MCTV Exclusive: Major Crimes’ Odd Couple – GW Bailey and Kearran Giovanni Talk Season 5, Relationships and More

By M. Sharpe


KG GW2

After five seasons of Major Crimes, Sykes and Provenza have learned to rely on each other throughout all sort of situations. We spoke to their portrayers, Kearran Giovanni and GW Bailey to get the scoop about this odd-couple’s relationship, and found the great relationship between them extends far past their characters on the show.

MCTV: You guys are about halfway through filming this season. How is it all going?

GW Bailey: All the scenes that Kearran and I are in are quite wonderful. The others…

Kearran Giovanni: We’re not real sure about–

GW: Sort of sucky (laughs) ­

KG: No, we’re having a great time and it’s going well, it’s going swimmingly. By now we’ve got a nice formula going and everyone knows their roles, and–

GW: Yeah, or should! (laughs). We do have… at least it seems to me that Sykes and I are doing more interviews together. We’ve done a few interviews of suspects and witnesses, and it seems to me it’s more than we’ve done before.

MCTV: Sykes and Provenza have always had an interesting dynamic together – do you think that is why?

GW: Well, yeah. It’s always interesting in anything that has partners, it’s always interesting to have opposites…Beauty and the Beast.

(Kearran and GW laugh)

GW: In this case I won’t say which one’s the beauty, but it is Beauty and the Beast, it’s Laurel and Hardy, fat and skinny, I mean, it’s partnerships. It’s interesting, actually…I’m an older white man, she’s a gorgeous young African-American woman. That makes for a visual interest.

KG: Especially from where we started, obviously. Sykes probably wasn’t his favorite person, and now we work really well together.

GW: Exactly. I trust her and like her and it’s good.

MCTV: Speaking to that evolution of KG GW1their relationship, to your minds, how is it that Amy has earned this, this spot with Provenza and his respect after starting off on such rocky footing?

KG: In the beginning, it wasn’t that she didn’t have the drive or the talent or whatever to do well, it was just the way that she went about it. I think she just had to kind of hold her own for a while and show what she really could do the job, and maybe also calm down with her excitement, and then I think he grew to respect her. She’s done a lot, she’s been given a lot of responsibility, she’s taken a lot of responsibility, and she kind of went rogue a few times. And he was one of the ones who always said “Let her do it. She’ll figure it out.” And I did, and I think that’s what garnered that respect.

GW: Well, also, she broke a few rules here and there–not big things, not against the law, but she stretched it and Provenza likes that. A lot. Continue reading

MCTV Exclusive: Under Pressure – Kearran Giovanni on Sykes Growth and New Responsibilities

By M. Sharpe


419- sykes lrWhen MajorCrimesTV.net first spoke to Kearran Giovanni just before the second season of Major Crimes, she and her character Amy Sykes were both learning the ropes as they adjusted to being part of a new team. Now, with four seasons under her belt, and Sykes having a key role when Major Crimes returns next Monday with a special winter episode arc that explores one case over five episodes, it’s clear that Kearran and Sykes are both relishing and flourishing in the expanded roles they’ve taken on.

Throughout this season we’ve seen Amy Sykes take on a more active role in the Major Crimes team, and Giovanni notes that it’s the writers that have helped to craft what she sees as a very accurate portrayal of Sykes growth as an officer. “[The writers] always start the season with the big idea board where they slap ideas up for the year, and want to see what sticks and how we grow as characters and them having a plan for her. I think it’s been a great real-life progression for how she’s come into the squad, and the skills she has and the work she’s fallen into.”

In the final five episodes of the 419- sykes lrseason, those new skills are put to the test when Sykes is given a tip that brings her face to face with a disgraced former officer, whose involvement in one of the LAPD’s most notorious cases seems to connect with a set of gruesome murders the team is investigating. This series of events sets in motion an internal conflict for Sykes on how she must proceed as the investigation progresses. Continue reading

Tony Denison and Kearran Giovanni Talk Major Crimes on TotallyDriven Radio



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Major Crimes Season 2: What to Expect


2.02- provenza sykes lrTVFanatic talked to much of the cast of Major Crimes and found out what we can expect from their characters and storylines in season 2.

Tony Denison: Has Detective Andy Flynn changed much between The Closer and Major Crimes? “Flynn has more to do in terms of police procedural stuff that wasn’t there in The Closer,” Denison said of his well-dressed character. “You find out why he’s an alcoholic and he’s probably a tough guy to live with, which is great to play.”

Kearran Giovanni: We know Detective Amy Sykes had experience in the military, but will we find out more this season? “You’ll get to see a little bit more of her personality,” the actress told me. And while she’s waiting for more backstory on her character, “I make up my own little things about Amy.”

Graham Parker Martin: While Rusty brings out the maternal side of Raydor, who has taken the troubled teen in and given him a home, he’ll need as much support as possible since he’s involved in a case that brings up questions about his sexuality. Martin said he doesn’t know exactly where the story is going, but told me that it “adds to the complexity of his life and what he has to go through now because he’s trying to be normal and at the same time he was forced to go into this brutal lifestyle.”

And while Rusty may butt heads with DDD Rios, we’ll see bonds form with many of the other members of the Major Crimes division including Raydor’s ex. “He’s a guy who comes in and immediately starts bonding with me,” Martin said, “and it’s kind of an interesting situation for Sharon because she knows that he’s not supposed to be around for long yet he’s giving [Rusty] this kind of hope that ‘Oh, cool male influence.’”

Philip Keene: With Rusty going through a lot, Francis “Buzz” Watson becomes an important figure for him. “He does share a lot of things with me,” Keene said, who added what the teen character brings to the show. “It gives us more to play on than just the cases. It’s a more personal and familial atmosphere,” the actor said.

 Read more from the rest of the cast here

 

Q & A with Kearran Giovanni- Part Two

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Photo courtesy TNT

Despite the daunting task of being the newcomer in an otherwise well-established cast, Kearran Giovanni and her character, Amy Sykes, quickly became a vital part of the first season of Major Crimes. In part two of our exclusive interview, she talks about her hopes for Amy next season, the changing dynamics between the characters, and navigating the world of twitter.

by M. Sharpe and C. Bullen
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Read Part One

MCtv: You mentioned that hopefully we’ll get some backstory for all the characters next season, but do you already have more of an idea about Amy’s story? Anything specific you’d like to see from next season about her?

KG: Hmm. Well, I don’t know what’s in James’ head. I do know that he has, in his mind, written all of next season, I think, because he’s a genius. But Amy, I don’t know, I don’t know what he has in store for her. I would like to see her parents. I think it would be really nice to see where she comes from. I kind of feel like she maybe came from a military family, which is why she’s a little straight-laced when it comes to following procedure. I’d love to see where she’s from. I kinda feel like she’s got a little New York in her. So, I’m not sure. Maybe she’ll have a relationship. I know James loves to have one relationship going on in the show, so, I don’t know. I don’t know! Continue reading

Q & A with Major Crimes’ Kearran Giovanni- Part One

Photo courtesy TNT

Photo courtesy TNT

With a successful Broadway career under her belt, actress Kearran Giovanni next set her sights on TV, and won the role of newcomer Amy Sykes on Major Crimes. In this exclusive interview, Kearran graciously took time to talk to MajorCrimesTV.net about the transition from the New York stage to Los Angeles, being the “new kid” in Major Crimes and her favorite parts of season one. 

by M. Sharpe and C. Bullen

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MajorCrimesTV.net: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us.

Kearran Giovanni: Oh, you’re so welcome. Thanks for talking with me.

MCtv: How did you get started with the theater and stage, and how did that lead you to Broadway, and then from Broadway to Los Angeles and television?

KG: Well, it all started … no, I’m kidding. I danced growing up. I was a gymnast for many years, and I did it for fun. I never really thought I was going to have this as a career. I actually was planning to be an OB-GYN for a very long time. I wanted to be a doctor and deliver babies. And in my senior year, my dad actually went out of the country for six months and he said the only way I’ll allow you to stay there is if you get into a performing arts high school, and I’ll let you and your mom get an apartment and I’ll come back and forth. So I said fine, and I auditioned and I got into the performing arts high school in Houston, and that’s where I figured that you could actually have a career doing this, it wasn’t just for fun. Continue reading