J K Simmons, Mary McDonnell and Kyra Sedgwick in "The Closer"
courtesy of TNT
Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander in "Rizzoli & Isles"
courtesy of TNT
“’The Closer’ & ‘Rizzoli & Isles’”

It’s summertime and that means “The Closer” is back for another run of new episodes on TNT. The difference is that this time “The Closer” has brought along a new friend for us to enjoy. The “friend” is the new TNT series “Rizzoli & Isles.” These back to back shows mean that Monday nights on TNT are better than ever.

“The Closer” is entering its sixth season and it is still one of TNT’s most popular shows. Kyra Sedgwick is perfectly cast as LA Deputy Police Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson. She is the person known to be an expert in the art of interviewing witnesses and possible suspects.

She also draws on the help of her crew, a motley collection of men who work for her and support her in every way. She also has the love and support of her husband Fritz (Jon Tenney) who happens to be an FBI Agent.

This year Brenda and her crew are housed in a new upscale, high tech building. This causes Brenda great concern as she misses the old place. It is amazing how much humor can be wrung out of Brenda’s discomfort.

In the second episode of the season Mary McDonnell reappears as Captain Raydor of Internal Affairs. She gets on Brenda’s nerves and vice versa but there is a begrudging admiration beneath the surface on the part of both women. Watching Sedgwicke\ and McDonnell go head to head is TV at its best.

This new season of “The Closer” promises to have all the fun, drama and heart of the previous seasons. The show would be interesting to watch even if Sedgwick was the solo attraction, but the supporting cast in this show is one of the most cohesive and talented on TV.

The new show “Rizzoli & Isles” is based on the novels of Tess Gerritsen. These two characters have had the leads in most of her recent novels. Rizzoli (Angie Harmon) is a Boston detective and Isles (Sasha Alexander) is the medical examiner. Though both names appear in the title, the first two episodes should have been called “Rizzoli” as Isles was definitely a supporting player.

From a review of these two episodes it seems the series will sink or swim depending on how much an audience is attracted to Harmon’s Rizzoli. I liked her a lot as she is a tough talking detective who is more than capable of doing her job. She also has a huge family with the super talented Lorraine Brocco playing her mother.

In the books Isles is involved with a priest while Rizzoli is married. It will be interesting to see if the series follows the parameters of the books. Hopefully they will and all the charm and suspense generated in Gerritsen’s books will be transferred to the series.

For the time being these two shows make for back to back entertainment on TNT, “The Closer” premieres Monday nights at 9 on TNT, followed by “Rizzoli & Isles” at 10PM.
 

 

 

 

 

©2010 Jackie K. Cooper

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