JK Simmons, James Duff and Kyra Sedgwick

 

James Duff, Creator

When James Duff wants his TV police crime drama to be real in every way, he calls the authorities. Literally. "I've got real police officers helping me make this authentic," the creator and executive producer of TNT's THE CLOSER says. "We don't shoot anything until they have been over every inch of the set."

Duff is a stickler for detail, just like Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson, the crime-solving savant of THE CLOSER. And efforts to make the series mirror real life have paid off. "People involved in law enforcement consider our show the most realistic of all the procedural dramas on television," Duff says. "That's what I'm told over and over again."

Episodes of THE CLOSER have been used in classroom settings at the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA., to demonstrate various interview techniques. But Duff doesn't sweat the details merely to win favor with law-enforcement types. He does it for all of the show's viewers. "If you create a truly authentic world for your characters to inhabit," he explains, "the more believable your characters become. That's what we're trying to do."

The first two seasons of THE CLOSER have been phenomenally successful. Do you feel any added pressure heading into season three?

I was blown away by everything that happened in season two. I never expected that we would consistently perform even better than season one or that Kyra Sedgwick would win a Golden Globe. I thought our best chance for winning the Golden Globe was our first year, because that's how it tends to happen with the Golden Globes. I was surprised and delighted and thrilled that the audience continued to expand during our second season. I'm hoping that we live up to their expectations for the third. That's why we came back early this year: to get our stories together, to make the mysteries even better and to give the characters more interesting things to do.

What can viewers look forward to in season three?

Last year, the overarching theme of all our episodes was partners. This year the theme is family. It's difficult when a protagonist and an antagonist meet on a regular basis, like Brenda and Taylor (played by Robert Gossett) have done. But it's even harder when two protagonists, two people you care about, two people you like, end up at loggerheads. That happens this season, and it happens over and over again. For example, Gabriel (played by Corey Reynolds) begins to go his own way. He begins to feel the bit in his mouth and he begins to chafe at the halter. Also this year, we have budget cuts at the LAPD. All 10 series regulars are back, but the budget cuts in the department will have an impact.

After two seasons of marveling at Kyra Sedgwick's performance as Brenda, does she still have the capacity to wow you?

Kyra's range is so vast that she can literally do almost anything. It allows the show to turn on a dime. We can go from comedy to drama in 20 seconds. Last year, we did an episode where a restaurant owner was murdered. It was gruesome and horrifying, and her husband was grieving and crazy. But we had an interview with a French restaurant owner that was hysterically funny. Then we went back to a very sad ending. And then we had an amusing epilogue. Kyra made it all work. What's more, when you think about it, Kyra sometimes is playing a character within a character. When Brenda sits down in that interview room, Brenda is herself playing a role. She is turning herself into someone the suspect can talk to. Brenda's a great liar, just like the killers are. And they sit in that room and lie to each other until Brenda gets to the truth.

Do Kyra and Brenda have many traits or foibles in common, or is it all the product of imaginative writing and brilliant acting?

Kyra is nothing like Brenda...except, I would say, for the way she really wants to get to the truth. Kyra likes to know the exact truth of what a scene is. She likes to know the exact human truth behind a character's journey in the story, and she wants to play it truthfully.

And the battle-of-the-sexes situations that Brenda often encounters as deputy police chief is truth?

In other shows, all the differences between the sexes have been sorted out and solved. That's not the reality. Anybody will tell you that, especially in the boys club that most police departments are. I look at these other shows, with women on Law & Order and CSI, and for the most part, even though they're attractive, they might as well be shaving. They show women competing in a man's world by becoming more masculine. And that's not really the way it works. Women don't suddenly come to work and check their hormones at the door and become guys. They do not trade the estrogen for the testosterone. They are women. Maybe Brenda doesn't have her personal life sorted out. Maybe she does have issues. She is uncertain what she wants in a relationship. Maybe she has conflicts that women have in the workplace. But when she succeeds, she succeeds because she is a successful woman, not because she is a successful man.

Which is more important in a show of this nature: to have an unforgettable mystery for your characters to solve, or to have unforgettable characters solving the mystery?

It has to work on all levels. A good mystery is great. But a good character is even better. If I asked you to summarize one of the plots from a Sherlock Holmes story you read years ago, you would probably be stumped. You might be able to begin it, but I'm not sure how far you would get. But there's no forgetting that classic character that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created.

When you have a large cast of 10 series regulars, does it make it harder or easier to write the show?

I think it's both. It's a great problem to have, because we have 10 series regulars and they're all wonderful actors. This is the kind of problem everybody should want. Serving all of those characters well in every episode is not possible, and keeping their stories alive in every episode is a great challenge. But when we solve the problem, it makes the stories stronger. What they can do, how they can help Brenda and how they interact with her have a lot to do with how the stories play out.

 

 

 

Kyra Sedgwick, Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson

As an actress, Kyra Sedgwick can do it all. But before TNT's THE CLOSER came her way, she says she never got the chance to "do it all" as one character. That's why the role of Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson of the LAPD is the ultimate for her. "I've played a lot of wonderful characters," Sedgwick says. "But never one that allowed me to bring out so many colors."

In addition to being a brilliant crime-solver, one with a rare talent for obtaining ironclad confessions, Brenda may be the most complicated, multi-layered female character on all of television. "She can be very comedic, she can be tragic, she can be an action hero," Sedgwick says, marveling at the material she is given. "We can take her anywhere, and that's exciting."

Sedgwick's reward this year for so deftly handling the many nuances of Brenda Johnson was a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Drama Series. Now she's heading into season three of THE CLOSER with the new title of producer and the same commitment to storytelling excellence. "My hopes for season three are the same as they always are: I hope our viewers are fascinated and riveted. I hope they're frightened. I hope they're filled with joy. I hope they laugh a lot. I hope they learn things about themselves. I hope they're touched in a myriad of ways by the work we do."

How gratifying has it been to have a show so well received by viewers and critics alike? Has the show met or surpassed your expectations?

It definitely has exceeded all my expectations. I knew we were doing something good, but you never know how something is going to be perceived. I have just been beyond thrilled with how everything has gone. It's been amazing. And I'm so pleased with our audience. They really get what we're trying to do.

How meaningful to you was winning the Golden Globe?

It was such a lovely, lovely, lovely night, and I was so happy to have my daughter and my husband there. And it does mean something. It means something in the industry, and it means something on a personal level. It was also a chance for me to get up there and thank the people I wanted to thank. It means a lot to me to say in a public way how much I love doing the show and what a great gift it has been for me and to thank the people who are a part of it.

Which is more important to you: to have an unforgettable mystery for your characters to solve, or to have unforgettable characters solving the mystery?

For me, it was always more about the characters than anything else. And I like to think that people who like THE CLOSER are more interested in these characters than the procedural crime drama per se. Certainly there's something fun about a mystery. But to me, it's always been about the characters.

Do you find, the longer that you play Brenda, that the differences between you and your character are eroding? Which is to say, are you becoming more like her? Is she becoming more like you?

No, I don't think so. But when I'm in the midst of playing her over the season, I can have a few Brenda dreams and Brenda moments. I feel very personally involved with her because it's a character I stay connected to for six months in a stretch. Something might happen in my daily life, and I'll go, 'Oh, we've got to put that in the show.' But, the character is still certainly very much a character and not merely an extension of who I am.

Do you like that Brenda doesn't sacrifice her feminity to be a boss in "a man's world"? Do you like that she doesn't have to be macho to solve crime?

I absolutely like that about her. She's a woman who doesn't apologize for her empowerment. She's also still very much a woman. I think it works for her. She doesn't need to act like a man to be good at what she does. Even when a man tries to get one over on her or intimidate her, she crushes him with her brain.

Having said that, isn't it interesting that series creator/executive producer James Duff says he originally imagined the title character as a male?

That's true. But I think he was smart to make it a woman, because I think we haven't seen a character like this before.

Will Brenda still have issues with sugar and junk food in season three?

Oh, definitely. Let's face it: She's a closet sugar addict. Right from the beginning of the first episode when she's eating yogurt with obvious disgust and trying to resist the ice cream, I knew this was a real gold mine. I knew we were onto something that could be pretty delicious.

What's your idea of the perfect comfort food?

It depends on my mood, but definitely chocolate is right up there.

Do you think Brenda will ever make an effort to tone down her Southern accent or exchange her wardrobe for something that's more L.A. stylish?

I think she has made an effort not to change. It's her ploy, even when she's not in the interview room. It works to her advantage when people underestimate her. A lot of people hear her accent, and their first reaction is to think she's stupid. And if she seems less threatening to people, they'll drop their guard. But there's another reason she hasn't changed her accent or the way she dresses: She's too consumed with the work to think about trying to assimilate. Fitting in is not something she cares about.

You've acted in many things directed by your husband Kevin Bacon. But what was it like when he directed an episode of THE CLOSER last year? And how do you feel about his coming back to direct again this season?

For me, it was the most natural thing in the world. But if you talk to the other actors on the show, they'll tell you I was really nervous the first day. I knew what a great director he was, but I wanted everyone else to like him. I wanted them to know how great he is. Afterwards, they all came up to me, totally unsolicited, and said what a great, great experience it was for all of them. And they're all thrilled that he is going to come back this year, which means a lot to me.

Do you have any interest in directing or writing an episode?

No way! I'm definitely not a writer. And I've always said no to directing. I would never say, 'Never,' but I don't think so, because my mind doesn't work that way. Plus, I don't know how I would ever direct myself and have a really big part. That would be hard.

Fair enough. Yet you have become a producer this season. What impact, if any, does the new title have for you and for the show?

Frankly, I've had a lot of responsibilities all along - or I've chosen to take on a lot of responsibilities, even before I became a producer. The production team has always been incredibly inclusive of me in all of the decisions, from casting to scripts. It's been very much a collaborative effort. So it's not that different for me. I think I've always put my two cents in, and they've always listened. The only difference is maybe I won't feel like I'm being intrusive or annoying now when I bring them my thoughts.