Tonight, at 10 pm, TNT will premiere a new crime drama series titled Major Crimes – a spin-off, we could say, of its hit series The Closer, which will pick up where that The Closer left off.
Kyra Sedgwick, who starred in The Closer, is moving on, after 7 years on the show, and she's being replaced by Mary McDonnell (as Capt. Sharon Raydor) in this new series that will see the return of several players from The Closer, including Detective Lt. Louie Provenza (G.W. Bailey), Detective Lt. Andy Flynn (Tony Denison), Detective Lt. Michael Tao (Michael Paul Chan), Detective Julio Sanchez (Raymond Cruz), Civilian Surveillance Coordinator Buzz Watson (Phillip P. Keene), and the names mentioned in the heading, Robert Gossett as Commander Taylor and Ransford Doherty as Coroner's Investigator.
Of note, a new face joining the cast of Major Crimes will be Broadway veteran Kearran Giovanni, likely best known to television viewers for her role as Dr. Vivian Wright on One Life to Live. She has also been seen on Law and Order and Royal Pains.
Giovanni, who looks to feature prominently in the series, will play Detective Amy Sykes, who's described as is an ambitious undercover police detective and military veteran who served in Afghanistan. She's new to the department and struggles to prove herself and be taken seriously.
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. Raydor's hardest job, however, will be gaining the full trust and confidence of her detectives, who aren't quick to forget her long history of internal investigations targeting them and their previous boss. Especially troublesome is Provenza, who has a difficult time taking orders from someone he doesn’t think knows as much as he does.
So expect a lot of tension among the core cast, to go along with all the crime solving.
Cast and crew make it clear that despite the connects to The Closer, Major Crimes will be its own show.
Watch an intro to the series below:
