After a strong opening Monday night — the strongest opening for any new cable series so far in 2012 — one cable channel claims the top three new series launches of the year.

TNT holds the honor after its new drama “Major Crimes” bowed to 7.2 million viewers, the network reports. The premiere of “Major Crimes” tops the June 13 debut of the network’s “Dallas” reboot, with 6.9 million viewers, and the July 9 premiere of “Perception,” with 5.6 million viewers — the top three cable debuts of the year.

Monday’s “Major Crimes” launch led out from the high-rated final episode of “The Closer,” which delivered an audience of 9.1 million viewers in Live + Same Day — the top-rated series telecast on cable so far this summer. “The Closer” ended its run after seven seasons.

In its announcement, TNT noted: “Since premiering in 2005, ‘The Closer’ has assembled a remarkable string of successes. The award-winning drama is the only series in cable history to rank #1 for five consecutive years, which it did from 2005 to 2009. This year, ‘The Closer’ is once again topping the charts as cable’s most-watched series for the summer-to-date.”