News

As TNT’s Major Crimes kicks off its sixth and final season, it appears that the vile and indefatigable Phillip Stroh is back on the prowl — and that Rusty as well as former McD boss Brenda Leigh Johnson may wind up in his cross hairs.

VideosMajor Crimes Season 6: Watch New Trailer

In the exclusive sneak peek above from the farewell run’s season opener (titled “Sanctuary City: Part 1” and airing Tuesday at 9/8c), Sharon (played by Mary McDonnell) lays out for Rusty (Graham Patrick Martin) a series of “accidental” deaths plus a suicide that, in total, suggest that...

Closure will elude longtime fans of The Closer as its Major Crimes spinoff concludes its run in January.

RelatedMajor Crimes Creator on Cancellation: ‘So Sorry’ I Couldn’t Prevent This

As first reported by TVLine, the upcoming sixth season of Major Crimes (premiering Tuesday, Oct. 31 at 98/8c) will be its last. And though series creator James Duff saw the writing on the wall around the time he was midway through producing the upcoming 13-episode run, an encore by Kyra Sedgwick’s Brenda Leigh Johnson aka The Closer’s titular crimesolver was not in the cards.

Ever since The Closer...

The upcoming sixth season of TNT’s “Major Crimes” will be its last, the network announced Tuesday. The drama, which stars Mary McDonnell as Commander Sharon Raydor, kicks off its final season Oct. 31, with the two-episode series finale airing Jan. 16. Created by James Duff, the show launched in August 2012 as a spinoff of “The Closer,” the drama that featured Kyra Sedgwick as Brenda Leigh Johnson. The cast of “Crimes” includes G.W. Bailey, Tony Denison, Michael Paul Chan, Raymond Cruz and Phillip P. Keene. Also Read: Kyra Sedgwick on When She Learned Husband Kevin Bacon Is Her Cousin: 'Most White People.

Cops, out.

TNT’s Major Crimes will end after its upcoming sixth season, TVLine has learned exclusively.

RelatedMajor Crimes Season 6: Billy Burke to Return as Phillip Stroh

What will now be the crime drama’s 13-episode farewell run kicks off on Tuesday, Oct. 31 at 9/8c, with the milestone Episode 100 landing on Dec. 19. The double-episode series finale will then air Jan. 16, 2018.

“The whole company of Major Crimes is dedicated to making [this] the best season yet,” says series creator James Duff. “We will finish our long run on TNT with a finale worthy of our loyal viewers and their years of unstinting support.

After seven long years, Kyra Sedgwick is finally making her grand return to series regular TV. But her new character is no Brenda Leigh Johnson. In ABC's new twisty thriller Ten Days in the Valley, premiering Sunday, Oct. 1, Sedgwick stars as Jane Sadler, an overworked television producer and single mother going through a contentious separation, whose life is turned upside down when her young daughter Lake goes missing in the middle of the night—while Jane's in her writing studio in the backyard, out of earshot and not entirely sober. As everyone in her life becomes a suspect and the Robbery-Homicide Division of the Lapd, who aren't exactly Jane's biggest fans thanks her barely fictionalized depiction of...

The Emmys have honored some of the strongest female characters on television throughout the 2010s. The Best Drama Actress category in particular has seen some especially powerful performances acknowledged, starting with Kyra Sedgwick’s spunky portrayal of Brenda Leigh Johnson in “The Closer” in 2010. While each of the six actresses who claimed gold this decade […]...

ABC on Tuesday unveiled its fall 2017 schedule, along with previews for its upcoming series, including Freddie Highmore’s post-Bates Motel vehicle The Good Doctor, as well as the Shondaland legal drama For the People.

RelatedABC Fall Schedule: Once Bumped to Friday, black-ish Shifts to Tuesday, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. M.I.A.

Here at TVLine, we immediately jumped at the chance to screen each trailer — which you can also do by clicking here — and we’re ready to divulge our totally unfiltered, brutally honest snap judgments.

Below, Michael Ausiello, Matt Mitovich, Kimberly Roots, Andy Swift, Dave Nemetz, Vlada Gelman and...

TNT has released two previews of season 4B of its Major Crimes TV series, a spin-off of The Closer, which was not cancelled, but ended after its seventh season, in 2012.

The Lapd's Major Crimes division detectives are still adjusting to the fact that Brenda Leigh Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) has left, and Captain Raydor (Mary McDonnell) is in charge. The Major Crimes cast also includes G.W. Bailey, Tony Denison, Michael Paul Chan, Raymond Cruz, Phillip P. Keene, and Kearran Giovanni.

Read More…...

Kyra Sedgwick guest stars on an all-new Brooklyn Nine-Nine this Sunday night!

Kyra Sedgwick guest stars on an all-new Brooklyn Nine-Nine this Sunday night, and we can't wait to see how "The Closer" does with comedy.

In the episode, Kyra plays Deputy Chief Wuntch, archenemy to Andre Braugher's Captain Holt. Even with decades under her belt as an actress, Kyra admitted that it's still challenging to hop in as the new girl with an established show.

News: The Secret to Kyra Sedgwick & Kevin Bacon's Marriage

"The coming back to TV part is not so weird," said Kyra who's been missing from our TVs since The Closer ended in 2012. "What's weird is being a guest star."

After playing the more serious role of Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson for seven years on The Closer, Kyra jumped into her comedic guest starring role with both feet -- even pitching a pivotal idea for the episode.

Thanks to actress...

Kyra Sedgwick is returning to the world of TV crime fighting. The Closer star will appear in multiple episodes of Fox's Brooklyn Nine-Nine, E! News has confirmed. This is her first TV gig since The Closer ended in 2012. Sedgwick won an Emmy and starred in the hit TNT drama The Closer as Brenda Leigh Johnson for seven seasons. In Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Sedgwick will play Madeline Wuntch, a long-time rival of Captain Holt (Andre Braugher). The rivalry goes back to their early days in the NYPD. Like she did in The Closer, Sedgwick will play a Deputy Chief in Brooklyn Nine-Nine. She's in a higher position than Holt and is hoping to take him down when she evaluates his precinct. Sedgwick is currently slated for two...

TNT's Closer spin-off may be getting its own spin-off.

The network is developing a potential Major Crimes offshoot that would star Jon Tenney, TVLine.com reports.

25 totally unnecessary spin-offs

Tenney first appeared on The Closer as Special Agent Fritz Howard, the husband of the series' main character, Brenda Leigh Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick). Following The Closer's seven-season run...

Read More >...

Exclusive: The Closer star/executive producer Kyra Sedgwick has signed with CAA. She was previously at UTA. Sedgwick’s seven-season stint as Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson on the hit TNT drama earned her an Emmy and a Golden Globe. She recently returned to TNT as an executive producer of drama Proof, which was picked up to pilot by the network. On the feature side, Sedgwick has starred in Born On The Fourth Of July, Singles and Phenomenon. She continues to be repped by manager Jill Littman at Impression Entertainment and attorney Ira Schreck.

As if the Major Crimes team hasn’t had a hard enough time making the loathsome Phillip Stroh finally pay for his transgressions, now they’ve got onetime Leverage schemer Jeri Ryan to deal with — and TVLine has a first look at the fierce new courtroom foe.

Related | Save the Dates! Your Guide to 75+ January Premieres, Finales and More

In the TNT drama’s Season 2 finale, airing Monday, Jan. 13, at 9/8c, Rusty already is facing his greatest challenge yet when he takes the stand to testify against serial rapist/murderer Phillip Stroh. But complicating the case even further, the D.

Coming out with some blockbuster news, Kevin Bacon's multi-talented daughter Sosie Bacon was just named Miss Golden Globe 2014 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

The 21-year-old has been in and out of the industry, beginning with the 2005 movie "Loverboy," directed by her father. She also appeared with her mom, Kyra Sedgwick in "The Closer." Sosie playing the niece of Sedgwick's character, Brenda Leigh Johnson.

"As we all know, she comes from a very talented family and this gets us one degree closer to Kevin Bacon," said HFPA President Theo Kingma at an announcement party in West Hollywood.

"Miss Golden Globe (also Mr. Golden Globe) is an annual title awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The honoree, traditionally the daughter (or son) of a celebrity, assists in the Association's Golden Globe Awards."...

Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick's daughter, Sosie Bacon, has been named Miss Golden Globe 2014 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Sosie, 21, has worked in film and television alongside her parents, making her debut in the 2005 movie Loverboy, which her father directed. She also appeared with her mom in The Closer, playing the niece of Sedgwick's character, Brenda Leigh Johnson."As we all know, she comes from a very talented family and this gets us one degree closer to Kevin Bacon," said HFPA President Theo Kingma in announcing the selection at a party in West Hollywood co-hosted by InStyle magazine.

Jon Tenney is officially confirmed for a Major Crimes comeback — and in more ways than one.

Related | TNT Renews Major Crimes and Two Other Dramas

Fresh off the first-season run of his TNT two-hander King & Maxwell, Tenney will return to his McD stomping grounds both in front of and behind the camera, TVLine has learned.

Tenney is directing the 15th episode of Major Crimes‘ sophomore run, and then will reprise his role as FBI Agent Fritz Howard in Episode 16. Both outings will air in December, after the show returns from hiatus.

Related | TNT’s Falling Skies Renewed for Season 4

Tenney...

Kyra Sedgwick stopped by Bravo’s "Watch What Happens Live!” Tuesday, where she hinted that she might be making a guest appearance on its spinoff "Major Crimes."

When a caller asked if she had any TV projects in the works, Sedgwick dropped some exciting news for Brenda Leigh Johnson fans. “Maybe guest-starring on Major Crimes. I can’t tell you, but maybe," she said, winking at the camera.

Later, Sedgwick said she missed the camaraderie of being on "The Closer," but not "learning lines and having to think about murder 24 hours a day."

Sedgwick left “The Closer” last year, saying she was just ready to try something new as an actor. She currently has several movies in the works.

And while there was some early speculation about whether “Major Crimes” could succeed, the show has been climbing in the ratings.

Of course, nothing would give "Major Crimes" a bigger boost than a Kyra Sedgwick cameo.

The title of this episode had nothing to do with Rios and the show's attempt to make her more agreeable, but to me, that was the big "Backfire." 

I'm honestly growing weary of many of the ongoing stories on Major Crimes and I desperately wish the show would find a balance between the crimes, the personalities of the characters and the relationships between them. As of right now, that's just not happening.

The case was somewhat interesting, mostly due to the fact that the judge came down so harshly on Dda Rios and the FBI's involvement with the murder suspect.

Regarding the Rios of the portion of the hour, there is just something about Nadine Velazquez and the way she portrays her that will never fit with Major Crimes. Maybe it's way she moves... or the slight adjustment of her eyes as she attempts to be sly never come off as appropriate to the situation.

Watch a There's No Place Like Home video promo from TNT's Major Crimes. Catch a new promo from the program which airs on Mondays, 9/8 p.m. Central. Mary McDonnell, G.W. Bailey, Tony Denison, Michael Paul Chan, Raymond Cruz, Phillip P. Keene, Kearran Giovanni and Graham Patrick Martin star in the James Duff-created series. Haven't watched Major Crimes? Here's what it's about: The detectives in the Los Angeles Police Department's Major Crimes division are still reeling from the departure of Brenda Leigh Johnson and the realization that Captain Raydor is now in charge. Unlike their previous chief, Raydor is determined to lead the department with a more team-oriented approach, sharing the credit with the people with whom she works...

Clearly, TNT loves Jon Tenney.

And the feeling is mutual, since the actor has worked for the cable network for the better part of the past decade. After his long run as FBI Special Agent Fritz Howard -- longtime friend and eventual husband of Kyra Sedgwick's Brenda Leigh Johnson on "The Closer," a role he's occasionally reprised on the spinoff "Major Crimes" -- Tenney launches a new TNT crime drama as "King & Maxwell" premieres Monday (June 10).

He and Rebecca Romijn play Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, former Secret Service agents now partnered as private detectives. The characters originated in best sellers by David Baldacci ("Absolute Power"), and they're odd-couple opposites: He's more refined while she's the street-wise one.

Michael O'Keefe ("Caddyshack") and Chris Butler co-star as FBI operatives in the show that includes Shane Brennan ("NCIS," "NCIS: Los Angeles") among its executive producers.

The friendly Tenney says his conversations...

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Mary McDonnell of Major Crimes in anticipation of tomorrow's Season 2 premiere of the TNT drama.

And while our time was short, the actress offered some fascinating insights into various characters and how she successfully transitioned from one hit (The Closer) to another. Read on for excerpts from our exclusive Q&A...

-------------------------------------------

I found Major Crimes Season 1 captivating. I look forward it more on a weekly basis than I did it's predecessor. Congratulations on your success and Season 2.

Mary McDonnell: I'm very very happy that you have successfully transitioned into the new show. The plan was always to create a transition with integrity. We knew, James Duff Knew, I knew, we couldn't really make a false move in there or we would lose a beloved fan group and we never wanted to...you don't move forward into a new form without...

The Closer and Brenda Leigh Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) may be gone but TNT certainly isn't done with the rest of the department and the Major Crimes spin-off. The cable channel renewed Major Crimes for a second season back in September.

Now, TNT has ordered four additional installments, bringing the new season total to 19 episodes. That's nearly twice the size of the show's first season which averaged 5.18 million total viewers and a 0.9 rating in the 18-49 demographic.

Season two of Major Crimes kicks off on June 10th. It's unclear however if TNT will air all of the episodes over the summer or if they'll break the season up into two parts.

What do you think? Are you looking forward to the second season of Major Crimes? Are you glad there will be even more episodes? Would you prefer that...

Brenda Leigh Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) has left the building but that won't stop her teammates from trying to catch the bad guys -- any more than it will stop TNT from trying to attract big ratings. Will Major Crimes be as big a success as The Closer? We'll have to wait and see.

The series' cast includes Mary McDonnell, G.W. Bailey, Graham Patrick Martin, Kearran Giovanni, Michael Paul Chan, Phillip P. Keene, Raymond Cruz, and Tony Denison.

Below are the TV show's ratings, the best way to tell if Major Crimes will be cancelled or renewed for a second season. There are 10 episodes in the first season and they air on Monday nights on TNT.

These figures will be updated as the weeks progress so be sure to bookmark and return to this page:

Final season...

TNT’s Major Crimes ends Season 1 with a bang this Monday at 9/8c, when a sniper vexes the combined resources of Major Crimes and the FBI. Yet in doing so, the intense case brings Captain Sharon Raydor’s team closer than they’ve been since a certain Southern belle’s exit. TVLine invited Mary McDonnell to reflect on the spin-off’s success and share why the Season 2 pick-up means so much to her because of the many other lives it rewards.

Related | TNT Renews Major Crimes, Franklin & Bash, Dallas, Perception, Rizzoli & Isles, Falling Skies

Tvline | When last we spoke, you...

Note: Hey, Major Crimes fans. Carissa's on vacation, so I'm filling in for her this week. Everyone wave to Carissa!

While this week may have given us more of Chief Taylor, (and I, like Carissa, don't care much for the character), "The Shame Game" also delivered more of Sharon and Rusty in the midst of our case-of-the-week. And it's Sharon and Rusty who continue to set this show apart from its predecessor.

Using Dfcs last week as a way to find out more about Rusty's father was just too easy to be true. There was no way that Rusty would decide not to meet his father and that would be the end of it. Learning that Dfcs had brought Rusty's dad to the police station to meet the boy sent Sharon into a spiral of trying to protect not only Rusty, but also herself.

As Captain Raydor on The Closer,...

Major Crimes star Mary McDonnell still isn't exactly sure how she ended up as the star of TNT's newest cop drama.

Fall Preview: Get scoop on all your favorite returning shows

The Battlestar Galactica alum first stepped into Capt. Sharon Raydor's shoes during The Closer's fifth season, when her Internal Affairs investigation put her at odds with Brenda Leigh Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) and her team. Three years later, Brenda is gone and Raydor is now leading the squad on the spin-off Major Crimes.

"I've never had something grow this way," McDonnell tells TVGuide.com...

Read More >...

It's time to put the debate to rest: with "Citizen's Arres," Major Crimes set itself apart as not only a fantastic drama willing to take risks, but as a completely different animal than its predecessor The Closer.

From the moment we learned about the crime of the week until the last scene of the episode, every aspect of Major Crimes was perfection. Brenda Leigh Johnson could not have handled the case any better than Sharon Raydor, and it's my assessment that the nature of the case needed the likes of Raydor and her willingness to deal with the ugliest dregs of society. 

I know my readers, and I can imagine a lot of you might be thinking I've lost my mind. I'm going to write out the points of my argument below, and you can debate me in the comments. This should be good!

When first faced with the idea...

By Rachel Bennett

Television Editor & Columnist

***

A week ago, Breaking Bad finished the first half of its fifth and final season. In other words, summer TV has ended.

Although some shows, such as FX’s Louie and AMC’s Hell on Wheels, still have more episodes to go before their seasons conclude, NBC will be unveiling some of its new fall series this week — and the other networks won’t be too far behind.

To be honest, summer TV isn’t my favorite. I use the season to catch up on TV I’ve missed more than I do to watch such new offerings as TBS’s Men at Work and E!’s Married to Jonas.

However, this doesn’t mean all of summer TV is a bust.

Here are the choices for the brightest and darkest spots of summer TV 2012:

Biggest Disappointment

The Newsroom (HBO)

It’s no...

If you shed a few tears watching the series finale of TNT's "The Closer," you weren't alone. Sitting down to chat with me about her new supernatural horror flick "The Possession" last week (incidentally, the film came in number one at the box office over the weekend with more than $21 million in ticket sales), series star Kyra Sedgwick spoke briefly on the "emotional" end of the long-running crime drama, which ran for seven seasons and netted Segwick both a Golden Globe and an Emmy for her portrayal of former CIA interrogator Brenda Leigh Johnson. "It was heartbreaking!" said the actress...

Question: Let's play armchair programmer. While I am enjoying Major Crimes, it does feel a bit like we're just waiting for Brenda Leigh to show. Do you think they could have benefited from holding Major Crimes until the traditional December run of The Closer to let us get a little distance? Or is it purely a creative question? Major Crimes looks just like The Closer. Could the show benefit from some slight visual tweaks? Perhaps a slightly different opening sequence? — Steven

Read More >...

For seven seasons she played Lapd spitfire Brenda Leigh Johnson on TNT's popular crime drama The Closer and now appears in the new supernatural horror flick The Possession -- playing the mother of a girl who starts exhibiting bizarre behavior after her father buys her a demon-infested Dibbuk box. Here are five things you probably don't know about Kyra Sedgwick!

1. Her big movie break came in the 1989 film Born on the Fourth of July, in which she played Tom Cruise's high school sweetheart.

Related: Say What!? Kyra & Kevin Are Kissing 'Cousins'!

2. Met her actor husband Kevin Bacon while filming the 1988 TV movie Lemon Sky and the two went on to co-star in other films together, including 2004's The Woodsman.

3. Has said her favorite actresses include Diane Keaton, Anjelica Huston, Jessica Lange and Meryl Streep.

Video: Kyra Sedgwick on Filming a Real Horror Story

4. Has confessed to having an addiction to chocolate, telling People...

After closing the chapter on her groundbreaking role in TNT’s The Closer, Kyra Sedgwick will next be seen on the big screen in Lionsgate’s horror film The Possession, opening Aug. 31. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Sedgwick looks back on her seven years as Brenda Leigh Johnson revealing what she most misses about the job and what she’s most happy to have left behind. Photos: 'The Closer': Behind the Scenes With Kyra Sedgwick and Castmates “I really miss the people,” she begins, adding, “I miss being that creatively fulfilled on a daily basis and having to push myself to

read more...

"Before and After" cemented my disdain for Assistant Chief Taylor and provided new insight into the turmoil Major Crimes (the department, not the show) is facing after the departure of Brenda Leigh Johnson. 

It hadn't been clear until Sharon pointed out to Taylor that part of the problem within her department was due to the matching ranks within. She and Provenza share a rank, if not seniority, although at this point I'm not even clear on that issue. Sharon asserted that it would most likely be cleared up if she were promoted to the Commander rank she had been promised, but Taylor reminded her there was a freeze on all positions.

You had to love her comeback: Aapparently not Assistant Chiefs."

It was what happened during that conversation - the condescending, pejorative and misogynistic attitude Taylor used with Sharon - that really ruffled my feathers. He had the nerve to...

Sharon Raydor was a thorn in the side of the Major Crimes squad on "The Closer." She's still a thorn in the squad's side now -- she just happens to be their boss too.

Last week's debut of "Major Crimes," which spun off from "The Closer" to big ratings, saw Raydor (Mary McDonnell) take charge of the squad after the departure of Brenda Leigh Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick). Raydor is well aware that she's not particularly liked or trusted, McDonnell says, but is rolling with it.

"As she becomes an insider as opposed to an outsider, that mistrust doesn't just dissipate -- because that means we would have to have a completely different person there, and there wouldn't have been that history," McDonnell tells Zap2it. "So what's interesting about it for me -- one of the many things that's interesting -- [is] working with that mistrust from the inside, and seeing...

The finale of a very gay run of Degrassi episodes begins tonight.

News

Teen Wolf showrunner Jeff Davis says that season two — with all its Sterek moments — was finished by the time he learned about the fanbase that wants to see Stiles and Derek as a couple. Oh and the time Stiles was lying on top of Derek? The original draft of that scene had.... er, more tongue.

Broadway veteran (and Dreamgirls star) Sheryl Lee Ralph will appear on Smash as Jennifer Hudson's mother.

The AVClub brilliantly breaks down the shortcuts reality TV producers take that undermine the genre, including my biggest frustration, the way participants get pigeonholed into a single stereotype. Even better, they use The Amazing Race's Luke and Lakisha — who were essentially closeted by CBS because there was already a gay team..

Gsn's new production of Pyramid will get visits from Jai Rodriguez, Danny Pudi,...

TNT enjoyed a very ratings-friendly Monday night.

Nearly 9.1 million fans tuned in to say goodbye to Brenda Leigh Johnson in company, as The Closer finale was that show's highest rated episode of the summer.

Seems like an apt way for the only series in cable history to rank number-one for five straight years to bow out, doesn't it?

Such hefty numbers led to a very strong opening for The Closer spinoff, Major Crimes, which brought in 7.1 million households and became the most-viewed premiere of the summer.

Did you watch it? Give the Major Crimes premiere a grade now:...

TNT's "The Closer" ended its seven-season run Monday night, with the series finale drawing in nearly 9.1 million total viewers. That makes it cable's No. 1 series telecast so far this summer. Though impressive, Monday's series finale drew the second-highest total viewership in "The Closer"'s history -- the September 2007 mid-season finale amassed 9.2 million total viewers. Also read: Ratings: 'Hotel Hell' Tops 'Stars Earn Stripes'; Fox Wins Night In terms of key demos, Monday night's swan song for "The Closer" -- which starred Kyra Sedgwick as Brenda Leigh Johnson, deputy chief of the...

TNT might have done a little bit of a disservice to "Major Crimes" by opting to run its premiere immediately after the finale of "The Closer."

Not ratings-wise -- in that sense, putting "Major Crimes" up after Brenda Leigh's swan song is probably the smartest decision TNT could have made. But creatively, a bit of a breath might have served the new show well.

Because even though "Major Crimes" actually manages pretty well to establish its own tone and rhythm in Monday's (Aug. 13) series premiere, it still has much of the same cast, some of the same sets -- heck, even the same style for its opening titles as "The Closer." All of that could make it easy to dismiss the show as "The Closer Minus Brenda," but that's not what's happening.

Pics: TV spinoffs from 'The Simpsons' to 'Major Crimes'

For starters, the show has given...

After 107 episodes and seven seasons, it's time to say goodbye to The Closer or, at least to Kyra Sedgwick's Brenda Leigh Johnson. While she is leaving our TV sets, most of the other characters on The Closer are not. TNT is hoping that fans will stick around to watch Major Crimes, the spin-off (more of a continuation really) that they hope will be as popular as Sedgwick's series.

Brenda's final case not surprisingly surrounds sadistic serial rapist Phillip Stroh (Billy Burke), her long-standing adversary. Following an interview for a set of new crimes, he gets under her skin one too many times and she loses her cool, and attacks him in an elevator. She's immediately suspended and does directly to the lab, asking that the traces of Stroh's blood and hair on her hands be added to a ski mask that had been pulled off the murderer.

The finale of "The Closer" only had to do one thing -- provide an ending for Brenda Leigh Johnson and her time with the Lapd. But because its spinoff, "Major Crimes," was premiering immediately afterward, the last episode also needed to give Brenda an exit that would plausibly set up the new show.

It succeeded on the first count. The last case of Brenda's Lapd career saw her finally get a confession out of her nemesis, Phillip Stroh, and provided a (mostly) very fitting exit for her.

The political winds at the department have turned increasingly against Brenda over the final season, and after her attack on Stroh in the Lapd offices, there was pretty much nowhere for her to go but out. But in getting herself fired, she also set the wheels in motion to finally catch Stroh.

She probably would have rather it not happen in her house,...

[Warning: The following story contains spoilers from the series finale of The Closer. Read at your own risk.]

When it came time for The Closer's Brenda Leigh Johnson to get her final confession, she didn't even want to hear it.

TNT says goodbye to The Closer, hello to Major Crimes

The groundbreaking TNT drama's series finale found Brenda (Kyra Sedgwick) once again squaring off with the elusive defense attorney/serial rapist Phillip Stroh (guest star Billy Burke) — only this time, Brenda had an eye witness in the form of orphaned teenage hustler Rusty Beck (Graham Patrick Martin). One problem: Rusty wouldn't identify Stroh unless the Major Crimes Unit located his mother, who had abandoned him....

Read More >...

[Warning: The following story contains spoilers from the series finale of The Closer. Read at your own risk.]

When it came time for The Closer's Brenda Leigh Johnson to get her final confession, she didn't even want to hear it.

TNT says goodbye to The Closer, hello to Major Crimes

The groundbreaking TNT drama's series finale found Brenda (Kyra Sedgwick) once again squaring off with the elusive defense attorney/serial rapist Phillip Stroh (guest star Billy Burke) — only this time, Brenda had an eye witness in the form of orphaned teenage hustler Rusty Beck (Graham Patrick Martin). One problem: Rusty wouldn't identify Stroh unless the Major Crimes Unit located his mother, who had abandoned him....

Read More >...

The following recap, by the very definition of the word “recap,” contains spoilers from the series finale of The Closer.

The Closer closed its seven-season run on Monday night with what was, for the TNT drama, a fine enough episode.

But as a series finale for The Closer, it admittedly left me a bit disappointed. Several industry peers I have spoken to feel the same, but I’m curious what others think.

As a consumer of quality television, I have arguably been among The Closer‘s biggest champions, dating back to when I would recap every week’s episode with great zeal,...

Zap2it: Now that it's the end of the road for you with "The Closer," are you satisfied that the audience has rolled with the punches of everything you've gone through as police interrogator Brenda Leigh Johnson?

Kyra Sedgwick: Oh, yeah, for sure. I remember the first year, people would say, "She's kind of a b****," ... but as they got to know her more, I never heard that anymore. I think they really liked the fact that she was a powerful woman who wasn't apologizing for being powerful, and a woman who would do anything to be an advocate for the victim.

She became more morally ambiguous, and some of the things she did were tougher to swallow, but I think there was a lot of good will toward her at that point.

Related: Our favorite female TV crime-solvers

Zap2it: How difficult has it been to separate from...

In a rare feat, TNT is simultaneously closing the door on its hit series The Closer while debuting its new spin-off series Major Crimes. Creator and executive producer James Duff likes to describe Major Crimes as more of a “continuation” series since as the final scene of The Closer ends, minutes later Major Crimes picks up exactly where it ended on the same night. With a very clever sleight of hand, one series ends allowing its lead Kyra Sedgwick, who delightfully portrayed Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson for the past seven seasons, a graceful exit while Mary McDonnell takes center stage in the new series with her character Captain Sharon Raydor — though everyone is quick to describe the new series as more of a true ensemble series, which will allow all the characters expanded storylines and screen time.

But no matter how they do it, it will still be a...

What would "The Closer" be like without the closer?

Viewers are about to find out: Literally on the heels of the finale of the much-acclaimed Kyra Sedgwick police saga -- one of the top-rated dramas in basic cable history -- TNT launches the spinoff series "Major Crimes" Monday, Aug, 13. The show will involve nearly all the "Closer" regulars, with the inescapably notable exception of Emmy and Golden Globe winner Sedgwick ... who felt a seven-season run as interrogator extraordinaire Brenda Leigh Johnson was enough for her.

Once she made her decision known, TNT asked "Closer" mentor James Duff to devise a way to keep the other characters going. Thus, the new drama brings Mary McDonnell front and center as Sharon Raydor, the police captain she has been playing on the parent series (which actually does end immediately before "Major Crimes" begins).

G.W. Bailey, Tony Denison, Michael Paul Chan, Raymond Cruz and...

A little twist on the column this week as I preview shows that are coming out this week such as the series finale of The Closer and debut of spinoff series Major Crimes as well the very early season return of Grimm and the lackluster treatment of Black characters on Falling Skies and the primetime return of Tyler James Williams. Regular readers of this column know that The Closer is clearly one of my favorite television programs. In the premiere season seven years ago, series creator James Duff injected the show and star Kyra Sedgwick’s character deputy chief Brenda Leigh Johnson with a Prime Suspect-inspired plotline of being the female boss of an elite unit of (mostly) male...

Sure, Sunday remains overcrowded with high-end TV like "True Blood," "The Newsroom," "Weeds" and "Breaking Bad," but what to watch the rest of the week? Every Monday, we bring you a guide to five noteworthy highlights from the other six days of the week. "The Closer": Series Finale Monday, August 13 at 9pm on TNT TNT's crime drama starring Kyra Sedgwick as steel magnolia Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson, Deputy Chief for the Los Angeles Police Department, bids a "thank you; thank you so much" to its viewership tonight in a series finale that will close out the show after seven seasons. But not to fear, for those of you somehow lacking in police procedurals -- a spin-off series entitled "Major Crimes" and starring Mary McDonnell as Captain Sharon Raydor will launch its 10-episode season immediately after the finale at 10pm. "Gallery Girls": Series Premiere Monday, August 13 at...

Network: TNT

Episodes: 109 (hour)

Seasons: Seven

TV show dates: June 13, 2005 -- August 13, 2012

Series status: Ended

Performers include:

Kyra Sedgwick, J.K. Simmons, Corey Reynolds, Robert Gossett, G.W. Bailey, Jon Tenney, Anthony John Denison, Phillip P. Keene, Michael Paul Chan, Raymond Cruz, Gina Ravera, Ryan Van de Kamp Buchanan, Jonathan Del Arco, Frances Sternhagen, James Avery, Barry Corbin, Stephen Martines, Conan McCarty, and Bob Clendenin.

TV show description:

This crime drama centers around a Georgia police detective, Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick), who makes a move to Los Angeles to head up the Priority Murder squad, which later becomes the Priority Homicide Division. Eventually the team changes focus, adding fraud, rape, and kidnapping cases, and is again renamed, this time to the Major Crimes Division.

After working with the CIA, and...

The Closer wasn't just any procedural.

What made this TNT hit into the most successful cable show of all-time was not only its willingness to take risks, but how the real drama was unfolding between characters, not cases.

Come along with us now as we relive the most memorable moments of this terrific series, which ends its seven season run tonight...

10. Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson Was Not Playing Around

During the first season, it was difficult to know exactly what Brenda was made of. Having secured her job after an affair with her new boss, with a team who couldn't get behind her, a wardrobe similar to grandma's and a voice like a southern belle, Brenda could have turned out to be just about anyone.

When she was met with a case of a murdered 13-year old illegal immigrant and a family willing to do anything to protect the boy who did it,...