TV-14

It’s going to be a year of change for Deputy Police Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson and her Major Crimes unit as TNT’s THE CLOSER returns for its fifth season. The record-breaking crime drama, which stars Golden Globe® winner Kyra Sedgwick, continues to dominate the industry as ad-supported cable’s #1 series of all time. THE CLOSER’s fifth season is set to premiere Monday, June 8 at 9 p.m. (ET/PT) on TNT.

Sedgwick gives an unforgettable performance as Deputy Chief Johnson, a former Atlanta detective brought to Los Angeles to head a special LAPD homicide unit. She is a top-notch investigator with unparalleled interrogation skills and a track record for closing nearly every case with a suspect’s confession. On the home front, she’s not quite as adept at handling her personal relationships. Instead, work tends to take first priority in her life and even threatened to derail her wedding in the season-four finale.

This acclaimed series also features a strong cast that has garnered three Screen Actors Guild Award® ensemble nominations. Corey Reynolds (The Terminal) co-stars as Sgt. Gabriel, who was once a rising star in the department but now feels as if his career is stalling after an inter-office romance and breakup. Tony Denison (Prison Break) and G.W. Bailey (M*A*S*H) play Lt. Flynn and Lt. Provenza, a pair of solid investigators who have a penchant for goofing around at the risk of endangering the integrity of the squad’s investigations. Michael Paul Chan (Arrested Development) is Lt. Tao, the squad’s computer expert who tends to go overboard explaining the minutia of the latest technology used to help solve a case. Raymond Cruz (Breaking Bad) plays Det. Julio Sanchez, a passionate and intense gang expert who recently recovered from a gunshot wound and endured the loss of his brother.

The series also stars Jon Tenney (Tombstone) as Brenda’s husband, FBI Special Agent Fritz Howard, who finally managed to get her to the altar after much resistance; J.K. Simmons (Juno) as Brenda’s demanding boss, Assistant Police Chief Will Pope, who endures constant pressure from his superiors to make budget cuts and create more synergy among the divisions; Robert Gossett (Arlington Road) as head of Robbery-Homicide Commander Taylor, who frequently serves as the press liaison on Brenda’s cases; and Phillip P Keene (The DA) as Buzz Watson, whose video surveillance footage is often essential to Brenda’s investigations.

For the fifth season, THE CLOSER will explore the issue of change. Just as Brenda starts adjusting to married life, she loses someone very dear to her. In addition, the intra-office conflict between Sgt. Gabriel and Det. Daniels is resolved for good and another squad member goes through a complete attitude change after falling in love. The economy forces one of Brenda’s detectives to take a second job, while the fatal shooting of a suspect leads to career complications for another.

Even through the changes, Brenda and her Major Crimes unit will be hard at work tracking down some of Los Angeles’ toughest criminals. This year they’ll tackle such cases as the possible kidnapping of a corrupt financier, a multiple homicide involving a family, the killing of a security guard at a gang rehabilitation center and the shooting death of a white supremacist.

“After four years of really getting to know these characters, the fifth season marks a great time to see how they react to major changes both inside and outside the squad room,” said series creator James Duff. “We’re very excited about where we’re taking Brenda and her squad in the coming year.”

Since its premiere in 2005, THE CLOSER has earned numerous ad-supported cable viewership records, ranking as the #1 series of all time and scoring the #1 series telecast of all time. Each year, the show’s audience grows larger, with its 2008 episodes averaging more than 7.3 million viewers.