The Closer
“They'll bring you in. She'll make you talk.”
About
Deputy Police Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson transfers from Atlanta to LA to head up a special unit of the LAPD that handles sensitive, high-profile murder cases. Johnson's quirky personality and hard-nosed approach often rubs her colleagues the wrong way, but her reputation as one of the world's best interrogator eventually wins over even her toughest critics.
Cast
Kyra Sedgwick
as Brenda Leigh Johnson
J.K. Simmons
as Will Pope
Corey Reynolds
as David Gabriel
Robert Gossett
as Russell Taylor
G.W. Bailey
as Louie Provenza
Tony Denison
as Andy Flynn
Michael Paul Chan
as Mike Tao
Phillip P. Keene
as Officer Buzz Watson
Jon Tenney
as Special Agent Fritz Howard
Raymond Cruz
as Julio Sanchez
Mary McDonnell
as Captain Sharon Raydor
Matt McCoy
as Kevin Adams
Seasons
Season 1
Season 1 opens with the LAPD's new Priority Murder Squad (PMS), soon renamed the Priority Homicide Division (PHD), under the direction of Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson investigates the murder of a technological genius. Brenda has recently joined LAPD after a long career in law enforcement, including with the Atlanta and Washington, D.C., Police Departments. We soon learn Brenda is originally from Atlanta, Georgia, was CIA-trained, and was recruited by her former married lover, Assistant Chief Will Pope. Brenda is resented as an outsider by much of the LAPD and seen as an adversary by Robbery-Homicide's Captain Taylor, who initially persuades her squad to request transfers en masse in an unsuccessful effort to force Brenda's resignation. Brenda soon wins over her assistant, Sgt. David Gabriel, and the grudging admiration of the team when she shows them why she is called a closer; but her battle is far from over. As the season progresses, we see Brenda struggle to establish her authority and earn the respect of her squad, despite the efforts of Taylor and Detective Lt. Andy Flynn to both undermine her authority and hamper her investigations. Slowly, one-by-one, Brenda wins over her team; and, by season's end, she has earned the loyalty of them all, even the hard-boiled Det. Flynn, as they stand united against Capt. Taylor's final attempt to remove Brenda from the squad.
Season 2
Brenda is now firmly established as leader of Priority Homicide, with her team firmly behind her. The theme for Season 2 is partnerships, which is established as the opening episode centers around an exploration of partnership within the LAPD and in Brenda's life. The theme plays out as the Flynn/Provenza partnership comes front and center early in the season and as Brenda's relationship with Gabriel grows and strengthens while she forms an uneasy working alliance with Commander Taylor. At the same time, Brenda's romance with Fritz grows serious as they make the decision whether they should live together.
Season 3
The theme for Season Three is family. The PHD has now come together as a unified division, and their stories center on how they function as a family that must cope with a budget crisis. Episodes this season explore issues of family, beginning with a tale of bigamy, and ending with two stories of family pitted against one another. The season also explores the elements of family life in America, the secrets a family keeps and the horrors a family must face. In Brenda's personal life, we meet her father for the first time along with Fritz, with some interesting results. Brenda faces a personal health crisis even as her relationship with Fritz takes a large step forward.
Season 4
Season 5
Season 6
Season 7
Episodes
Season 1
Pilot
A seemingly routine murder investigation by the LAPD Robbery-Homicide Division is interrupted by the arrival of Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson, the new head of the LAPD’s Priority Murder Squad. An outsider from Atlanta in her first week of service, Brenda has already begun to face the resistance of long-time high-ranking officers and only her assistant, Sgt. Gabriel, seems willing to try to work with her.
About Face
Brenda and the team must investigate the murder of high-profile model Heather Kingsley, who dies as a result of nicotine poisoning. As Brenda investigates, she is drawn into the world of celebrity beauty, where illusion is everything, and the standard high.
The Big Picture
Brenda must fight for justice for two Russian prostitutes murdered by the illegitimate son of a Russian mafia figure. As she does, she confronts her own prejudices, and discovers the justice for these women is scarce in a world dominated by men.
Show Yourself
Brenda and the Priority Homicide Team investigate a sniper who is killing gang members in and around MacArthur Park. Offering assistance is an ex-Army colonel who believes the sniper to be his son. As an all-out gang war looms, Brenda tentatively accepts his assistance.
Flashpoint
Brenda enters the high-stakes world of pharmaceutical research, when a drug trial for new anti-addiction medication lead to the death of one of the principal investigators. Nothing is quite as it seems as she investigates the high-powered president of the drug company sponsoring the trial, the seemingly easy-going psychiatrist and the teenaged participants in the study.
Fantasy Date
Brenda finds herself the unexpected victim of violence against women when she investigates the murder of a congresswoman's daughter. At first, it appears the victim was engaged in sexual activity online that included an invitation to violence.
You Are Here
A judge is murdered in Griffith Park and Brenda's investigation takes an unexpected twist when her best witness, or perhaps her prime suspect, is his teenage son with autism. Challenged by the boy's behaviors, but convinced he has the clue to unraveling the case, Brenda must try to understand him in order to learn what he knows.
Batter Up
When a gay man is murdered, seemingly the latest victim of a string of hate crimes, Brenda must confront prejudices inside and out of the LAPD. Meanwhile, Flynn and Taylor step up their efforts to undermine Brenda once again, but with unexpected effects, as the team begins to rally around Brenda.
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