From the press release:

Major Crimes is back on the case for a thrilling second season as two-time Oscar nominee Mary McDonnell continues as Captain Sharon Raydor, the head of the LAPD’s Major Crimes division, joined by an unforgettable ensemble cast. As the second season opens, the team immediately dives into some of the most challenging and fascinating crimes yet, including the murder of a big-time film producer’s wife, an apparent murder-suicide and a high-speed car chase that leads to a triple homicide.

Just as the squad seems to be adjusting to last year’s leadership change, Deputy District Attorney Emma Rios (new series star Nadine Velazquez – Flight, Hart of Dixie) arrives to challenge Raydor’s intentions and shake up the department. Torn between what is right morally and what the law commands, Raydor and her team are faced with more personal and professional struggles than ever as they continue to make deals and crack cases.

The 4-DVD set will include all 19 episodes from the 2nd season, as well as the following special features:

• Major Crimes: Subjects Unknown (Featurette) – Examine how each character grapples with questions of identity in a season full of drama. Interviews with the cast and producers

• Deleted Scenes

The set is available now for pre-order on Amazon.com

Source: TVbytheNumbers

*Warning: contains mild spoilers for tonight’s episode”

“Procedural crime dramas aren’t typically the venue for three dimensional gay characters and nuanced coming out stories. The popular TV genre tends to focus more on the case of the week than character, but this season TNT’s Major Crimes is finding a healthy balance between the two.

The spin-off of The Closer is currently in its second season with high ratings and a weekly plethora of whodunit criminal cases dissected (and solved) by Captain Sharon Raydor (Mary McDonnell) and her team, comprised primarily of characters carried over from The Closer like Detectives Provenza (G. W. Bailey) and Flynn (Tony Denison).

And then there’s Rusty.

Initially brought in for one episode at the end of The Closer, the troubled teen (played by Graham Patrick Martin) was carried over to Major Crimes as a regular character. (As he’s a major witness in a murder case, he’s been living with Raydor under protective custody.) Rusty’s orientation has been thus far unclear, but his past as a homeless a teen prostitute has certainly raised questions.

Rusty is heavily impacted by the crime in tonight’s episode, “Boys Will Be Boys” (written by Jim Leonard and out Executive Producer James Duff). The episode revolves around identity in that a 13-year old murder victim named Michelle. It’s quickly revealed that is a physiological male with gender dysphoria. We also learn that her family members are suspects– and they display various levels of acceptance with Michelle’s gender dysphoria. Rusty may not be involved in the solving of the crime, but he’s around enough to realize that the question of identity is something he can very much relate to.” —-> Read the entire article here

How is it playing Sharon Raydor since 2009? Still fresh?

I am living, breathing her. There isn’t that searching for identity and wondering how it’s going to fall together. We’re done. Hello! It’s now, ‘Where do we want to take her?’ We are truly in some wonderful storytelling mode right now. There are some dangerous moments, for sure. I think fans are going to have a ball.

How is season two going?

I’ve been so happy with it so far; the dilemmas and interesting texture and new characters and all kind of things. A new district attorney [ My Name is Earl’s Nadine Velazquez] has come to visit the squad. On one hand, it’s extraordinary to have young female talent to come and help with a major case. On the other hand, she is presenting problems. It’s very exciting the way she interacts with the whole group and what she stimulates.

Any love interests for Sharon?

Oh, this [plotline] has been very fun: The introduction of Sharon’s estranged, but not divorced, husband in the form of Tom Berenger. He’s an amazing actor, actually. It’s a delight to work with him. Tom just jumped on board and dove right in. There wasn’t one bit of hesitation. We have some history, so we have wonderful chemistry. He and I did a play together with Kevin Spacey in London [2005’s National Anthems] when we were husband and wife. We were trying to do a movie together in the ’90s, Last of the Dogmen, but I had to back out of the idea because I was pregnant and couldn’t risk it as we were going to be shooting in the jungle. Barbara Hershey ended up in the role.

You tackle some serious subject matter on this show. What is the on-set chemistry like?

I’m telling you, it’s not a reach. OK, you gotta do your job, whatever it is. But boy, when a lot of the history is out of the way and you immediately trust each other enough to risk and it really clicks, it’s so much different than when it doesn’t! It’s a ridiculously funny cast. Doing table reads is like being with your siblings at Thanksgiving dinner. If we could, there would be a food fight every week, and people would be laughing. We just don’t have time. That’s the level at which there is the potential at any moment for high hilarity to break out.

You look beyond amazing. What are you doing? Or not doing?

Well, if I could give you my trade secrets, I would. But I don’t have any big ones. Genes, maybe. I feel very fortunate. I swim almost every day. I was an athlete as a child. I also have to honor the fact that the people in the crew honor me in what they do with me. I don’t want that to go unacknowledged. I mean, they help a woman, they help female characters look good.

Read the entire article here

TNT’s Major Crimes Returns with More than 5 Million Viewers,

Ranks as Basic Cable’s #1 Returning Scripted Series Premiere This Year

 TNT’s enormously popular crime-drama Major Crimes pulled in more than 5 million viewers in Live + Same Day for Monday night’s second-season premiere. In the demos, the ensemble series scored deliveries of 1.2 million adults 18-49 and 1.5 million adults 25-54. Major Crimes‘ performance Monday night is in range of its overall Live + Same Day average for season one and even outperformed last year’s average among adults 18-49 by +6%.

Compared to other returning shows on basic cable, Major Crimes ranks as this year’s #1 scripted-series season premiere with total viewers and joins Sunday night’s two-hour season premiere of Falling Skies among the Top 5 with adults 25-54.