Mary McDonnell and 'Major Crimes' Set to Debut Tonight
Mary McDonnell joined the cast of TNT's hit series "The Closer" as Captain Sharon Raydor, playing the "frenemy" to Kyra Sedgwick's title character, Brenda Leigh Johnson. Now she is poised to take over TNT's Monday nights, with her own series, "Major Crimes," which premieres tonight after the series finale of "The Closer."
McDonnell and the rest of "The Closer" cast will make up the new ensemble, which follows the same unit as they grown and change with the loss of Sedgwick's character. The show will shift focus, though, and deal more with plea-bargaining and compromises instead of the traditional "whodunnit" focus of "The Closer."
Many are skeptical at whether McDonnell can carry her character into her own series, given the intense popularity of Sedgwick's original character.
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"I've liked Mary McDonnell on 'The Closer,' with her aggressive purr. Is Raydor interesting enough to hold the center of attention? Is she more than just the killjoy we've come to know on 'The Closer'?" asked the Boston Globe's Matthew Gilbert.
"I'm cautiously optimistic," Gilbert concluded. And it appears as though the majority of "Closer" fans feel the same way. While it may be good to keep the rest of the cast the same, there's something to be said for a character suddenly put in charge and asked to fill the shoes of another star.
McDonnell has a long career in both film and TV. She starred on "As the World Turns" in 1980 and quickly established a solid reputation. Fans may remember her from "Donnie Darko," "ER," or "Battlestar Galactica." It will be interesting to see how she takes the lead of this series, compared to her role as President Laura Roslin in her five years on "Galactica."
"Major Crimes" premieres tonight immediately following the series finale of "The Closer" on TNT.
