Major Crimes, the continuation series of The Closer, ran for an incredible six seasons, totaling over 100 episodes,
While the show didn’t receive as much critical acclaim as The Closer and didn’t earn any Emmys, the show was a success for TNT.
The ensemble-driven Major Crimes featured many of the same characters and performers as its predecessor, which rarely happens on television.
The show premiered after The Closer’s finale, with only a few casting changes, such as Kyra Sedgwick stepping down from her leading role.
What is the cast of Major Crimes doing now? Find out below!
Bonus: Corey Reynolds as David Gabriel from The Closer
Corey Reynolds is one of the few to appear in every episode of The Closer but not transfer to Major Crimes, mainly because his character David Gabriel got moved to the DA’s office Bureau of Investigation as their liaison.
He inadvertently became a leak within the department, making him distrusted by most of the squad by the series’ end.
With most of the cast transferring to the follow-up series, although we missed him, it wasn’t as painful as expected.
Corey Reynolds has found success since his run on The Closer.
He had a 10-episode run on another TNT show, Murder in the First, during its third and final season.
He’s also had multiple guest appearances, having starred on shows such as Criminal Minds, N.C.I.S.: L.A., All American, and Masters of Sex.
He currently can be seen as Sheriff Mike Thompson in the hit Syfy series Resident Alien, which finds him delivering some of the funniest lines on TV. His character is borderline incompetent, which is such a change from his run as Gabriel. This guy’s got range!
Bonus: J.K. Simmons as Will Pope from The Closer
J.K. Simmons is no stranger to Hollywood, even starring on the show Oz and the original Law and Order before his run on The Closer.
He played Will Pope on The Closer, and while he didn’t appear in any of the episodes of Major Crimes, the leading cast often mentioned his character.
His character got promoted at the end of The Closer, giving him more of a behind-the-scenes role in the L.A.P.D., which lent well to his character appearing off-screen.
While Simmons was successful before The Closer, his career blasted off once the show ended.
Simmons co-starred in the incredible movie Whiplash in 2015, which earned him the Oscar for best supporting actor. We can still feel the emotions we experienced while watching it. Such a brutal character!
He received another Oscar nomination in 2022, playing William Frawley on Being the Ricardos.
He’s also starred in different T.V. series, like Amazon Prime’s Night Sky and Invincible, but our favorite role on TV by far was in the dearly departed Starz series, Counterpart, where he played two versions of the same character in two mirrored worlds.
Simmons is a busy man, as he has a lot of projects coming down the pipeline that we can’t wait to see.
Bonus: Kyra Sedgwick as Brenda Leigh Johnson from The Closer
Kyra Sedgwick didn’t just star in The Closer; she WAS the closer.
Yes, it was an ensemble-driven series, but the show wouldn’t be what it was, or as successful as it was, without Sedgwick’s leading role.
Her role as Brenda Leigh Johnson earned her five Emmy nominations, finally winning her final nomination in 2010, and she deserved every one of them. As a result of her hard work, Brenda Leigh Johnson became a very well-known TV detective.
After The Closer ended, Sedgwick starred in many short-lived series, including Ten Days In the Valley and Call Your Mother, both of which she executive produced.
She also executive produced much of The Closer and another TNT show entitled Proof, which featured Jennifer Beals as a woman who was working with others to prove life after death. Excellent choice EPing that one.
She’s also ventured into directing, directing episodes of In The Dark, Grace and Frankie, Ray Donovan, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and more.
It’s no wonder she directed Brooklyn Nine-Nine, as she also guest-starred for twelve episodes as Deputy Chief Madeline Wuntch, Roy Holt’s nemesis for whom she also seemed to have a wee bit of a crush.
Kyra Sedgwick is married to Kevin Bacon, and they work together on short films and other endeavors. They can often be found together on social media, which is always fun.
Jon Tenney – Fritz Howard
Jon Tenney appeared in every episode of The Closer and 29 episodes of Major Crimes.
His character Fritz Howard married Brenda Leigh Johnson, and the two stayed married throughout Major Crimes, even without Sedgwick appearing in the series.
Fritz started as an FBI agent working with the LAPD as a Liason, but during the Major Crimes Season 3 Episode 9, he took over the command of the LAPD’s special operations bureau.
Even with the more active role in the LAPD, we missed him on the show and wished he had appeared in more episodes.
Before Major Crimes concluded, he directed four episodes of the series after having previously directed one episode of The Closer.
During Major Crimes, he guest starred on 15 episodes of Scandal and nine episodes of Hand Of God.
Post-Crimes, he was featured in five of the six episodes of the third season of HBO’s True Detective and one episode on Amazon Prime’s The Romanoffs.
He’s also had a three-episode guest run on And Just Like That, the revival of Sex and The City that airs on HBO Max, and even popped on an episode of Netflix’s The Lincoln Lawyer. We can’t wait to see where he pops up next.
Robert Gossett – Russell Taylor
Assistant Chief Taylor appeared in every episode of The Closer and 50 episodes of Major Crimes until his character was killed off during Major Crimes Season 5 Episode 11.
His death resulted from a courtroom shooting, with Dr. Morales unable to save him before he succumbed to his wounds, and it greatly affected the Major Crimes Unit — and those of us who watched!
The episode was one of the best of the series and also launched Sharon Raydor’s promotion to commander (that Taylor and Pope denied her in the past) into the fast lane.
Since his untimely end on Major Crimes, Gossett starred in five episodes of Crackle’s The Oath.
Following The Oath, he guest starred on Greenlead, The Enemy Within, Alll American: Homecoming, and the long-running soap opera The Young and The Restless.
In 2021, Gossett began a recurring role on one of the few remaining soap operas, General Hospital. His role earned him two Daytime Emmy Award nominations.
He’s amassed 87 episodes on the series so far, and in 2023, his character (Marshall Ashford) learned he was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia 40 years prior. We bet that was some gutwrenching stuff to watch.
While ABC hasn’t announced a renewal for General Hospital, we expect the series to continue. It is unknown how much longer Gossett’s storyline could appear in the show, but knowing soaps, it could go on for a while!
Kathe Mazur – DDA Andrea Hobbs
DDA Andrea Hobbs only appeared on five episodes of The Closer, but she recurred in over 50 episodes of Major Crimes.
Hobbs clashed with Johnson and Raydor during their tenures at the LAPD, but they all held mutual respect throughout each series.
Since the end of Major Crimes, Mazur has guest starred in multiple shows, like The Rookie, the recently canceled then-saved SWAT, For The People, C.S.I.: Vegas, and The Good Doctor. In other words, you have more likely than not been enjoying her talents quite a bit around here.
While she has no acting gigs in production at the time of this article, she is listed as an associate producer for a short film, Hatshepsut, and we have no doubt she’ll return to TV in no time.
Ransford Doherty – Kendall
Kendall (single-named Kendall) appeared in 79 episodes spanning both series, the most being on Major Crimes.
Kendall served as a Coroner’s investigator throughout both series, often appearing before any of the Major Crimes team at crime scenes.
His character remained shrouded in mystery through both through series’ runs, even though he appeared in many episodes. Hey, who doesn’t like a little mystery, right?
Since Major Crimes ended, Doherty has guest-starred in a handful of series, including Shameless, N.C.I.S., and the Disney Channel series Sydney to the Max.
Jonathan Del Arco – Dr. Fernando Morales
Dr. Morales was the deputy medical examiner throughout The Closer and Major Crimes, appearing in over 100 episodes across both series.
His role as medical examiner often involved him directly with the teams’ cases, even if it was just determining the cause of death.
He became very involved with two of Philip Stroh’s victims during Major Crimes’ final episodes, as the case’s uniqueness (and volatility) forced the team to work around the clock to protect their own.
Following the end of Major Crimes, Jonathan Del Arco reprised his two-episode guest role from Star Trek: The Next Generation as Hugh (originally Third of Five) on Star Trek: Picard for three episodes.
Hugh and Picard quickly became allies during his Next Generation run, and their reunion on Star Trek Picard was a welcome surprise.
We wish Hugh had survived for more than three episodes, but his character was instrumental in helping take down the Borg and Romulans during Picard’s first season, which is pretty damned noteworthy. Sadly, his character died on Star Trek: Picard Season 1 Episode 7.
Del Arco also starred in four of the eight episodes of the Netflix Miniseries From Scratch in 2022, if you happen to have watched that one.
Del Arco has guest starred in other shows since Major Crimes ended, including Truth be Told, Chicago Med, and on Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 1 Episode 6 as a nasty piece of work on death row named Sylvio Herrara, who held the key to murder that ultimately led the team to take down Elias!
Kearran Giovanni – Amy Sykes
Kearran Giovanni is one of the only cast members on this list (and on Major Crimes) not to have appeared on The Closer somehow.
Amy Sykes got assigned to Major Crimes from the Special Investigation Section. Throughout the series, it’s learned that she served in Afghanistan as a Military Police Officer.
She transferred to the Major Crimes division at the same time as Sharon’s promotion, and the order came directly from Sharon herself.
She couldn’t contain her excitement when joining the Major Crimes division, much to the annoyance of the other detectives (she and Sharon also mutually liked each other, which they both needed, as much of the division didn’t like either of the women).
Since Major Crimes, Giovanni has over five episodes on shows like Walker, The Resident, Black Lightning, and American Soul. On The Resident, she played a fitness guru who had the equivalent of a miracle supplement that, once again, got Chastain into hot water.
She also had shorter guest stints on shows like All Rise, Bull, and Dynasty.
We hope to see her in more, as we enjoyed her performance on Major Crimes. Amy’s character brought an interesting dynamic to the male-centric team in which she and Raydor were the only females around.
Before Major Crimes, she had a 31-episode run on One Life to Live. We sure didn’t want to forget that for all of you soap opera fans out there!
Graham Patrick Martin – Rusty Beck
Graham Patrick Martin’s Rusty had an enjoyable yet devastating plotline throughout Major Crimes, with his character first getting introduced in the final episode of The Closer.
The Closer Season 7 Episode 21 introduced Rusty as a witness to Phillip Stroh dumping a body.
Phillip Stroh became an overarching storyline across both series, with Rusty, Sharon, and Brenda Leigh at the forefront of the case.
Rusty was forced into witness protection throughout most of Major Crimes, and in season three, he got adopted by Sharon Raydor while still under the LAPD’s protection.
Rusty’s growing maturity and his status under witness protection took center stage throughout much of Major Crimes.
After Major Crimes ended with Stroh finally taken out of the equation, Graham Patrick Martin became a guest star on many different series, like All Rise, The Good Doctor, and S.W.A.T.
Outside of guest roles, he starred in the Hulu miniseries Catch-22, partially directed by George Clooney (who also served as an executive producer), based on the novel of the same name by Joseph Heller.
Martin played Orr, a World War II bomber pilot who shared a tent with the protagonist, played by Christopher Abbott.
The series faired well for Hulu, and the show got nominated for two Emmy Awards, and it was really fun seeing Martin in such an adult role.
Phillip K. Keene – Buzz Watson
Buzz was a unique character on the show, as he wasn’t a police officer until seasons three and four of Major Crimes, where he took courses to become a reserve officer.
He further took courses to be a reserve detective but still served as the Major Crimes’ Civilian Surveillance Coordinator.
After Major Crimes ended, Keene hasn’t done much. He appeared in several TV movies, including Lifetime’s Her Secret Family Killer.
He is currently married to the creator of The Closer and Major Crimes, James Duff.
Raymond Cruz – Julio Sanchez
Julio was assigned to the Major Crimes unit from the Gang Intelligence Unit, making him know all the local gangs.
He was often portrayed as the macho muscle of the team, and his vast firearm knowledge helped create his tough-guy persona.
At the end of the series, Sanchez was promoted to Lieutenant, transferring to the Criminal Intelligence Division.
While he appeared in every episode of The Closer and Major Crimes, he is perhaps most well known for his guest appearances on Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.
He played Tuco Salamanca, a minor antagonist in both series and now appears in a commercial for Popcorners with Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul. How fun is that?
After Major Crimes ended, he could be seen in The Curse of La Llorna, a horror movie loosely connected to The Conjuring franchise.
He guest starred in one episode of Madam Secretary before starring in the series Nova Vita with Titus Welliver and Dean Norris.
Nova Vita follows a wealthy entrepreneur who must face his corrupt business partner and a sinister organization to regain his life. The first season aired ten episodes, with Cruz co-starring in all of them.
Michael Paul Chan – Mike Tao
Tao was the team’s lead forensic specialist, processing most of the crime scenes throughout the series.
Tao was often one of the kinder members of the Major Crimes team, with his attitude being less macho-skewing and more of a “good cop.”
During the overarching Phillip Stroh storyline, Tao was forced to kill Stroh’s accomplice in self-defense, which caused him almost to miss the final confrontation with Stroh himself.
Before The Closer and Major Crimes, Michael Pau Chan had significant success on tv, guest starring in many series and in the 1994 TV series Valley of The Dolls.
After Major Crimes, he had one-episode of guest spots on The Good Fight and MacGyver.
He had a six-episode run on The Resident as AJ’s father (we miss AJ and the gang so much!) and a five-episode run on Apple TV+’s Hello Tomorrow! as Walt, a rocket mechanic involved in Jack Billings’ family history for five of the series’ ten episodes.
Hello Tomorrow! follows salesman Jack (Billy Crudup) as he and a team of associates try and sell timeshares on the moon.
Tony Denison – Andy Flynn
Andy Flynn, along with his friend Louie Provenza, was a cynical detective working for the Major Crimes unit.
Flynn managed to get past his cynicism and fall in love with his captain Sharon Raydor. Hey, shouldn’t somebody alert human resources of that relationship, given its power dynamic?
Seeing him mature from a cold-hearted man to someone who cared for Sharon and later cared for Rusty was impressive, especially since it was hard to imagine he had much by the way of emotional maturity.
Yet he even (eventually) agreed to a church wedding to please Sharon.
After Major Crimes, Denison guest starred on one episode of Criminal Minds as Police Chief Wayne Weigart. He had previously played Weigart on Criminal Minds Season 1 Episode 6.
Denison also had an eight-episode run on the courtroom drama series All Rise. He played Vic Callan, a small-time bookie who constantly gave his son, Mark, a difficult time.
Mark Callan was the deputy district attorney of L.A. County, and his father mainly appeared in All Rise Season 1.
It’s worth noting that he’s not the first actor we’ve mentioned in this article to have found himself on All Rise. That’s because director and executive producer Michael M. Robin worked on both series.
G.W. Bailey – Louie Provenza
Provenza is the other half of the cynical bromance with Flynn.
Provenza served as the assistant commanding officer for The Major Crimes Division and temporarily assumed command of the division when Raydor passed away.
On Major Crimes Season 6 Episode 13, Provenza, a 40-year veteran of the LAPD, fully assumed the command of Major Crimes, and although it seemed long overdue, working under Brenda Leigh and Sharon worked to soften his edges and broaden his professionalism on the job.
His tenure created a bit of an ego-centric personality and caused a rift between himself and Sharon when he got passed over for the promotion at the beginning of Major Crimes, but it all worked out in the end.
While G.W. Bailey hasn’t done much since Major Crimes ended, he attained a healthy resume beforehand.
He had recurring roles on shows like MASH, St. Elsewhere, and Goodnight, Beantown.
On MASH, Bailey played Sergeant Luther Rizzo and appeared in 14 episodes of the hit series.
After Major Crimes, he had a one-episode guest spot on The C.W.’s Stargirl. While we miss his awesome presence on screen, we hope he’s living his best life after such a storied career.
Mary McDonnell – Sharon Raydor
Sharon Raydor only appeared in 26 episodes of The Closer but took over for Brenda Leigh on Major Crimes.
Raydor and Johnson had very similar personalities, which caused them to clash often on the original show.
McDonnell’s Sharon was killed on Major Crimes Season 6 Episode 9 and only appeared in a video in the following episode. It was an incredibly emotional twist most viewers never imagined.
As a result, her death came as a shock to many, and even more so that she was removed from the iconic opening credits. That stunning development even came as a shock to the actress herself.
While McDonnell’s performance on Major Crimes was often powerful, she is best known for her Oscar-nominated performances in Passion Fish and especially opposite Kevin Costner in the Oscar darling Dances with Wolves.
On the TV side, she is pretty well-known in the science fiction community for playing President Laura Roslin on Syfy’s Battlestar Galactica (one of the best science fiction shows of all time!).
Since Major Crimes, she went on to recur in the short-lived Katey Sagal series Rebel and had a leading voice role on the animated series The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf.
McDonnell is set to star alongside Bruce Greenwood, Annabeth Gish, Mark Hamill, Carla Gugino, T’Nia Miller, and others in Mike Flannagan’s The Fall of the House of Usher, based on the Edgar Allen Poe short story of the same name.
The show’s details are still under wraps, but her role is likely a leading role for the Netflix horror/drama miniseries, which only intensifies our excitement for the show.
Did you watch Major Crimes or The Closer when they aired on TNT?
Who was your favorite character? Who was your favorite actor on the show?
Have you kept up with your favorites since the shows ended?
We sure hope that this article gives Major Crimes fans a way to reconnect with the actors they loved best.
Michael Stack is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.
