Category Archives: News

News

Mary McDonnell: High Hopes for 2nd Season of ‘Major Crimes’

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From Creators.com/Women & Hollywood:

With a debut that scored 7.2 million viewers for her “The Closer” spinoff, “Major Crimes” star Mary McDonnell is looking forward optimistically to word of a Season 2 sometime soon. “I can’t commit the network, because I don’t run it,” she says with a laugh. “But I will say TNT has been absolutely, stunningly, remarkably supportive of this series in the promotion, marketing and belief that this is something that can be done, should be done and is what the fans want. TNT knows what they have, and they’ve handled it beautifully,” she gushes. “They have patience. Clearly, they were not disappointed. They were super smart and super brave. They’re the kind of network you want to be working for.”

Meanwhile, with the first 10 episodes of “Major Crimes” in the can, “I am enjoying a little relaxation time,” says the brilliant actress of “Battlestar Galactica” and “Dances With Wolves” renown. “I have a little independent film I would love to do, but I can’t really talk about it because not all the pieces are there. And then, I look forward to knowing about our second season. There are some things I really want to study about things I’ve learned in the first season.”

The Big MAJOR CRIMES News That Nobody Noticed

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That’s right. A sixty year old woman is now the lead in an American TV series. A series that is doing just as well in the ratings after several outings as it did with her predecessor, who was 39 when she started on the show.

In a business where age discrimination is rampant in every area – actors, writers, directors, producers, you-name-it, this is a huge departure, and we’re thrilled to see it. (We’re thrilled to see any size departure from the television norm, but this one is especially important because of its implication for the future of every baby boomer in the field.

Whole (very fun) article here.

Mary McDonnell: ‘Major Crimes’ Has Kicks for ‘Closer’ Fans

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“It’s thrilling, what starts to happen over the course of the 10 episodes,” declared Mary, whose straight arrow police Captain, Sharon Raydor, is now in charge of the LAPD Major Crimes unit/family-of-sorts that she used to dislike.  “It will be so delightful for fans of ‘The Closer,’ what we find out about these beloved characters they have spent seven years with, because of the way she runs the office, the way she is a boss, the way that they have to start to work together.”

As for Captain Raydor, “All the way through the 10 episodes, this woman has surprised me, revealed things to me and made me chuckle,”  Mary said.

Read the entire article here.

Mary McDonnell Takes the Lead in Major Crimes

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From Indiewire.com:

While we were all obsessively watching the Olympics, one thing happened in TV land that didn’t get much note.  A 60 year old woman took over as the lead on a TV show.  Now techincally Major Crimes is a new show, but anyone who watched The Closerknows it’s basically the same show with a new name.

Mary McDonnell who played President Laura Roslin on Battlestar Galactica took over the squad as Kyra Sedgwick left her show after 8 seasons.  The two female characters are completely different types.  Sedgwick’s Brenda Leigh Johnson was nice and southern, as she got those confessions, and McDonnell’s Sharon Raydor is a whole different brand of cop.  She made her mark in internal affairs and that is leading to lots of trouble with the squad.  It’s almost like they are replaying the beginning of The Closer where all the male cops had to hate their new leader and break her down until they were convinced she was competent to have the job.  Women have to earn that respect whereas when a guy gets that job they are assumed to be qualified.

Read the whole article here.

Graham Patrick Martin On His Role in Major Crimes

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Starry Constellation Magazine Interviewed Graham Patrick Martin on his role on The Closer and how he fits into Major Crimes.

My character (is) Rusty Beck, and I am introduced in the finale of “The Closer.” The Major Crimes Division needs my help with a case that they are working on. I use that leverage to make a deal with the Major Crimes Division saying, “I’ll give you the help that you need if you use your resources to find my mother, who has abandoned me.” Rusty is a homeless teen who has been abandoned by his mother seven months prior and has been living on the streets. So, he takes this opportunity as his one shot to find his mother who has left him. Ultimately, “The Closer” ends and Rusty’s end of the deal is upheld. That’s where I come in on “Major Crimes.” Rusty comes back and says, “You guys have to uphold your end of the deal and find my mom.”

Whole interview here.

‘Major Crimes’: Mary McDonnell goes from outsider to insider on TNT’s ‘Closer’ spinoff

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A wonderful new interview with Mary McDonnell from Zap2it.com with good questions and some wonderful insights into Sharon as an evolving character.

“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. 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 where that can take us and what we have to do. I feel like it’s very reflective of what a lot of people go through” when they either change jobs or get new bosses.

There are always these adjustments that are difficult to make, so I sort of love that we see this happening inside this Major Crimes division.”

Read the whole thing here.

Case Closed? That Squad Looks Familiar

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A great article about The Closer and Major Crimes in the New York Times

When “The Closer” fans tune in to “Major Crimes” on Aug. 13, familiar faces typically relegated to reactive status when Brenda was in the room will be taking charge and getting close-ups. In fact the only thing that might confuse viewers is TNT’s label of “Major Crimes” as a spinoff. In the land of narrative television a successor to an original show typically involves a move, like to Seattle (“Frasier”) from the bar stools of Boston (“Cheers”).

“It’s not really what we consider a spinoff historically,” said G. W. Bailey, who over the years has turned his fuming and unfiltered Lieutenant Provenza into a fan favorite. “It’s a new kind of hybrid. I’m at the same desk. I park in the same spot. I haven’t moved an inch.”

Call the show what you will, TNT’s job is to let viewers know that “Major Crimes” will offer everything its predecessor did in terms of a murder mystery solved and a workplace group examined, just without the workaholic Brenda leading the charge. To help ease the transition, TNT is unveiling “Major Crimes” at 10 p.m., right after the series finale of “The Closer.” This strategy provides instant gratification for the curious. A “Closer” fan hoping to reflect on Brenda’s dramatic exit will barely have time to tweet “@Kyrasedgwick thx 4 FUN TIMES” before heading straight into the new show.

Whole article here

Goodbye Kyra, Hello Mary!

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In a new interview in Dish Mag, creator James Duff talks about bringing The Closer to and end, and creating Major Crimes to continue its legacy.

Major Crimes Creator James Duff described how that show picks up where The Closer leaves off.  “What I mean by that,” he said, “is The Closer concentrated almost exclusively on getting confessions, while the major crimes team is expected to deliver convictions.  And with the help of a few intriguing new characters, such as former Two and a Half Men’s Graham Patrick Martin as homeless teen Rusty, and a new undercover detective, a few DAs, and members of the FBI task forces, Major Crimes proves that in life, everything, even murder, could be a negotiation.”

Whole article here.