Major Crimes is an American television police procedural series starring Mary McDonnell.
It is a successor spin-off of The Closer and premiered on TNT August 13, 2012, following
the finale of The Closer.
Following an average of over 7 million viewers for its first season, TNT renewed Major Crimes
for a 15 episode second season on September 27, 2012, which the network increased to 19
episodes in April 2013.
Season 2 premiered on June 10, 2013.
The series was renewed for a third season of 15 episodes on August 15, 2013, which began
on June 9, 2014 with 4 extra episodes being ordered afterwards.
On July 18, 2014, TNT renewed Major Crimes for a 15-episode fourth season.
Plot Following the departure of Deputy Chief Brenda
Leigh Johnson from the LAPD, Captain Sharon Raydor is selected as the new head of its
fictional Major Crimes Division.
Throughout the first season, she faces the challenge of earning the trust and loyalty
of her officers, who are still in shock over Johnson's exit, while trying to close the
department's highest-profile cases.
Ambitious young detective Amy Sykes also joins the Major Crimes Division.
Raydor decides to house Rusty Beck, the key witness for the Stroh case, in her own home,
paying for him to attend the Catholic high school her children attended.
In season 2, DDA Emma Rios is introduced as part of the prosecution team on the Stroh
case.
Cast Episodes
Development and production
On December 10, 2010, TNT announced that the upcoming seventh season of The Closer, which
began production in spring 2011, would be the show's last.
The channel said the decision to retire the show was made by Kyra Sedgwick.
On January 30, 2011, the media announced the final season would add six episodes to the
usual 15-episode order, the final six being the build toward a possible spin-off series.
On May 18, 2011, TNT announced the spin-off, entitled Major Crimes and starring Mary McDonnell
as Captain Sharon Raydor, had been picked up for a 10-episode season.
Following an average of over 7 million viewers for its first season, TNT renewed Major Crimes
for a 15-episode second season on September 27, 2012, which the network increased to 19
episodes in April 2013.
Season 2 premiered on June 10, 2013.
Reception Major Crimes received a score of 63/100 and
"generally favorable" reviews based on 16 critics at Metacritic.
Newsday's Verne Gay gave the series a B+ grade, calling it "sharply written, acted and directed",
adding "producers now have to turn an antagonist into a full-time protagonist.
Let the metamorphosis begin."
Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times called the series a "nice balance between the tragic
and comic", citing Mary McDonnell's performance as "modulated and cool, but with a blue-flame
intensity".
Entertainment Weekly's Ken Tucker thought there were "fundamental distinctions" between
The Closer's Brenda Leigh Johnson and Major Crimes' Sharon Raydor that "render the shows
very different", adding "I've always found Raydor's serene assurance a palliative to
the twitchy eccentricity of Kyra Sedgwick's Johnson."
Mike Hale of The New York Times thought the series "[made] the dullest character from
the old show the central figure of the new one," adding "Major Crimes feels like a reasonably
sharp black-and-white copy of The Closer, but fans of the franchise are likely to miss
the color provided by Ms. Sedgwick’s vivid performance."
The first episode, helped by the final episode of The Closer airing beforehand, had 9.5 million
viewers, the largest viewership for a series premiere on basic cable.
Its first season ratings were the highest for any new show on cable.
International broadcasts References
External links Official Website
Major Crimes at the Internet Movie Database