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Mary McDonnell talks to Philly.com in this new interview about Season 2 of Major Crimes.

The line’s delivered in the beautifully modulated but very specific tone I’ve come to think of as Raydor’s mom voice.

And it’s as much a part of McDonnell’s character as the Southern accent that Kyra Sedgwick adopted was to Raydor’s predecessor, Brenda Leigh Johnson, in “The Closer.”

That voice probably didn’t show up there by accident.

“I think part of it is the character and part of it is James [Duff, who created both shows] responding to having witnessed it in me,” said McDonnell, laughing, when I asked about it in a recent phone interview.

“I remember one time, very early on, we were having a discussion, about the character, about the writing,” she said, emphasizing “discussion” in exactly the way, I point out to her, that I’m talking about when I say “mom voice.”

“That’s exactly right. That’s my point. There is an element – and moms do use it a lot. A mother archetype has a way of expressing itself sometimes and it’s undeniable in any room. And I think that’s part of what James is fascinated by and interested in, and what I understand both as a woman and as an actress and as a mother – and in some other characters I’ve been asked to play,” said McDonnell, who has a daughter and a son with actor husband Randle Mell.

“I think I can almost tell you what the Hillary Clinton sound might be, you know what I mean? You can go around and look at women in the world who are mothers and in power positions in any corporation and you can probably, after talking to them for a day or two, know what that tone of voice would sound like when they decided that moment is at hand,” she said. “It’s really cool, because I think men really hear it.”

Good thing, too, since men continue to dominate the ensemble on “Major Crimes” (though Nadine Velazquez joins the cast this season as that new assistant D.A., Emma Rios).

A year out from the transition from “The Closer” to “Major Crimes,” it’s easier to see the differences between the shows, even if many of the faces are the same.

Brenda was all about the confessions, but her successor seems interested in those only as part of the overall art of the deal.

“I think ‘The Closer’ morphing into ‘Major Crimes’ is a kind of contemporary look at the economic political system that any particular justice system is run by, according to their state,” McDonnell said. “And right now, in California, the truth is, the state is not in a good place, economically, and we kind of can’t afford justice.

“So the idea of getting a conviction, the idea of Death Row, the death penalty, the idea of the cost of getting the conviction – it’s so overwhelming to the justice system and the economics of this state right now that California . . . [is] having to rethink the way we go about creating justice,” she said. “And that’s part of what I absolutely adore about ‘Major Crimes,’ is its relevancy to the time that it is living in. That is exactly where we are. So, in that sense, the change is a product of the truth of our times, from one show to the next.”

Read the original interview here.

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In a new interview with TV Fanatic, Mary McDonnell talks about the transition between The Closer and Major Crimes, and how the success of the first season has allowed for greater freedom in storytelling going forward into season two.

‘TV Fanatic: I found Major Crimes Season 1 captivating. I look forward it more on a weekly basis than I did it’s predecessor. Congratulations on your success and Season 2.

Mary McDonnell: I’m very very happy that you have successfully transitioned into the new show. The plan was always to create a transition with integrity. We knew, James Duff Knew, I knew, we couldn’t really make a false move in there or we would lose a beloved fan group and we never wanted to…you don’t move forward into a new form without completely respecting the old and making sure that you maintain the story that was so iconic. All of those elements are so freaking interesting when you’re in the middle of it trying to figure out a moment to moment behavior of who a character is, inside that kind of container it becomes absolutely fascinating.

It was a really wonderful challenge to be as specific as that, so when it worked and people loved the new show, as well as held the predecessor as precious, we are beyond thrilled, do you know what I’m saying? It’s really exciting. Of course, the numbers speak for themselves and that part speaks for itself and I am just so thrilled and I think the fans are going to be so excited for the new season because with the confidence now of having morphed into a new form, this particular group, this particular major crimes division that operates differently now can dive back back into some very serious crimes. With all of these new politics influencing the way they can solve a crime or not and some the dynamics among us have changed and are still growing and changing, so it feels very fresh, and I’m excited about that.

I understand there is a new DDA who will ruffle some feathers, especially with regard to your relationship with Rusty. How is she going to affect that?

MM: And the many aunts and uncles! Which is so beautiful, isn’t it? That’s part of what I loved about how we ended the season with Rusty. The ending was the beginning of a new life for a child. To allow these cops to be at work together, touching upon their familial emotional heartstrings with this child is a really wonderful element to inject into a murder crimes division. The murder room has a new element to it and it’s beautiful and we have this kid. So that’s fabulous.

The new element that you brought up with the DA is also very exciting and it presents Sharon Raydor with philosophical dilemmas always because here is a young woman, a very ambitious DA coming in to help out with a cast that has to be dealt with. It’s why Rusty is with Sharon to begin with – he’s a material witness in the murder case with Philip Stroh. So this young DA comes in and on the one hand Sharon Raydor as a woman, who promotes young women in the world and their ambitions and as the foster mother of Rusty who wants the material witness part of his life to be over with, and as the cop who wants the Philip Stroh case to finally be dealt with and the person you became very supportive of on the other show, Brenda Leigh Johnson, on the other show. So there are all these areas that are coming together for her, and yet this person and her style becomes a bit of a dilemma, so it’s really interesting. Sharon’s always someone who is battling right decisions. On the on hand this is the right choice, on the other hand this is the right choice, how does she find the most powerful way through the right choices and pick the very rightest?

Essentially what is the most right for the moment.

MM: Yes. And that’s risky, that’s risky. It’s more sophisticated than right versus wrong.

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In a new interview with the Qatar Tribune, Mary McDonnell discusses her career, and the importance she finds in portraying a complicated, mature female character on TV.

“It’s such a revelation and so refreshing that she’s a female captain and a woman of power,’’ McDonnell says. “On The Closer she was an antagonist. We left the audience with all of these assumptions about Captain Raydor.

“When you police the police, your goal isn’t to make the police like you,’’ she continues. “As it turns out, she’s out there to protect the people and the police.’’ McDonnell thinks she knows why Raydor has hit such a nerve.

“This character celebrates smart women,’’ the actress says. “Like so many of us, she is very competent in her own skin, although there are dysfunctional things in her life. She also is having a good life and has a strong ethical code.

“There isn’t this crazy darkness that a lot of cops carry with them,’’ McDonnell continues. “This is a woman like many women I know. She gets the job done.’’ It isn’t easy to portray someone so competent, she adds.

“It’s a challenge,’’ McDonnell admits. “How do you write for someone who is just out there in a good way? It feels far more reckless than writing for someone who is bad. Bad is easier. It’s flashier. This is about playing strength.’’ The series, which premiered in 2012 on the heels of the final episode of The Closer, was a hit right out of the box.

“Without a doubt, it was such a success that we broke records,’’ McDonnell says. “The fans really backed the faith I had in this show. They gave us a strong start.’’ That came as a relief to McDonnell, who never before had been asked to carry a series – the closest she had come was playing President Laura Roslin in the ensemble cast of Battlestar Galactica (2004-2009) – and admits to having had some jitters.

“I had a lot of fears born from an actor wanting to do well,’’ she says. “I didn’t have any fears about the quality of the show, but I had the normal fears of success. Could I pull it off?’’ McDonnell believes that women past 40 have particularly embraced the show.

“At this point in my life, I organically understand this woman that I play,’’ she says. “There are a lot of women like her and me in the world. We’re women who have varying degrees of power, dealing with sophisticated situations. After 40, it’s about how do you get clear and practice living a great life?’’

McDonnell is only the latest in a series of big-screen actresses who have turned to cable television for strong roles as they age, following in the footsteps of Glenn Close, Laura Dern, Holly Hunter and, of course, Sedgwick.

“TV watching is becoming more important than ever as the Baby Boomers age,’’ she says. “The world is changing so freaky fast around us. There are very unsettling feelings attached to the times we live in. I like to be able to turn on the TV in my house and see adults approaching the next 30 years of their lives.’

Read the whole article here.