With the season four premiere of Major Crimes right around the corner, MajorCrimesTV.net talked to Tony Denison to get the scoop on this season’s upcoming storylines, surprises, and of course, ‘Shandy.’
After eleven years of portraying Lt. Andy Flynn on The Closer and Major Crimes, Tony Denison says his appreciation for the work that his character and real-life LAPD cops do has grown tenfold. “I always enjoy what we do, solving crime and the exploration of that crime. It’s interesting, because as an actor you never get tired of that.” Even with the advancement of technology and it’s growing prevalence in the lives of law officials, Denison stresses that it’s the gritty reality of cops rolling up their sleeves and really immersing themselves into the crime that most appeals to him as an actor. “I can appreciate shows like CSI that have all that high tech equipment, but at the end of the day you still have to have someone walk around the place and bring the information to the microscope, and that stuff is always the most interesting to me.”
Solving crime and keeping their cool is all in a day’s work for Lt. Flynn and his fellow detectives. However this season there may be tension brewing among the Major Crimes detectives. The dynamic between Lt. Flynn and Det. Sanchez, who audiences saw struggling with anger management issues last year, will come to a head as we enter this season, and Sanchez returns to the squad after his suspension. Says Denison, “All of us on the show, it’s like the closest thing to being in a family that you can get to. And as is the case in all families, sometimes there is internal squabbling between certain brothers who are mad at each other. I mean, two brothers can be Kane and Abel.”
A different kind of tension also seems 
to be brewing between Flynn and a certain LAPD Captain. For three seasons fans have watched as Flynn and Captain Raydor (Mary McDonnell) have grown from begrudging coworkers, to friends, and, as this season begins, possibly something more. Denison says that he has enjoyed the journey that the fans have, “affectionately dubbed Shandy,” but unlike fans, Denison prefers the details of what may or may not transpire to remain a mystery to him, “ I don’t ask [James Duff] for how it’s going to be developing, I just enjoy doing whatever James and company come up with.”
He does promise fans that there are, “definitely roads to travel, as far as the Shandy situation and it’s going to be more active than it was last season, that much I do know. If I talk about some of the stuff that’s going on already, than I’ll be giving away more than is necessary, so I have to talk about it generally.” As far as how this potential relationship would change the work dynamic between the characters, Denison says that he is interested to see how the characters will navigate that challenge.
Other than the potential of a blossoming relationship with Captain Raydor, perhaps the most defining bond that Flynn has among his fellow Major Crimes team members is with his longtime partner, Lt. Provenza. A staple of the Major Crimes and The Closer universe have always been episodes which focus on the Flynn and Provenza dynamic, providing audiences with comedic relief among the gritty crime solving drama. When asked if fans can look forward to more Flynn and Provenza related shenanigans, Denison promises that fans have much to look forward to. “Yes, in fact we just did one episode where that happened and we have some really good guest stars for that episode and they told me that they’re going to do another one down the pipe, so that’s what is in store for us. “
Denison stresses that these relationships between Flynn and his coworkers, as well as others that have developed between the characters, are what remain at the heart of the show. “I remember back on The Closer once James was talking about his theme for one particular year on the show and he said that the theme of that season was family. And I think that’s what it’s always about for me, this is a family and these guys are all brothers and sisters and when I come to work I am expecting to give them as excellent as an involvement as I can and I expect the same from them.”
Major Crimes season four premieres Monday, June 8th at 9pm/8c on TNT.