Nothing to feel blue about! Jennifer Lopez had plenty of reasons to celebrate this week, as her two TV series — NBC's new police drama Shades of Blue and Fox's singing competition American Idol — got off to hot starts!
On Shades of Blue, the 46-year-old actress stars as Harlee Santos, a single mother and NYPD officer who works to fight corruption. The show, which costars Ray Liotta, debuted on Thursday, January 7, and was seen by 8.6 million viewers, winning its time slot.
Shades also marked NBC's most watched Thursday debut since Southland launched in April 2009.
Meanwhile, the superstar has returned as a judge for American Idol's 15th and final season, which premiered on Wednesday, January 6. The series had a strong week, topping its time slot with both its Wednesday and Thursday episodes. Go, J. Lo!
Clearly, this is a busy time for the incredibly talented Lopez. The mom of two graces the cover of Us Weekly's January 18 issue, telling Us that she had been developing Shades as a producer for several years, but it hadn't dawned on her when she pitched it to networks that she would be adding yet another full-time gig to her already-packed schedule.
"It's a great role, this was something I can really sink my teeth into, and I hadn't done something like this in a while, so it was just like, 'Yeah, I can do this,'" Lopez said. "And then I didn’t think about the schedule, I didn't think about the hours and all of that stuff, that I'd be doing Idol at the same time and getting ready for my [Las Vegas] residency and stuff like that, but we’re doing good."
Lopez added that being a mom to twins Emme and Max, 7, helps her to connect with her character.
"It was so easy for me to understand Harlee in that sense because she’s a single mom, and I'm a single mom, and how you want everything to be great for your child and how you protect them to the death, and Harlee, being a cop and having a whole different set of instincts, being in law enforcement, it’s just to another level," the actress explained.
She shares her kids with ex-husband Marc Anthony, who she divorced in 2014.
Shades of Blue airs on NBC Thursdays at 10 p.m. EST. American Idol airs on Fox Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8 p.m. EST.
