough to have me turn up for more this week. However, "Nothing Sacred" was a let down and, if it had not been for the fact I had to write this review, I think I would have switched channels to watch Eli Stone live instead of tomorrow morning.

I don't know what I was expecting exactly this week. But it wasn't what I was offered by the NBC series.

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In an article in today's New York Daily News, Lorraine Bracco talks about some of the circumstances that sent her into a deep depression a few years ago. Among the issues: a nasty custody battle with ex-lover Harvey Keitel over the daughter they had together, a divorce from her husband Edward James Olmos, and a large amount of debt that compelled her to file for bankrupcy. Jeez, that's enough to get anyone depressed, much less someone who's played intense roles like Dr. Melfi on The Sopranos and Karen Hill in the movie classic Goodfellas.

Anyway, with the help of therapy and Zoloft, which she is now paid to endorse, she is healthy and in control of her life. She discusses her depression in her new book On the Couch, which is why she is making the publicity rounds. The most interesting tidbit? That Bracco, 51, is currently involved with a 32-year-old driver for The Sopranos. Not a bad trade-up; we've all seen Edward James Olmos, right?