Major Crimes Information

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Major Crimes is an American television police procedural series starring Mary McDonnell. It is a spin-off of The Closer and premiered on TNT, August 13, 2012. Following over 7 million viewers for its first season, TNT renewed Major Crimes for a 15 episode second season on September 27, 2012.

Plot

Following the departure of Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson from the LAPD, Captain Sharon Raydor (McDonnell) is selected as the new head of its Major Crimes Division. She faces the challenge of earning the trust and loyalty of her officers, who are still in shock over Johnson's exit, while trying to close the department's highest-profile cases.

Cast

Actor	Character	Rank	Unit	Seasons
Mary McDonnell	Sharon Raydor	Captain	Major Crimes Division	1"
G. W. Bailey	Louie Provenza	Detective Lieutenant	Major Crimes Division	1"
Tony Denison	Andy Flynn	Detective Lieutenant	Major Crimes Division	1"
Michael Paul Chan	Michael Tao	Detective Lieutenant	Major Crimes Division	1"
Raymond Cruz	Julio Sanchez	Detective	Major Crimes Division	1"
Kearran Giovanni	Amy Sykes	Detective	Major Crimes Division	1"
Phillip P. Keene	Buzz Watson	Civilian Surveillance Coordinator	Major Crimes Division	1"
Graham Patrick Martin	Rusty Beck			1"
Jonathan Del Arco	Dr. Morales	Deputy Medical Examiner	Los Angeles County Coroner's office	1" (recurring, season 1)
Robert Gossett	Russell Taylor	Assistant Chief of Operations	Los Angeles Police Department	1" (recurring)
Jon Tenney	Fritz Howard	Special Agent	Federal Bureau of Investigation	1" (recurring)

Development and production

On December 10, 2010, TNT announced that the upcoming seventh season of The Closer, which began production in spring 2011, would be the show's last. The channel said that the decision to retire the show was made by Kyra Sedgwick.

On January 30, 2011, the media announced that the final season would add six episodes to the usual fifteen episode order, the final six being the build toward a possible spin-off series. On May 18, 2011, TNT announced that the spin-off, entitled Major Crimes and starring Mary McDonnell as Captain Sharon Raydor, had been picked up for a 10-episode season.

Reception

Major Crimes received a score of 63/100 and "generally favorable" reviews based on 16 critics at Metacritic. Newsdays Verne Gay gave the series a B+ grade, calling it "sharply written, acted and directed", adding "producers now have to turn an (occasional) antagonist into a full-time protagonist. Let the metamorphosis begin." Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times called the series a "nice balance between the tragic and comic", citing Mary McDonnell's performance as "modulated and cool, but with a blue-flame intensity". Entertainment Weeklys Ken Tucker thought there were "fundamental distinctions" between The Closers Brenda Leigh Johnson and Major Crimes Sharon Raydor that "render the shows very different", adding "I've always found Raydor's serene assurance a palliative to the twitchy eccentricity of Kyra Sedgwick's Johnson." Mike Hale of The New York Times thought the series "[made] the dullest character from the old show the central figure of the new one," adding "Major Crimes feels like a reasonably sharp black-and-white copy of The Closer, but fans of the franchise are likely to miss the color provided by Ms. Sedgwick's vivid performance."

Episodes

No. in Series	No. in Season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers (million)	Viewers = 7.18	ShortSummary = Major Crimes division is still in shock over Chief Johnson's departure; Captain Raydor now has the responsibility of trying to gain the trust of the team under her leadership. With little time to adjust Major Crimes may have some difficulty reaching a plea bargain after a fatality due to a recent rash of grocery store robberies in the area. Detective Amy Sykes joins Major Crimes after providing much needed help in the case. Raydor decides to look after Rusty Beck, a teenaged witness in the Phillip Stroh case (see The Closer episode, "The Last Word") who has run away from his foster family.	LineColor = 007FFF }}	Viewers = 5.40	ShortSummary = Raydor mentions to Taylor that part of the internal problems at Major Crimes is her rank, noting that she barely outranks Provenza. Taylor tells her that there is a freeze on all positions. The unit works to solve a brutal complicated homicide case.	LineColor = 007FFF }}	Viewers = 5.74	ShortSummary = The facts become blurry in a case involving a fatal car crash at a nightclub. Meanwhile, Rusty is forced to face a harsh reality when Raydor fulfills her promise to track down his mother.	LineColor = 007FFF }}	Viewers = 5.87	ShortSummary = A life strategist is enlisted to help Major Crimes along with the FBI to solve a case having to with the Israel mob that could lead to trouble for major crimes. Provenza displays rare emotion with a suspect who is in a vulnerable state. Rusty has a bad day at school.	LineColor = 007FFF }}	Viewers = 4.96	ShortSummary = Major Crimes' latest case gets help from ADA Hobbs. A DNA test reveals something about Rusty that surprises everybody.	LineColor = 007FFF }}	Viewers = 4.67	ShortSummary = After a gang shooting turns fatal Sharon Raydor makes an unexpected move that could end her career and harm a team member. Rusty has no desire to see his biological father.	LineColor = 007FFF }}	Viewers = 4.30	ShortSummary = Major Crimes tries to close a case with political ties but confidential information keeps getting leaked. Captain Raydor's decision to be temporary guardian of Rusty gets more complicated as children and family services finds out some information that may cause Rusty to be removed from her home.	LineColor = 007FFF }}	Viewers = 4.17	ShortSummary = Tao has to question his actions due to a murder conviction being overturned eight years later. Rusty meets his father and must learn to control his emotions as he spends some time with him.	LineColor = 007FFF }}	Viewers = 4.33	ShortSummary = The team investigates the murder of a Las Vegas police officer, found dead in a men's room stall. Captain Raydor's fears about the irresponsibility of Rusty's father are realized.	LineColor = 007FFF }}	Viewers = 5.13	ShortSummary = When an important figure is shot, similarities to other cases lead Major Crimes to cede the case to the FBI, but the team has to race against the killer to save a witness. Dealings with Rusty's father are resolved in an unusual manner.	LineColor = 007FFF }}

U.S. ratings

No.	Title	Original air date	Viewers (in millions)	Rating (Adults 18"49)	Rank per week on Cable
1	"Reloaded"		7.18	1.2	#2
2	"Before and After"		5.40	0.9	#1
3	"Medical Causes"		5.74	0.9	#8
4	"The Ecstasy and the Agony"		5.87	1.0	#2
5	"Citizen's Arrest"		4.96	0.9	#6
6	"Out of Bounds"		4.67	0.8	#3
7	"The Shame Game"		4.30	0.8	#4
8	"Dismissed with Prejudice"		4.17	0.7	#21
9	"Cheaters Never Prosper"		4.33	0.7	#21
10	"Long Shot"		5.13	0.9	#11

International broadcast

Country	Network(s)	Series premiere	Timeslot
	Universal Channel	March 18, 2013	Mondays, 10pm GMT
	POP TV	26 February 2013	Tuesdays at 10.30 PM
	Kanal 2	08 March 2013	Fridays at 10.30 PM