By Karen Moul

The Closer returns to TNT next month for its final six episodes, bringing the Emmy-winner to its long-awaited conclusion. Star Kyra Sedgwick announced her intention to end the show nearly eighteen months ago, giving executive producer James Duff plenty of time to write a satisfying ending.

Sedgwick is aware of Brenda Johnson’s place in television history. “I see her as a significant and seminal character in the lexicon of female characters ever played for a long period of time,” she recently told reporters.

“I think we broke a lot of ground and I think that we were able to consistently weave exciting storylines with deep and resonating character arcs. And I think that that’s something that’s very hard to do, especially in a procedural. And I think that we accomplished that.”

For his part, Duff admits that he didn’t set out to create a groundbreaking character. “When we created the series,” he said, “I wasn’t aware that we would be breaking ground. It hadn’t really occurred to me that way, except that I was watching these other procedurals and it seemed that they were asking women to be successful by acting like men. And that’s just not my experience in the workplace.

“Women are not successful because they act like men. Femininity is a power. It is not a weakness or something that needs to be compensated for,” he explained. “And so I was very concentrated on making sure that Brenda remained a woman in this world. I hope that resonates, and I think it did."

Sedgwick and Duff also shared some of their favorite moments over the last seven years but offered only vague hints at what lies ahead on The Closer and its new spinoff series, Major Crimes. Read the transcript of our conversation below.

The Closer returns Monday, July 9, at 9 pm/8c.

Conference Call
The Closer
Kyra Sedgwick and James Duff

June 20, 2012


QUESTION: Why did you decide it was time to leave, and did it have anything to do with [your husband] Kevin [Bacon] getting his show? Because I know you all have tried to stay with the kids from time to time, was that part of it - you had made the decision before Kevin got his gig, or how did that work?

KYRA SEDGWICK: No, it was before Kevin got his gig. I think we were in the middle of shooting, gosh it must have been Season 6 actually, when I started to contemplate the idea of what a Season 8 would look like. And it was something that I struggled with for many, many months - almost a year, really - to make the decision. And it just - it felt like time, mostly for me as an artist, time for me to do something else.

QUESTION: Was there an epiphany?

KYRA SEDGWICK: No, there really wasn’t an epiphany. It was just the idea of doing a Season 8, I think, felt daunting to me and overwhelming, and just didn’t feel right. I think as an actor you have to follow your instincts. And it was a hard decision because you’re putting so many other people out of work and you just - there was just a lot of factors that go into making that kind of decision. But I feel like it’s wonderful that we get to go out on top, and that James had a good long time to close this out in the right way, to finish.

JAMES DUFF: Yeah, she gave me an opportunity that most writers never have, which is the opportunity to end the show the way I’d always wanted to. And that was a great gift at the end of a great journey.

QUESTION: Well, I got to see four of the last six and I have to say they’re the four best of probably the entire series. They’re just fantastic, so I’m dying to see the last two.

JAMES DUFF: I feel like they were very good too, and I feel like Kyra was amazing in every sense.

KYRA SEDGWICK: Thank you.

JAMES DUFF: Thank you.

QUESTION: If each of you could just say what you hope that people take away from having seen The Closer?

KYRA SEDGWICK: Why don’t you go first, James?

JAMES DUFF: Well, of course first and foremost I hope they are entertained. The idea of doing a series is to distract people from the pressures and horrors of ordinary life, and I hope we managed to do that. And the second thing I hope they take away is this extraordinary perspective on the justice system that we got to view through the lens of this character.

We can look at the justice system several different ways, and Brenda Leigh Johnson’s way of looking at it, which is not entirely my own, but which is interesting, was a fascinating experience for me as a writer. And also, I hope they feel like at the end of the day we honored that, that the last six episodes are true to the character and true to the ethos that we tried to create.

KYRA SEDGWICK: I feel like I hope that people have higher expectations of where their entertainment dollar can be spent. I feel like we really delivered great stories and great characters, and I hope that this will encourage them to speak out, you know really good shows and not be satisfied with the norm or simple things. I also so hope as an actor that they really grew to understand and love this character as I love her and her complexities and her passion and her - and through [the] reality of being a woman in this kind of situation, and someone that they could really relate to.

QUESTION: What did you take away from set as your souvenir?

KYRA SEDGWICK: I didn’t take away anything from the set.

JAMES DUFF: What did we take away from the set?

KYRA SEDGWICK: Yeah, I didn’t actually take away any material things. Everyone on that set will, and the cast as well as the crew, will always have a very, very special place in my heart. I was given a beautiful seven-year yearbook from my makeup and my costume team. And they’ve taken many, many pictures over the years and they interviewed people and they put together this, you know like a yearbook, but for over the last seven years, and that was a really beautiful, beautiful memento to take away and it’s all in there.

 JAMES DUFF: And we also have a picture book from our last episode with - do you have that yet, Kyra?

KYRA SEDGWICK: Have you sent that out yet?

JAMES DUFF: Yeah, I have it. I have it at my - I should just walk it over to you. Gil Garcetti, who was our consulting producer and former District Attorney for the County of Los Angeles for eight years, has become a spectacular photographer, and does photo shows all over the world. And for our last episode he did a photo shoot through our entire last episode and we made it into a book, and we passed it out to everybody and the cast and the crew, except of course Kyra doesn’t have it yet. I don’t know why...

KYRA SEDGWICK: (And Kyra’s like), “I didn’t get mine.”

JAMES DUFF: I don’t know. You were over at the house and I had it. Or no, maybe you weren’t. Maybe I was...

KYRA SEDGWICK: That’s okay. No worries.

JAMES DUFF: ...I had it. I came over to your house and I didn’t have it. Anyway, that book is what I took. I knew those pictures were coming out. I didn’t take anything from the duplex. I thought about it, and then I thought, “You know what, I want to remember it,” and I didn’t want to focus on a single object.

QUESTION: Any chance you’ll be making a Major Crimes appearance then, Kyra?

KYRA SEDGWICK: Yes, for sure. I mean it’s definitely a possibility.

JAMES DUFF: It’s a possibility, yes.

SCIFI VISION: When The Closer was first on six years ago it was hailed as a groundbreaking show and Brenda was kind of a revolutionary female character. What do you guys think will be the legacy of this show after it’s over? How will people remember it?

JAMES DUFF: Kyra?

KYRA SEDGWICK: Oh, I was hoping you’d take that one. I see her as a significant and [seminal] character in the lexicon of female characters ever played for a long period of time, whether it’s a series on a movie series or a television series. I think we broke a lot of ground and I think that we were able to consistently weave exciting storylines with deep and resonating character arcs. And I think that that’s something that’s very hard to do, especially in a procedural. And I think that we accomplished that.

JAMES DUFF: I would say too, that when we created the series I wasn’t aware that we would be breaking ground. It hadn’t really occurred to me that way, except that I was watching these other procedurals and it seemed to be a lot of times that they were asking women to be successful by acting like men. And that’s just not my experience in the workplace.

Women are not successful because they act like men. Women are successful because women have their own feminine - I mean, femininity is a power. It is not a weakness or something that needs to be compensated for. And so I was very concentrated on making sure that Brenda remained a woman in this world. And I hope that resonates. I hope that - and I think it did. I think afterwards we saw a lot of single female lead shows where women were not in effect dressing to disguise their femininity or overexposing themselves either.

There seemed to be some acceptance that women were strong in their own right, not because they could act like men, but because they had powers as women.

If that makes sense.

QUESTION: So, when you guys (spoke at the) ((inaudible)) at Christmastime there was the revelation [that] the civil lawsuit had been dropped against Brenda, but was focusing against the City, and they were still going to go forward, and then they settled after she was dropped out with the Johnson Rule still intact. Is that going to be explored further? What (current implications) does the Johnson Rule have over Brenda and the team for the rest of the series?

JAMES DUFF: That’s part of the continuing storyline and we can’t answer that question fully except to say that naturally whenever you create a solution in government there are unforeseen consequences. And the Johnson Rule ends up being an admission of a problem that - I would say it becomes more problematic as the last six episodes unfold.

JAMES DUFF: I think it was a really unfair solution...

KYRA SEDGWICK: Yeah.

JAMES DUFF: ...personally, but it is the kind of solution that you find. And I wanted to show also the sort of stress, that really heroic -- dare I say -- public employees take on on a daily basis, and the slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune they endure. We’ve heard a lot about how awful public employees are lately, and I just wanted to remind people that they are serving us and it is a vocation and what they get for it. And what they get for it us sometimes things like the Johnson Rule.

QUESTION: Can you comment on whether Jason O’Mara might be returning as Billy Croelick?

JAMES DUFF: I’m sorry. I didn’t hear that.

KYRA SEDGWICK: Is Jason O’Mara returning, and unfortunately he is not.

JAMES DUFF: No, he was doing another series while we were finishing our...

KYRA SEDGWICK: He was doing... (Crosstalk)

JAMES DUFF: We loved him.

KYRA SEDGWICK: Yeah.

JAMES DUFF: We all loved him.

KYRA SEDGWICK: Yeah.

QUESTION: I was just curious because I noticed that Billy Burke was coming back as Phil Stroh, so I thought it might be interesting to see the two big villains that got away return for the last six episodes.

JAMES DUFF: Yeah, you know the interesting thing about Jason’s character is that he never actually committed a murder that we know of on Brenda’s watch. So, he’s not an unclosed case actually, technically. But, I would have loved to have seen him some time in our last year, he just wasn’t available. He’s such a great guy too.

KYRA SEDGWICK: Yeah.

QUESTION: Kyra, I’ve watched your films over the years and watched everything you’ve done and you’ve always been a star, but this show puts you over the top. I mean, we all know who Kyra Sedgwick is and we’ll never forget who you are as Brenda, and the amazing performance that you deserve all the awards. Did you feel a sense of that? Did you feel that sense that you had moved up the ladder further, or did that even bother you or consider it?

KYRA SEDGWICK: It made a difference in my recognition factor, for sure. And I think that people know my name now, and I think that’s always a good thing. And I think The Closer afforded me the opportunity to really show my wares and show the places that I was capable of going as an actor; the dark places and the funny places. And I’ll never forget that. That has been an opportunity that I never really knew that I was going to get. This character went everywhere emotionally and...

JAMES DUFF: I want to add something to that, and that is that she’s always been a great actress, always. And she’s always been someone who was capable of carrying the A story just in her eyes. But, the nice thing I think The Closer might have done is that she got a chance to actually prove that, and not many actors - there are a lot of actors who don’t get a chance to prove it, but she’s too modest to say so.

But the truth is she proved absolutely that what everybody thought about her was true, that she was in her being the A story, that she is a amazing actor and one of the most talented performers in the English speaking language. And she always had that and she always had that in her, but she got a chance to prove it and I think that’s a fantastic opportunity for an artist, and she won’t say it, so I will.

QUESTION: I agree 1000%. And before I let you go, how do you feel about your husband going and starring - apparently he got a great deal, they only do so many episodes. So how do you feel about him going on television now?

KYRA SEDGWICK: I’m thrilled for him. I think it’s such a satisfying venue and it’s so exciting to work - to stay - to stick with a character for many years if you get that opportunity. And it’s so wonderful to work with a family. I mean, Kevin’s always been very loyal and very much a family-oriented person, and I think that for those of us who like to have recognizable faces and people that we love and that support us and help us to do our very best work around us, it’s a unique opportunity and I’m thrilled for him. I’m really excited.

QUESTION: And James, you are still involved with the Major Crimes, right?

JAMES DUFF: Yes. Yes. We’re still doing Major Crimes.

QUESTION: Great. And you’re a part of it and everything?

JAMES DUFF: Oh, yes. Yes. I’m playing the same role in Major Crimes that I played in The Closer.

QUESTION: Something that I’ve loved about The Closer is the ability of the show to go from, like you said, Kyra, for an actor you get to go from those dark places to the funny places. And The Closer has been unique that you can do that in one episode where you can be laughing out loud one second and the next minute you’re thinking, “Oh my gosh, did that really just happen,” and really feel for the characters and what they’re going through.

And is that something that’s going to continue throughout the final six episodes? Will there be humor interlaced within what I’m assuming is going to be a pretty dramatic ending?

KYRA SEDGWICK: Oh, absolutely. I would say it’s a dramatic ending, but there’s a really fun romp in Episode 2 - I mean the second episode of the final six. And yes, there’s always an element of humor. I don’t think we could do our job as well as we do if we didn’t have an element of humor. There’s always a gallows humor within any kind of law - you know with cops they always have gallows humor, but there’s also the interpersonal, recognizable things about each other when you’re with a family or a cast a long time.

There’s a lot of interpersonal winks and people are still who they are, even in the midst of the most dramatic circumstances. So there are still a lot of laughs and a lot of good character fun stuff.

QUESTION: Good. And as a follow-up to that, will we be seeing some sort of crossover where an introduction is done near the end to lead up into Major Crimes? It seems like they’re going right into the next...

JAMES DUFF: I would say there is a crossover character. There is a character who transits between The Closer and Major Crimes, and he wasn’t planned, exactly. It just ended up being that way, and that The Closer is the end of The Closer. You know, there are a couple of allusions to what comes next, but my focus was entirely on ending the series, and incidentally launching Major Crimes.

So, the allusions to Major Crimes are buried and hopefully some of them will be a surprise in the next hour. But I will say I was more focused on concluding The Closer than I was beginning Major Crimes when I was writing the show. I think that’s the experience people will have.

SCIFI VISION: As you look back, do either of you guys have a favorite episode or a favorite story arc that will stand out in your memory?

KYRA SEDGWICK: That’s always so tough for me. I feel like we have so many years to choose from, it’s hard to pull out some favorites. I’m always most intrigued and feel most satisfied by the character arcs. And by those I mean some of the character arcs with Fritz and Brenda.

I loved their courtship, and then when he finally asks her to marry him in that doctor’s office, in between tears of realizing that she’s suffering from perimenopausal symptoms brought on by just - you know, that have to be operated on. He asked her to marry her in the most inopportune moment, but it’s beautiful and funny and wonderful.

I loved the whole cat arc, getting the cat and her not wanting the cat, and then the cat becoming an intrinsic part of her life, and then the eventual demise of the cat.

I loved the parents. I loved the fact that no matter what age you are, when your parents come to visit you’re suddenly that 12-year-old kid again who hasn’t learned anything, hasn’t changed at all. And I so appreciated being able to see that side of Brenda.

I loved the personal moments with some of her squad, when Raymond’s brother died, Detective Sanchez’s brother died and she had to be there for him in a very special and different way. Moments when she had to have Gabriel turn in his badge and his gun after he beats up the pedophile. I thought that was very difficult for her and he was - he is her favorite. And I loved that personal moment, so those were among my favorites.

JAMES DUFF: I think my favorite moment in The Closer overall is in the finale, and so I can’t really talk about it. But it is a scene between Brenda and Fritz halfway through where he begins to identify with the witness in a fairly spectacular way. And for me The Closer has also been about - one of the things I think that makes it appealing to the audience we have is about how to balance your professional life and your personal life, and how we never really know exactly how to do that. How we’re always making it up day-by-day, and not knowing where to put ourselves.

And she, in that scene, Brenda is perfectly poised between both places. And it’s the very, very long time we spend just on her face as that moment plays out. And to me it was just one of those things that - I like it for two reasons. One is because it is exactly where I always wanted the character to end up, and also because it’s one of those things that only Kyra Sedgwick could do. I felt like that was, for me, the most amazing moment of the whole series, and everything after that too, is good too.

What she does after that, after she has that epiphany, if you will, is fantastic too, but so much was building to that moment. And I think it was the very first scene we shot of the finale, and Michael Robin announced as we were shooting it that it was rarified air we were breathing, being able to...

KYRA SEDGWICK: Yeah.

JAMES DUFF: ...bring the series to a close. And oh my God, if you liked the show, that moment in the duplex between her and Fritz is just going to be - and John Tenney, he’s such an amazing actor too.

SCIFI VISION: Thanks for teasing us like that. Now we’ll be holding our breath for a few weeks.

JAMES DUFF: I have not oversold it. (It’s amazing) at this moment, (all right)?