Though his perpetual troublemaker days may never truly been behind him, evidence suggests that Lt. Provenza may at last be mellowing a bit. MajorCrimesTV.net spoke with G.W. Bailey during a recent set visit to get the scoop on the upcoming winter episodes of Major Crimes, and find out if Provenza may finally be a changed man (hint: there may be wedding bells in his near future!)

MajorCrimesTV: You’re almost through filming this super-sized season of Major Crimes. Have you found there to be any unique challenges involved with the longer season?

G.W. Bailey: Doing 23 episodes is definitely not an easy thing, and its been a little bit like trial by fire. At the same time though, it is a very unique experience. I have been playing this character for so many years, but I actually never did a long-term series prior to The Closer or Major Crimes, though I have been involved in a lot of different network shows over the years. Some of those either didn’t last very long, or I was simply a recurring character. So to now film 23 in a row is very trying; and it’s especially trying on the writers, as they’ve been working virtually non-stop this year, but it’s rewarding at the same time. It’s just a different sort of an experience for them, and for all of us working on the show.

So doing more is always a challenge – mentally, emotionally, you just get tired. So yes it does have its challenges but in the great scheme of things, this is gravy; this is a great gig! It’s a safe place to work, good food, good housing, you know, it’s not a bad gig!

MCTV: Not only is this season longer than any other that you have done previously, but the structure itself is very unique. Can you speak a little bit about what is different in this upcoming winter arc?

G.W. Bailey: The writers are doing something that’s very new to us and that is a lot of fun for the final five episodes. They are a serial piece as opposed to a procedural piece, which of course means that there is one crime, or rather series of crimes, and they’re all connected to either a killer or a group of killers. We will be spending the entire final five episodes trying to solve those murders and bring that killer or killers to justice.

Structuring the show in this way is a big first for us, so that’s been fun to explore. And the best part is that we (the actors) truly don’t know, or rather we won’t know the outcome until the final episode, so all of us on set have our own theories as to who it might be.

MCTV: One of the things that is so much fun for fans to see on Major Crimes is how Provenza reacts to integration of modern technology and people’s social lives. Do you share the same opinions about technology that Provenza does?

G.W. Bailey: Well I’ll give you an example as to how I sympathize with Provenza’s view. Earlier today I was talking to a few guys, and as we were talking I looked over, and two of the guys were texting on their phone. So I just stopped and said, ‘well if what we’re saying isn’t important enough that you can stop and listen to it, then I guess we don’t need to be saying it, do we?’ And waited for them to put the phones down until we continued.

I mean, there’s no one closer to me and my wife than my granddaughter, and when we have dinner together, I don’t look at the top of her head while we eat, you know? So it’s safe to say that I am a mean asshole. (laughs).

MCTV: Provenza has had some fun storylines this season, most especially with Patrice. How has that been to explore a relationship at this point in Provenza’s life?

G.W. Bailey: Well Dawnn [Lewis], who plays Patrice, is a great gal. She’s a very positive presence on set, and she’s very happy to be doing this with us. She spends the vast majority of her time with her music, which she loves immensely, and does a lot of different charity work specifically for inner city issues, which the cast and crew have been very happy to help support her with as well.

I have a lot of great lines about their relationship, specifically about their recent progression. But the one that really sang to me the other day was when Provenza and Patrice were discussing wedding plans. Provenza wants to go big with the wedding and she wants to go real cheap and real small and I say, “Do you realize that this could be my very last marriage?!” And I think that’s a great line! He’s been married six times, and he’s you know, 200 years old – so, yes, this could very well be my last marriage! And he so badly wants to make a big deal out of it.

MCTV: Given that Provenza has vocalized his belief that Patrice could be his last wife, does that mean that he has finally found “the one?”

G.W. Bailey: I think she’s the one, I don’t think there’s any question about that. I also don’t think he has the energy to get divorced again! She also knows the ropes – it was established in an earlier episode and I assume that we’ll talk about it again that she was married to a cop. She’s a widow, and she was married to a guy in Long Beach in Robbery/Homicide, so she knows the ropes, she knows the cops life. She’s a nurse, and of course, that’s what Provenza really needs at this point in his life!

MCTV: Well, we’ve already seen Flynn taking advantage of that particular skill set of hers!

G.W. Bailey: Yes, I’ve had her over there taking care of him.

MCTV: Any hints if viewers will get to see that wedding?

G.W. Bailey: You are going to be present at the wedding, yes. Though I haven’t seen the script yet, I don’t think it’s the wedding that he was hoping, for but I think that it’s going to be a very nice wedding.

MCTV: Provenza has unique relationships with everyone on the team. Can you speak to those relationships and how they have grown over the years?

G.W. Bailey: Well what normally happens is that the writers and James Duff have a storyline that they want to pursue and if I am involved in that storyline I spend a lot of time with another character. But, then I’ll approach James and say, yeah what we’re doing is great but I really miss Rusty, what’s happening with Rusty? So then, if he’s able to, he’ll carve out some time for Provenza to spend with Rusty.

But then when I am with Rusty, I’m worried about Julio and his antics and his temper! He’s very emotional, and so I get worried about him, and then that gets me thinking, you know I haven’t seen Julio in a long time, and so the process begins all over again.

As an actor, you sort of miss the other characters, when you’re not involved with them. You can’t be involved with them all every day, but I like all of them and Rusty particularly I am very fond of. In fact, in the last few episodes of the final five, I’ll be a little more involved with what is happening with him through his biological mother.

MCTV: You and Provenza are headed towards your 12 year anniversary together. Is there anything at this point that you haven’t had the chance to explore or get to do yet?

G.W. Bailey: I’d like to cash a larger paycheck, that hasn’t been done yet! (laughs) I would love to see the relationship with Rusty get stronger, and there’s all kinds of things to write there. He’s a young gay man, who has an affinity for a much older man and so there’s all kinds of stuff to be experienced and to play in that relationship. And of course the relationship with Patrice is very very important and one that I would love to continue to develop.

MCTV: Do you have any other projects that you’re going to be working on during the upcoming hiatus?

G.W. Bailey: I spend most of my time with Sunshine Kids, and a lot of events and trips to help support that charity. (Read more about G.W. Bailey’s work with Sunshine Kids here). Other than that, I will be spending time with my family and I will be taking a trip to southern France to see an old friend, so I’ve got lots to keep me busy.

Major Crimes returns this Monday at 8pm/8c on TNT.

Photo Credit: Justin Stephens, courtesy TNT, used with permission

With a career spanning more than four decades and some very memorable projects, G.W. Bailey’s filmography reads like a who’s who of notable films and television series, including such smash hits as MASH and Police Academy. These days, Bailey is busier and in higher demand than ever. Alongside playing Lt. Louie Provenza for ten seasons and counting on The Closer and now Major Crimes, much of Bailey’s free time is taken up by another passion; his role as the Executive Director of the Sunshine Kids Foundation, a charity that supports children being treated for cancer, and their families.

We caught up with G.W. Bailey at the Turner Network Upfront Presentations in New York City this past May, and talked to him about what’s ahead for Lieutenant Provenza, his work with the Sunshine Kids Foundation, and why, despite TNT’s move towards focusing on the younger demographic with their ‘BOOM’ campaign, he’s pretty sure Major Crimes is here to stay.

MajorCrimesTV: This season marks the 10th season playing Lt. Provenza for you. How has the experience changed? Do you bring something new going into the season like this?  Is it new and fresh because the ideas have changed so much lately?

Photo credit: TNT, used with permission

G.W. Bailey: “Well it’s interesting. Today, we were in the green room waiting for this to start and Stephen Kane [writer on The Closer and the first season of Major Crimes] who is the writer/producer for The Last Ship walked in. I was sitting at a table among all these people and I was working on a crossword puzzle, which I’ve done every morning on Major Crimes and The Closer, for years while they’re rehearsing. I sit at Provenza’s desk and work on my crossword puzzle. And he walked over and he said, ‘Boy, some things don’t change no matter where you are.’

So, in terms of habits, they don’t change. In terms of characters, they have to develop, they just have to; just like in life, events affect you. Now, they don’t affect your core particularly, but they can affect your behavior and how you handle life and how you handle things. Provenza is certainly still Provenza; he’s still not going to run, he’s still not going to break a big sweat, he’s still Provenza. But he has adapted and he has changed.“

MCTV: Can you give us any clues as to some of the challenges that he is going to face this season?

Bailey: “We have an episode coming up that is a very tender and a very tough episode for him that you would not have seen seven or eight years ago. I have had moments where it’s been very tough. There is an episode that I love [from The Closer] with Raymond Cruz; his character, Sanchez, his brother gets killed. And he holds it all together until the very end of the episode and he finally breaks down, but he’s alone with Provenza. And the viewers were very moved by it and it made perfect sense although we had been kind of adversaries and pick at each other. When it came time, he went to experience, so he went to someone older who would understand and it was very moving; it makes me cry to this day.

Photo credit: Justin Stephens, courtesy TNT. Used with permission.

You’ll definitely see more of that. And, a little more tolerance, although I fight the writers on it, you know, I’ll say ‘let’s not make him too politically correct,’ you know, let’s remember that he is Provenza. I had a director actually ask me this, a good director. We had a very tough scene of discovering a child who had been murdered, and we were outside and so I had on my hat, that silly ass hat, and the director asked me, ‘Do you think maybe, because of the tone of this, that you’d be without the hat?’ And I said, ‘Are we outside? Is that the sun? That’s the reason I have my hat on. I don’t think the hat is funny. If the audience gets a kick out of it then it’s their business. I wear the hat because it’s my hat and whether it’s a dying child or we’re in a comedy club, or outside a comedy club, as long as I’m outside I’m wearing the hat.’ I said, ‘I think that child has far more powerful imagery than my hat-head.’ But, I understood his thinking. I said, ‘If I’m at a funeral, I’m not going to wear that hat.’

There are certain things that don’t change, that make you who you are. That’s who you’ve created with the writers but there are some ways that you’ll see this season that he’s mellowed a little bit. He’s always been mellow when it came to kids, because he has kids and grandkids, and five ex-wives, so he’s pretty mellow when it comes to children. “

MCTV: Speaking of children, one of the most gratifying things to watch has been the evolution of the relationship between Provenza and Rusty; it’s become such a tender and wonderful side note for the show. Can you tell us a little bit about that and about what viewers can expect from the two of you this season?

Bailey: “We just filmed something last week and I can’t tell you; but it is very short, but it is also very good. It’s very to the point, and that’s all I’ll tell you. It’s very dear.”

G.W. Bailey with Sunshine Kids. Photo Credit: Sunshine Kids Foundation, used with permission

Bailey was first introduced to the Sunshine Kids Foundation almost 30 years ago, when his goddaughter was battling cancer and was invited to go on one of the trips the organization plans for kids undergoing treatment. He credits that experience for opening up his eyes to the wonderful potential of the organization and the struggle of the patients that the Sunshine Kids Foundation catered to, and it inspired him to become involved in an official capacity. At the time, the charity was its earliest stages; since, it has grown to serve children and their families battling with cancer all across America, offering them exclusive outings and experiences, and helping to bring a little light into their lives.

Bailey currently serves as Executive Director for the Sunshine Kids Foundation, and his dedication to the charity has been taken up by much of the cast and crew of Major Crimes, leading them to become active with the charity in a variety of ways.  

This past holiday season brought about a much loved, collaborative Major Crimes Cookbook featuring recipes from the cast and crew and their loved ones. The cookbook features everything from smoothies and juices to desserts, breakfast foods, and comfort foods. Among fans, this quickly became a favorite and the cookbook saw sales far surpassing the cast and crew’s initial expectations.

The Major Crimes Cookbook features a “collection of curated dishes, family favorites and comfort food”; 100% of proceeds from the sale of the book benefit The Sunshine Kids.

MCTV:  Fans were so excited when news of the Major Crimes Cookbook first came out. How did the idea for that develop?

Bailey:  “Our costume designer, Greg LaVoi, who is a dear, sweet man and a bit of a genius, who has costumed The Closer and Major Crimes all these years, had the idea. He saw another cookbook for some other organization so he contacted the publishers who do this, and he had the idea of putting cast and crew, producers, and their favorite recipes together. He designed the cover and his costume crew did all of the necessary gathering and the editing and notes about it, the pictures, and they put it all together and had it published.

They came to me and asked if we would help with it and if the Sunshine Kids Foundation would help with it. Greg wanted to dedicate it to us and to have all sales to go directly to the Sunshine Kids Foundation. And it’s just been an enormous, wonderful success, and our fans love it.”

They’re only $25, it’s $20 plus shipping which is $5, and every dime goes to kids with cancer. And if we’re picked up for another season after this season, which we’ll know sometime during this season, we’re going to do a second edition.”

MCTV: What can fans expect from a second edition of the cookbook?

Bailey: “We’ll do a new design, all new recipes, and broaden out. We’ll probably include Major Crimes cast, crew, and friends and maybe we’ll go to other shows and they’ll be other actors, other crews and we’ll put them all together and we’ll list those crews and their family and friends. And so that’s how we broaden it beyond Major Crimes; that’s our plan, if TNT is wise enough to pick us up for a fourth season.”

MCTV:  TNT announced today that with their rebranding, they are also shifting their focus, and a part of their ‘BOOM’ campaign is to cater to younger, 18-49, more male audiences. This is not an audience that TNT has previously focused on, especially not where Major Crimes or The Closer were concerned. With your numbers so far, we can’t imagine them not picking you up for season four!

Bailey:  “I hope so. Well, today, all that talk from (TNT President/Head of Programming) Michael Wright, youth, youth, youth, boom, boom, boom, I wanted to stand up and say, ‘Hey, hey! Look over here, old guy! Right here, number one show on your network. Here we are!’ But I understand that you’ve got to adapt and change to survive and he did say that they, the network, wants to nourish what brought him here and keep it alive, but at the same time they have to go out and reach that other audience, there’s no question about that.”

G.W. Bailey with Sunshine Kids. Photo Credit: Sunshine Kids Foundation, used with permission.

MCTV: The interesting things is that Major Crimes does have a young fanbase. The fanbase has absolutely changed from The Closer and it has really adapted as the characters have adapted.

Bailey: “Yes, and we have done very well in that magical 18-49 range. [Last year] at the Screen Actors Guild Q&A, the event started with an announcement; a recognition of how much we had improved in the 18-49 range and everybody was really excited.

James [Duff] was there, and they were all extolling this wonderful number. Then they started with audience questions and the first question was to me and I said, ‘I’ll answer that but I want to go back to this other deal.’ I said, ‘Where on God’s earth did this come from? The Nielsens, I suppose? But what genius at what tower at what point said the people that matter, the people that buy stuff, are 18-49? ‘ And I said to them all, ‘Look, I have a wonderful family, an adorable family, and I’m the oldest guy in that family, and you know who buys the most stuff? Me.’ I said, ‘So program to me a little bit too, because, I buy stuff.’

But I understand that they’re the marketing geniuses and you’ve got to develop that audience so that when they are my age, they’re still buying that product; I’m not an idiot. At the same time, we’re here. And there’s a bunch of us. And we do spend money, we’re more conservative than kids are. But our show has really grown with that demographic, it’s done very, very well.”

Major Crimes returned with a (TNT approved) BOOM, scoring 6.7 million total viewers in its season 3 premiere, making it basic cable’s #1 scripted series premiere of the year, and increasing in the all-important 18-49 demographic by 3% over the season 2 premiere. You can learn more about GW Bailey’s Sunshine Kids Foundation, and how to get involved with their work www.SushineKids.org. And you can find out more about the Major Crimes Cookbook, and order your own, here. 

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“The cast of “The Closer” easily made the transition to its spin-off “Major Crimes” last season — with the exception of Kyra Sedgwick, who retired Brenda Johnson. Instead, Mary McDonnell’s character — Captain Sharon Raydor — took over as the new head of the Major Case Squad, and therein lies the conflict.

Where Brenda was all about getting a confession, Sharon is all about making deals with criminals in order to save the taxpayers the cost of a trial. So the focus, which continues in Season 2, is more on how the American justice system approaches the art of the deal as law enforcement officers and prosecutors work together to score a conviction.

That said, the team is still about getting the bad guys and “Major Crimes” will continue to feature some major cases, including the murder of a big-time film producer’s wife, an apparent murder-suicide and a LAPD ride-along that leads to a startling discovery.

XfinityTV exclusively spoke with McDonnell, GW Bailey, who plays Lieutenant Provenza, and Tony Denison, who plays Lieutenant Andy Flynn to get the inside scoop on the new season:

Sharon is getting a husband this season, played by Tom Berenger: Last season, we learned that Sharon does have children, none of who live with her, so she seems to be estranged from her family. This season we will meet her husband … yes, her husband, not her ex!

“It is a very interesting complicated relationship,” McDonnell says. “It is a lot of fun to act, and there is really something off-center about them that I love. They are not divorced. They haven’t lived together in decades, so it is really fascinating about the complexity. And [Tom] is a fantastic actor. Without saying anything else, you will be pleased.”

Nadine Velazquez plays the new Deputy DA: Deputy District Attorney Emma Rios (Velazquez) arrives to challenge Raydor’s intentions and shake up the department, especially getting on Raydor’s case about her overseeing custody of Rusty (Graham Patrick Martin), who may be a homeless teen, but is still a material witness in a case, so it could appear as if she was witness tampering.

“She is a pain-in-the-neck district attorney,” Denison says. “That is what they do. They come and tell us why we may not have done the investigation properly and what they think we need to do more of, and she comes and she is really ‘frictionist’ in a cute and clever way. ”

” I think she is interesting, too, because she brings her generation into the room,” McDonnell adds. “And there is sort of an entitlement about her generation. They are very smart. They are very aggressive and very entitled as young women, but they are very clueless about some things and that is fun.”

As hard as it is to believe, Provenza is grumpier than usual this season: In the beginning of Season 2, Provenza wins a $4,000 kitty, which has been gathered from the other cops who were in his class at the Police Academy, and Provenza wins it because he is the last officer from his class still on active duty. This doesn’t help improve his mood. “Of course, grumpy people don’t find themselves grumpy at all,” Bailey says. “I don’t find him to be grumpy, but he is aggravated a lot, and he is not afraid to let that aggravation show, so it comes out as grumpy. You know, me personally, when I arrive in the morning … they started this years ago … for a 6 o’clock call, they have the ADs [assistant directors] on the walkie talkies say, ‘Is he grumpy or grumpier?’

“I am not a morning person, so what I do is play Provenza like it is morning all day long. This year it is interesting because he is really beginning to finally admit how old he is and because all the evidence is around him, he is the last one standing. They are all gone. [He is facing] those very basic, philosophical questions that have been going on since man could write and that is: What is this all about? What in the world are we doing here? Why do these bodies keep showing up? Why do people keep doing this to each other? He asks those questions almost every episode.”

One of the unique aspects of “Major Crimes” was the addition of Rusty to the cast. He continues his role this season, more like a family member than the material witness he is. When Deputy District Attorney Emma Rios discovers that her material witness is living with Sharon, she is not a happy camper. She insists on deposing Rusty, but he is reluctant to talk to her with Sharon present because he doesn’t want Sharon to hear all sordid details of his life on the streets.

“I think it is beautiful because, for her, it allows us to understand her in a different way,” McDonnell says of the humanity that Rusty adds to the story. “But in terms of how it affects us as cops, I think it allow us to start to interrelate in a way that we wouldn’t normally even though we work together every day. I think that [Rusty] has created a potential relationship here, where we may have had a little more trouble relating or understanding our feelings of it emotionally.”

And Bailey, whose character Provenza has a special, almost grandfatherly relationship with Rusty, says, “He has worked as a character because he is such a charming actor. He has worked as a great catalyst to bring us together. We may have differences about a lot of things but this kid’s well-being is glue to us.”

Also returning for Season 2 are Michael Paul Chan as Lieutenant Mike Tao, Raymond Cruz as Detective Julio Sanchez, Kearran Giovanni as Detective Amy Sykes, Phillip P. Keene as tech expert Buzz Watson, Robert Gossett as Assistant Chief Russell Taylor and Jonathan Del Arco as the medical examiner Dr. Morales.

“Major Crimes” kicks off its second season Monday, June 10 at 9/8c on TNT.

‘MAJOR CRIMES Were you worried that just because The Closer is over that the Provenza/Flynn fun wouldn’t move over to Major Crimes? Never fear because GW Bailey (Provenza) told me on the set last week that an upcoming episode will give the twosome some time together: “It’s not exclusively about the two of us but it’s a situation that we get into and it actually isn’t our fault. We actually do a favor for someone we’re not even fond of, Emma (new regular Nadine Velazquez, playing an ADA), and it ends up a disaster and a mess and we’re in the middle of it…whoever’s closest to the flame is the one who gets burned. It’s a good episode.”

Bailey is also excited to work with guest star Tom Berenger, who’ll appear later this season as the long-absent husband of Sharon Raydor (Mary McDonnell). “Tom is an old friend of mine,” said Bailey. “We did a movie together almost 30 years ago – 29 years ago – called Rustler’s Rhapsody…when we saw each other on this we promised that we’d work together every 30 years.”’

6/7/13, 2pm PST, ETA:

- Channel Guide Magazine Review:
“Summer is here and so is the art of the deal on Major Crimes. Don’t forget to tune in Monday, June 10 (and set your DVRs), when Capt. Sharon Raydor (Mary McDonnell) and one of television’s best ensemble casts returns for a second season.

Seven million viewers watched Major Crimes last year, ranking Major Crimes as basic cable’s No. 1 new series of 2012. As their second season opens, Lt. Provenza (GW Bailey) continues to drop hints about retiring while Lt. Flynn (Tony Denison) commits to 10,000 steps a day to help his health.

Rusty (Graham Patrick Martin) has settled in nicely with Capt. Raydor, and so has the squad with the leadership change, but a new Deputy District Attorney — Emma Rios (Nadine Velazquez) — who’d rather win in court than make deals threatens to derail the status quo of the department.”

- WhopperJaw Season 2 Review:

Major Crimes returns to TNT for its second season on June 10. We were huge fans of The Closer (until its last season when the world came crashing down on Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) and Interim Chief of Police Will Pope (J.K. Simmons) exited to do State Farm commercials.  While the quirks of hard-nosed by-the-book Captain Raydor (Mary McDonnell) are nowhere near as endearing or colorful as those of her predecessor, she’s proving to be a slow burn, gradually gaining our appreciation as she makes the rules work to her advantage.