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aka: Major Crimes

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This character sheet covers characters for both The Closer and Major Crimes, given that the latter is the After Show of the former. Characters are arranged based on order of introduction.

Main Characters

     Brenda Leigh Johnson 

Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/brendajohnson.jpg
"For Heaven's sake Fritzy! If we ever stopped lyin' to each other, how would we ever get to the truth?"
Played by: Kyra Sedgwick
The Southern-accented CIA-trained interrogator that leads Priority Homicide/Major Crimes. Nominated for Chief of Police in Season 6, but ultimately does not get the job. Abrasive, intelligent, calculating, and temperamental.
  • Action Girl: Subverted, actually. If you do see her pull her weapon, things are very bad. Not that she's not good with it as well.
  • Catchphrase: "Thank you. Thank you so much."
  • Cowboy Cop: While she starts off doing things by the book, she will get very creative in her ways to get a confession, take down a suspect, and/or close a case. Not surprisingly, this has landed her and Major Crimes into legal hot water several times and at its worst, resulted in a class action lawsuit being brought against the entire LAPD.
  • Cunning Linguist: Alas, except not Spanish...
    "I speak German, Russian, and am fully conversant in Czech, and I have to move to the one city where half of the people are from Latin America?"
  • Da Chief: Serves as this to the rest of the squad.
  • Didn't Think This Through: Brenda has had her moments where she's so zealous in closing a case that she moves without considering all of the consequences her actions might bring about upon her or her division. The Terrell Baylor case is the most egregious example of this. Simply put, she thought dumping Baylor into gang territory for the purpose of having some much-deserved street justice meted out to him would be the end of it but failed to consider that he still had parents who, having lost their other son to violence at the start of the episode, would not react to well to that course of action once they learned what had happened.
  • Fair Cop: One played by the very easy-on-the-eyes Kyra Sedgwick.
  • Fatal Flaw: Her laser-focused determination to close a case often blinds her to anyone's input or anything else going on in her professional or personal life; in the former case, she won't take or even hear any good advice about how she should proceed with a case to avoid possible legal ramifications (such as when Sgt. Gabriel voiced his misgiving about dumping Turell Baylor off in gang territory right before she did just that); in the latter case, it hurts her relationships with Fritz, Willie Rae, and Clay due to her being neglectful, deceitful, or sometimes both. And no matter how many times she's called out on this, she never gets better.
  • Good Is Not Nice: She's on the side of the law and wants "justice" for the murdered. However, she's not above bending the law to suit her needs when she wants to catch or obtain a confession from a culprit. Or discreetly arranging for said suspect to "disappear" if a Karma Houdini appears imminent.
  • Guile Heroine: Often uses manipulation to get the suspects to talk.
  • Hypocrite:
    • She's just so desperate for "justice" for the murdered that sometimes she arranges for people to be murdered by proxy to get it. It comes back to bite her hard near the series's end.
    • In "Fresh Pursuit" she's haranguing a Cowboy Cop for ignoring procedure and thinking himself smarter than his superiors, the FBI, and the entire system in his single-minded crusade to solve a crime. Raydor and Pope, watching the interrogation, make sarcastic commentary about whether she realizes what she's saying and if they should give Fritz a copy of the video to make her watch at home.
  • In-Series Nickname: "Miss Atlanta", mostly used during Season 1 by Taylor and Flynn. It's not meant as a compliment.
  • It's All About Me: While she's not a narcissist in the traditional sense, she suffers tunnel vision when working on cases. This tunnel vision can cause friction when said cases overlaps with other investigations.
  • Knight Templar
  • Lethal Chef: She burns toast on a regular basis, and Fritz often brings takeout home, even when Brenda's parents are visiting (unless Brenda and Fritz are taking them out to dinner.) She makes a passable clam linguini, but Rusty Beck is the only person she knows who's ever asked for seconds.
  • Manipulative Bitch: In a good way. Brenda is not above manipulating Pope, Fritz, and her team in her efforts to solve murders.
  • Married to the Job: Brenda veers in and out of this trope, which becomes somewhat awkward once she actually marries Fritz. Then it becomes more a Jurisdiction Friction marriage.
    • This is actually a source of insecurity for Fritz, as he worries that if she had to choose, she'd choose the job over everything else in her life.
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: Brenda Johnson is a sweet, scatterbrained Southern eccentric — until her suspect slips up and gives her the dirt she wants. At which point Brenda drops the act and said suspect quickly learns that she is a CIA-trained interrogator.
  • Parting-Words Regret: Or rather, lack thereof. Near the end of the series, Willie Rae keeps asking Brenda for some time to have a heart-to-heart only for Brenda to keep putting it off due to trying to solve yet another case. Cue Brenda going to wake Willie Rae for breakfast the morning after she closes her case and to finally have said conversation and discover that her mother has passed on in her sleep.
    Brenda (sobbing on Fritz's shoulder): Last time I saw Mama, she asked me if I had a minute, and I didn't have time just then, and now I'm the one who could really use a minute, and she has no time at all.
  • Prone to Tears: Despite being a tough Action Girl, our heroine is always one blink away from tearing up.
  • Replacement Goldfish: Fritz adopts an adorable orange kitten that he dubs Joel for Brenda to take the place of dearly-departed Kitty. Brenda's not having it at first but manages to warm up to Joel by the end of his debut episode.
  • Southern-Fried Genius: She went to Georgetown University and was trained in interrogation by the CIA. She qualifies.
  • Sweet Tooth: She hides candy bars and junk food everywhere, including her desk and purse. Serves as Product Placement for various brands.
  • Verbal Tic: When she's flustered or upset, Brenda will often repeat the operative word of her sentence three, three, three times. She gets it from her mother.

     David Gabriel 

Detective Sergeant David Gabriel

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gabriel_90.jpg
"Chief? We've got something."
Played by: Corey Reynolds
Brenda's personal assistant, in essence. Intelligent, logical, and perhaps the most educated (besides Tao) of the squad. Nicknamed "College Boy" by Provenza, and mocked by various people when he supports Brenda despite his reservations. Johnson's first supporter and her self-proclaimed favorite.
  • Acknowledged Absolution: Zig-zagged with Gabriel regarding his unwitting role in information being leaked to Goldman. Provenza, Taylor, Tao, and Buzz readily accept his apology. Sanchez literally turns his back on Gabriel. Flynn does accept, then tells Gabriel to put in for a transfer, making it a case of Flippant Forgiveness, and Brenda gives Gabriel a tongue-lashing for it but ultimately forgives him since it was her call note  that led to Baylor's death, and hence the lawsuit, in the first place... and that's only after Gabriel threatens to resign.
  • Butt-Monkey:
    • From the start, Sgt. Gabriel is portrayed as a put-upon lackey to Brenda, from having to ferry her from place to place like Miss Daisy until she learns her way around L.A., to watching over her cat's newborn kittens so she and Fritz can stay overnight in Mexico, to generally having to be the sounding board for her every frustration with a case, even when it doesn't involve him. Brenda hardly acknowledges his loyalty to her in return unless it's for a much-needed Pet the Dog moment, which are few and far between.
    • He gets bossed around by the lieutenants (mostly Provenza and Flynn) a fair amount also, but isn't shown pulling his own rank very often, despite Sanchez and Daniels being beneath him in the chain of command. And they don't respect his rank (or it isn't shown onscreen) on their own merit either.
    • After the leak in Major Crimes is traced to David's girlfriend, most of the rest of the squad treats him like this, with the only exceptions being Brenda, Taylor, and Provenza.
      • And that's the second time it happens. "Red Tape" opens with him drowning his sorrows while venting to Taylor that nobody's happy about Daniels' departure, and it's heavily implied that he's getting the blame. He specifically points out that Sanchez isn't speaking to him and calls Tao "polite, but distant." Fast forward to the above and this is exactly what happens there as well.
    • He has no luck romantically either, at least not onscreen. He's forced to keep working with Daniels after their breakup, and that only ends after she gets promoted to another position that he was gunning for, and as pointed out above, his second onscreen love interest is The Mole leaking information about the Major Crimes Unit to the Amoral Attorney spearheading a class action lawsuit against them.
  • By-the-Book Cop: Except for that one time. (see Police Brutality below.)
  • Conflicting Loyalty: The first season finds the squad's loyalties divided between Johnson and Taylor. Poor Gabriel tends to be the lightning rod for this particular clash, given that Taylor was a mentor to him and he was the first to accept Brenda as the new head of Priority Homicide, which gets him seen as a Professional Butt-Kisser by the others. Johnson even acknowledges this in a Season 1 episode where he was particularly torn.
  • Hyper-Competent Sidekick: For a given value of "sidekick," and with an even more competent boss. So much so that when Brenda moves at the end of Season 7, Gabriel follows her though in part because continuing to work with Major Crimes wasn't going to happen, after the reveal of the leak.
  • The Lancer: To Brenda.
  • Noodle Incident: It's never explained what led to him and Det. Daniels breaking up, let alone why it happened under such contentious circumstances.
  • Police Brutality: Surprisingly, of all the people on Priority Homicide/Major Crimes, it's Gabriel who commits this in "Ruby" when he beats a confession out of a racist pedophile-serial killer who targets African-American girls to learn where his latest victim was buried. It nearly tanks the case and earns him a three-week suspension, with Brenda telling him not to come back until he can keep his emotions in check should a similar case arise.
  • Professional Butt-Kisser: Zig-zagged. He gets an inflated reputation for this (with Provenza and Flynn in particular) when he's the first to support Brenda as the new head of Priority Homicide. However, he did personally lobby Pope to be part of the squad, and Gabriel goes to Pope with his idea for transferring PHD under the Counter-Terrorism Unit to save money, stating that he thinks Johnson will accept the idea better if Pope suggests it.
  • Sharp-Dressed Man: Only rivaled by Flynn, and Gabriel's casual fits may give him the edge.

     Provenza 

Detective Lieutenant Louie Provenza

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/provenzahead.jpg
"You know me, Flynn. Since when do I go out of my way to help anyone?"
Played by: G. W. Bailey
Oldest and most experienced member of Priority Homicide. Brenda's second in the chain of command. Bad luck with women.
  • Berserk Button: Sitting on Provenza's desk is a bad idea.
  • Deadpan Snarker: He gets a good deal of the best lines.
    Nothing tastes better than somebody else's wedding cake. Mine tasted like prison food.
  • Embarrassing First Name / Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": As far as Provenza is concerned, his first name is Lieutenant, even to his grandchildren. The only people he allows to address him as Louie are higher-ranking officers in the LAPD. He goes so far as to threaten Flynn if he repeats his first name/nickname after his old partner mentions it repeatedly in front of him.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Flynn.
  • Iconic Item: He often wears a white bucket hat while investigating a crime scene.
  • Intergenerational Friendship: With Rusty, starting in Season 2 of Major Crimes. He's also had one with Det. Camila Paige that dates back to before she became a cop.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Provenza is a stubborn know-it-all, a grumpy cynic, a four-time divorced womanizer, and a cheapskate who never met an offensive joke he wouldn't gladly tell. He can also be quite kind, such as when he stands up for Gabriel, dealing with victims (especially children), volunteering to play Santa and deliver gifts to an orphanage, having Tao buy a replacement Christmas present for an unemployed dad's kids, comforting Sanchez after his brother's murder and, according to Flynn's Twitter, he was quite concerned when Rusty got sick.
    • Brenda invokes this while trying to motivate him to help her close the case in "Dial M For Provenza":
      Brenda: For the next hour, I need the stubborn, rude, cynical, suspicious know-it-all you always try to be.
  • Married to the Job: Provenza has been divorced four times, which explains why he lives in a relatively unimpressive rental despite his salary (which is second only to Brenda's). It's also been stated that his first wife will receive half of his pension when he retires. He therefore refuses to retire:
    Provenza: I have a civil service job, and the only way that I am going to leave the Los Angeles Police Department is if I get shot, have a heart attack, and then you run me over. After which I will consider a disability position.
    Pope: But you really still haven't told me why.
    Provenza: When my first wife and I divorced, I agreed to split my pension with her from the day I retire. I'll be damned if she gets a nickel.
    Pope: That... I understand.
    • In the Major Crimes premiere, Pope (through Taylor) uses this against him when he requests a transfer after Raydor takes over the division. Taylor presents him with an ultimatum: "Either you stay in Major Crimes, or you retire."
    • After that conversation with Pope, there's a subtle thread that runs through the rest of both shows where he questions just how true this trope is. By Season 2 of Major Crimes, he's the last active member of his Police Academy class. After he remarries, his wife wonders when he plans to retire (which escalates briefly after he's shot in "Moral Hazard"), and his frustration with the internal politics of the Assistant Chief search in the back half of Season 5 has him seriously considering it.
  • Noble Bigot with a Badge:
    • His first reaction to Georgette is...unfortunate. Still, he does patch things up her in the end.
    • His remarks about hippies (regarding pot dispensaries) get him specifically assigned to deal with them by Chief Delk in "High Crimes". Bwahahahahah. By the end of the case, he does get to point out to Delk that it was a case of two drug dealers killing over money anyway.
    • In "Batter Up," in which the victim is a gay man killed outside a bar Where Everybody Knows Your Flame, he suggests that the other detectives "double up" on their rubber gloves since it's a "homo-cide." Brenda is not amused.
    • Although he's weirded out by the transgender girl victim of "Boys will be Boys", Provenza is deeply upset by her murder.
  • Number Two: Gabriel may be Brenda's favorite, but Provenza, as the ranking officer, is who she goes to first at a crime scene.
    • As Major Crimes goes on, despite his initial resentment of her taking his place, Provenza excellently steps up as Raydor's second in command, and makes a surprisingly effective team with her. After Raydor dies, Provenza is named commander — first on an interim basis, then permanently.
  • Seen It All: It takes a LOT to faze this man. One particularly notable incident involved a cooler sent to Major Crimes covered in plastic wrap and duct tape. After it was cleared by the bomb squad, Provenza has it taken into Brenda's office to open (Brenda had the day off). Upon opening it, the squad discovers a body that's been decomposing for five years. Everybody either instantly loses their lunch or walks out of the room with their mouth and nose covered... except Provenza, who calmly orders everybody out of the room, closes the cooler and grumbles about having to call Brenda. And in another episode, he can be seen quietly doing a crossword puzzle as the bomb squad clears a room.
  • Stop Saying That!: Provenza was the first person in the squad to forgive Gabriel when the leak in Major Crimes was traced to him through his girlfriend. He later shouts down both Flynn and Sanchez for their continuing Jerkass-y behavior toward Gabriel, even though Sanchez hadn't said anything that time.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: With Flynn.

     Andrew Flynn 

Detective Lieutenant Andrew Flynn

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/flynnhead.jpg
"The world is short one less scumbag. We shouldn't be investigating who did this, we should be giving them a medal."
Played by: Tony Denison
A veteran of Robbery-Homicide Division who gets pulled into a few early cases with Priority Homicide at Captain Taylor's request. Second only to Provenza in experience. Misogynistic (especially toward Brenda), frequently serves as a contrast to Brenda's ethics with regards to whose deaths are worth investigating.
  • The Alcoholic: Formerly this. He's been in AA for over a decade, with no signs of falling Off the Wagon.
  • The Atoner: It's the ninth step in AA's twelve-step program, and it's where Flynn firmly finds himself during Major Crimes, trying to repair his relationships with his children by being more open and honest with them. His "The Reason You Suck" Speech below could easily be about himself.
  • Fake Guest Star: For a few episodes in the first season. Which makes sense in this case, as Flynn's not officially part of Brenda's squad until...
  • Heel–Face Turn: He spends most of the first season running Brenda down behind her back, and being rude to the point of insubordination to her face. But in "Fatal Retraction" when he's suspected of falsifying evidence in an old investigation (which he didn't), the politically-minded Taylor tries to throw him under the bus to limit the damage inflicted on the department. Brenda, on the other hand, believes Flynn when he says he didn't do anything wrong, and she eventually proves his innocence. At the conclusion of the episode, Flynn angrily demands that Taylor transfer him to Brenda's command.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Provenza. Provenza's first wife invites him to the monthly gathering of all of the ex-wives, saying that they consider Flynn the fifth.
  • Indy Ploy: In "To Protect & Serve", he called in a bomb threat to LAPD headquarters from LAPD headquarters in order to evacuate the building and help Brenda get a suspect out of LAPD custody so she could question him instead of Robbery-Homicide. (He's also trying to get back in her good graces after botching the beginning of the investigation.)
  • Irony: He makes sexually-natured comments about —and to— Brenda in the early episodes of The Closer implying he would like to date her, and ends Major Crimes married to — and widowed by not long after her successor, Sharon. Both women are his superior officers in his division, he initially dislikes them upon meeting them for the first time, and to top it off, they're vitriolic foils of each other.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: "Heart of gold" is probably stretching it a bit, especially during his Closer years, but he does come across as a fairly nice guy underneath the layers of attitude. A standout case is in "Relative Matters", when he tells Brenda, whose father has just been diagnosed with thyroid cancer, that his sister had the same disease and made a full recovery, then offers advice if she needs it.
  • No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Gives a spectacular one despite his age after he gets viciously attacked after an AA meeting.
  • Police Brutality Gambit: Inverted in "Elysian Fields." Brenda needs a reason to hold the victim's girlfriend overnight, so Flynn takes advantage of the woman's obviously Hair-Trigger Temper and makes a snide remark to her. Sure enough, she hauls off and slaps him — and he immediately arrests her for assaulting a police officer.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: He gives a magnificent one to the killer and the killer's son in "All In."
    "You were always rich. Don't you get it? You had a father who cared so much for his family that he'd do every crazy thing he could do by trying to make up for all his failings. Having a dad like that means you were rich from the moment you were born. And you, Mrs. Deits... you were rich too. But you didn't want to be, did you? You wanted to have lots of money. Well now you got it! And how is that working out, huh?"
  • Rule of Three: When he's screwed up, he'll ask a series of three questions and answer them himself to acknowledge the truth of what's happening. Always Played for Laughs. Is often cut off by Provenza, like in "To Serve With Love":
    "All right. Look, Buzz. Have we made mistakes in the past 24 hours? Yes. Did we underestimate the potential for fallout? Absolutely. Did we take advantage of your kind nature? Probably. Would you be wiser not to trust us?"
    Provenza: Flynn!
  • Sharp-Dressed Man: Flynn is always dressed smartly no matter the occasion, save for if he has to go undercover.
  • The Teetotaler: Has completely cut out alcohol from his life.
  • That One Case: He's got several. Invoked during an argument with Brenda in "Speed Bump."
  • Took a Level in Kindness: By Season 3 of Major Crimes, Flynn has softened a fair bit.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: With Provenza.

     Michael Tao 

Lieutenant Michael Tao

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/taohead.jpg
"Babs, patron saint of bomb techs. Ain't she cool?"
Tech man and ballistics expert of the squad. Encyclopaedic Knowledge of just about anything tech-related, sometimes too eager to share it.
  • Asian and Nerdy: Oh yes. The only person on contemporary TV who could possibly best him at this trope is Grant Imahara. He actually got into medical school, before he decided he could better help people as a detective than a doctor.
  • Black Sheep: His father, brother, and sister are all dentists, and Mike actually spent a year in medical school before deciding to switch career paths.
  • Fake Guest Star: Early on, bizarrely.
  • Fake Nationality: Averted and invoked. Both Michael Paul Chan and Lt. Tao are Chinese-American, but Tao, being fourth-generation American, doesn't speak a word of Chinese.
  • Happily Married: Notably, the only one on the squad who is until Brenda and Fritz get hitched.
  • Non-Action Guy: As compared to the others. It's a pretty extraordinary situation if he's getting physically involved, though he can certainly handle himself. In Major Crimes he's seen relatively more often in the field.
  • Older Than They Look: Michael Paul Chan was 55 when the show premiered. Tao looks maybe in his 40s.
    • Brenda confirms Tao's age as 45 during the first season.
  • Secret-Keeper: He may be the only person in the LAPD who knows about Fritz's heart attack.
  • Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: He can't help himself. Brenda and Provenza end up cutting him off the most.
  • The Smart Guy: He's usually the go-to guy for anything tech-related.
  • That One Case: The Reichman murder in "Dismissed With Prejudice" becomes one for him when the original conviction is overturned and he re-investigates the case.
    • The murders of Malcolm Reese, Eric Dunn and Rachel Gray that come to the forefront in "Hindsight" is one for the entire LAPD, but Tao in particular is affected because his former partner perjured himself during the Reese trial and was stalking Gray after she ended an affair they were having. When he reappears, the resentment between the two is obvious.

     Julio Sanchez 

Detective Julio Sanchez

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sanchezhead.jpg
Played by: Raymond Cruz
Formerly of the Gang Task Force, tends to bring intimidation and awareness of the street to the murder room. The whipping boy of Season 4.
  • Awesomeness by Analysis: It looks like random graffiti, but Sanchez quickly deduces that it's actually two gang members bragging about killing someone.
  • The Big Guy: Despite his short stature compared to Tao or Gabriel, Sanchez is one of the most likely characters to be involved in an action sequence.
  • Badass in Distress: In addition to Taking the Bullet below, he gets stabbed in "Two Options."
  • Bruiser with a Soft Center: Deep beneath his thick skin, he's really quite sensitive. For example, he and his wife never got to have kids, so when he has temporary custody of a kid for work purposes, he hangs on to him a little too long. The experience leads him to apply to become a full-time foster dad.
  • Butt-Monkey: If something bad happened in Season 4, chances are, it happened to Sanchez.
  • Character Development: Where Season 4 of The Closer put Sanchez through the wringer, Season 4 of Major Crimes begins with him completing department-ordered therapy for his Hair-Trigger Temper. His subplot throughout the season is him coming to terms with (and learning the truth about) his wife's death.
  • Cold Sniper: Often takes a sniper position when the LAPD rolls out big guns for a confrontation. It's an Informed Ability for much of the series, as he doesn't actually snipe anyone until the Major Crimes episode "Dead Zone", where he hits a white supremacist between the eyes through a truck windshield.
  • Hair-Trigger Temper: Has this, and it gets worse a fair bit during Season 3. In Major Crimes, he finishes therapy, and is much less likely to fly off the handle. Which doesn't mean he won't pretend to.
  • Taking the Bullet: Does this for Provenza in "Time Bomb."
  • Therapy Is for the Weak: His initial opinion after his brother dies. Then the Unsettling Gender-Reveal in "Junk in the Trunk". Off to therapy he goes.

     Irene Daniels 

Detective Irene Daniels

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/daniels_4.jpg
Played by: Gina Ravera
Forensic accountant and liaison with Homeland Security. Engages in a relationship with Sgt. Gabriel for one season.
  • Noodle Incident: It's never explained what led to her and Gabriel breaking up, let alone why it happened under such contentious circumstances.
  • Put on a Bus: Promotes out of the squad to Intelligence after season 4.
  • Twofer Token Minority: Black and female.

     Buzz Watson 

Reserve Officer Buzz Watson

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/buzzhead.png
Played by: Philip P. Keene
Civilian sound and surveillance man for the squad.
  • Ascended Extra: Doesn't do much in Season 1.
  • Butt-Monkey: A minor example, but he always seems to get press-ganged into providing more assistance than his job calls for. Especially when the law requires that police officers/equipment not be involved; being a civilian, Buzz can do things the squad can't.
  • Deadpan Snarker: When he speaks, he can (and has) given Provenza a run for his money.
    Buzz: You want me to go out there and pretend to be Lt. Tao?
    Brenda: Yes! Exactly!
    Buzz: Do I have to over-explain everything?
    • Most of his best burns are at Provenza's expense. When he asks Buzz to take his much-younger new girlfriend and show her some of his interrogation interviews, Buzz says, "Sure. I'll pull up the one with John Wilkes Booth."
  • Early-Installment Weirdness: He's not in the pilot, and during the first season, his hair is longer and blonder than in later seasons.
  • Hidden Depths: A seemingly throwaway line from a letter his sister wrote to Santa Claus mentions that he lost his father as a kid. In the Major Crimes Season 2 episode "Risk Assessment", Buzz tells Rusty that his father and uncle were murdered during a robbery, and the case was never solved. This made him want to become a police officer, but he yielded to his mother's objections and went to school to study film instead. A subplot of Season 5 is Buzz reopening the case — and eventually solving it. In the final scene, Provenza announces that Buzz is headed to the police academy.
    "Now here I am, directing an important movie every day of the week, helping rescue those we can. Maybe rescuing ourselves a little, if we're totally honest about it."
    • Related to this, he's the second-best Spanish speaker on the team because his stepfather is Mexican.
  • The Silent Bob: Buzz doesn't get many lines early in the series, but he can say volumes with a look.
  • Throw the Dog a Bone: In "To Serve With Love," Flynn and Provenza talk Buzz into helping them make a delivery for some quick cash but mislead him about the amount he'll receive. By the end of the episode, he's the only person eligible for a reward for helping catch a criminal. He offers to share the reward with the lieutenants: the same amount they'd told him he'd get at the beginning.

     Fritz Howard 

Special Agent (later Deputy Chief) Fritz Howard

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/howardhead.jpg
"I'm glad I've finally become the kind of person people can count on."
Played by: Jon Tenney
Brenda's boyfriend during the first season, fiancee during seasons 2-4, and husband from season 5 on. Winds up engaging her in jurisdictional confrontations and assisting her in getting information from the FBI; becomes the official FBI liaison with the LAPD during season 6, and continues in that role in Major Crimes. By the summer finale of Season 3 of Major Crimes, Fritz has been offered (and accepted) a job offer to become the new Deputy Chief of Special Operations Bureau.
  • The Alcoholic: Was formerly this. He now attends AA, has been in rehab, and has now been sober for several years.
    "Being an alcoholic isn't such a bad thing... so long as you don't pour yourself a drink."
  • And Starring: Tenney gets this spot in the opening credits throughout The Closer. In Major Crimes, he's only listed in the episodes he actually appears in.
  • Berserk Button: Do not disrespect his AA meetings or attempt to offer him drugs.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: As Brenda describes him, Fritz is the kindest, most decent man ever. That does not mean that he is a pushover, as a corrupt ICE agent and an arrogant Indian diplomat learned the hard way.
  • Da Chief: Becomes this for Special Operations Bureau.
  • FBI Agent: It's the source of more than a little Jurisdiction Friction in the series.
  • Happily Married: Surprise! Despite the usual ups and downs, Fritz and Brenda have been rock-solid since the middle of season one, and it's made very clear that whatever foibles she may have, Brenda loves her husband intensely.
  • The Teetotaler: Is this throughout all seven seasons. Whenever Brenda is drinking wine, he's drinking water, though it's because he's a recovering alcoholic.

     Will Pope 

Assistant Chief William Pope

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pope_6.jpg
"I'm sorry. Sometimes she forgets there are other people. In... the world."
Played by: J. K. Simmons
Brenda's highly political boss and Assistant Chief of Operations. Willing to play both sides against the middle. Serves as Da Chief to Brenda, and can vary between stickler for protocol and slicing through red tape, depending on mood and circumstance. Cheated on his first wife with Brenda around nine years before the beginning of the series, and when this is revealed it creates no small amount of tension.
  • The Alleged Boss: Brenda can get away with a lot, regardless of Chief Pope's opinions. Occasionally subverted, but usually not.
  • By-the-Book Cop: Mostly.
  • Da Chief: As noted.
  • The Ghost: Becomes this during Major Crimes, as he's promoted to Chief of Department and Taylor takes his job.
  • Has a Type: He says this to Brenda about the victim in "Lover's Leap", who he'd had an affair with:
    Maggie was... honest. Except about me, with her husband. She was a relentless investigator... She believed in what she was doing. Her personal life may have been a bit of a mess, but she was extremely professional, and she was stubborn when she was right... which she almost always was.
  • Rank Up: It's teased at throughout the series, but Pope is eventually promoted to Chief of Department for the LAPD.
  • Took a Level in Jerkass: He does not acquit himself well during the search for a new Chief of Police in the first half of season 6, especially when Brenda also becomes a candidate. She calls him out on this, and even though she gets advanced in the process and he doesn't, he eventually gets past it.

     Russell Taylor 

Commander, later Assistant Chief Russell Taylor

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/taylorhead.jpg
Played by: Robert Gossett
The commanding officer (as Captain in Season 1) of LAPD Robbery-Homicide. Very much willing to break regulation and delve into gray areas to get the job done, despite being extremely political as well. He's later promoted to Commander, and serves as the LAPD liaison with the media. By Major Crimes, Taylor has been promoted to Assistant Chief of Operations, Chief Pope's old job.
  • And Starring: Robert Gossett gets the "with" in Major Crimes, at the end of the credits.
  • Butt-Monkey:
    • At least in Season 6, a good chunk of Major Crimes goes out of their way to make Taylor miserable. This ranges from dumping a lot of evidence in his super-cubicle office to messing up his Christmas plans.
    • Also, Taylor was teased with a promotion to Assistant Chief, as newly-promoted Chief Delk was planning on promoting him to replace Pope... then Delk died of an aneurysm, Pope replaced him and Taylor's promotion got frozen.
  • Heel–Face Turn:
    • Starts out in opposition to Brenda taking over PHD, ends with being willing to point out her blind spots, but accepts her leadership of the squad, over three seasons.
    • As of Season 7, this is looking more like a Heel–Face Revolving Door. Taylor is nice or nasty depending on how things look for his job prospects, which makes his real opinion of Brenda unclear.
  • Obstructive Bureaucrat: Zig-zagged portrayal. Taylor is very media-conscious and has a tendency to cover his ass, but at the same time he does genuinely care about doing his job, and in Major Crimes begins venturing towards becoming a Reasonable Authority Figure. For an example, a lot of his interference in "Out of Bounds" is because Taylor is anxious to avoid a gang war in a local high school — not just because it's a racially sensitive murder, but also because his youngest son attends that same school.
  • Rank Up: Is first a Captain commanding Robbery-Homicide Division, later promoted to Commander, coordinating LAPD departments and media relations. By Major Crimes, Taylor has been promoted to Assistant Chief.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Is taking major steps towards becoming this in Major Crimes, including standing up to a U.S. Congressman who's been interfering with an investigation by Major Crimes. Though, being Taylor, there's also a few steps back along the way.
  • Slave to PR: This puts him in conflict with Brenda and Priority Homicide/Major Crimes as much as his ego does.

     Fernando Morales 

Dr. Fernando Morales

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/drmorales.jpg
The Deputy Medical Examiner, the no-nonsense and professional Morales performs autopsies and often provides clues and information to the detectives. He is an immigrant, originally from Uruguay. He is also gay and sometimes provides insight about the gay community to the detectives.
  • Black Sheep: In "Dead Drop" we learn that he's from a family with deep roots in law enforcement. While he works with the LAPD, he's not a cop.
  • The Coroner: Usually seen in his operating room, wearing scrubs.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Doesn't take any BS from the detectives or anyone else.
  • Hidden Depths: His job requires a certain distance, but if a child is murdered, he tends to show emotion.
    • He is visibly shaken when he learns that one of the murdered paramedics in "Executive Order" was an old friend.
  • Mr. Exposition: As the medical examiner, he is often the source of info dumps, giving the detectives and the audience crucial information.
  • Promotion to Opening Titles: Sometime during season 2 of Major Crimes.
  • Twofer Token Minority: He is both Latino and gay.

     Sharon Raydor 

Captain (later Commander) Sharon Raydor

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cmdrraydor.jpg
"You have been a homicide detective for how long, and you still expect life to be fair?'"
Played by: Mary McDonnell
In charge of FID, the Force Investigation Division, essentially Internal Affairs. Introduced in Season 5. Comes into conflict with Brenda when she investigates Gabriel after an officer-involved shooting (he fires on a suspect who allegedly fired first). Foil to Brenda, but portrayed sympathetically; they come to something of an understanding after working together to investigate a case where cops are killed in the line of duty, although their interaction is still tense. Gets her own It's Personal episode when she suspects one of her detectives is being abused by her husband in the season 5 finale.

Was chief instigator of getting Brenda on the shortlist for Chief of Police in Season 6, and grudgingly admitted that she actually admires — or at least respects — Brenda in the ninth episode. The two are currently on — well, on a bit of a more even keel these days, even if they still don't exactly like each other.

After Brenda retired, Raydor was transferred to Major Crimes to replace her.


  • Action Girl: Like Brenda, if she pulls a weapon, it means the cowpies have just hit the fan. But some people might think that being an Internal Affairs cop means she can't handle herself in the field. These people would be wrong, wrong, so very very wrong.
  • And Starring: Mary McDonnell got the 'with' on The Closer, just before Jon Tenney (Fritz Howard). It was probably a result of having just finished Battlestar Galactica at the time of her initial debut. In Major Crimes, of course, she's fittingly given Kyra Sedgwick's old spot at the front of the credits.
  • Bait-and-Switch Tyrant: Although the "switch" took awhile, she is now firmly on Major Crimes' side.
  • Bothering by the Book: Raydor has shown an astonishing talent for this. Even more astonishingly, she almost always does it to help Brenda.
  • Breakout Character: Nobody expected Raydor to be popular, let alone popular enough to helm the spinoff series Major Crimes.
  • Fair Cop: She's played by Mary Frakking McDonnell.
  • Fire-Forged Friends:
    • After the events of the first half of season 7, Brenda and Sharon are firmly allies and very definitely have each others' backs — Brenda outright admits that "I know she's protecting my flank." (This does not mean, of course, that there is not still much eye-rolling about each others' quirks on both sides. Because there is. But they're getting there.)
    • She slowly develops this with the team throughout Major Crimes, and they all band together over their shared disgust at Rusty Beck's sperm donor father, and her concern over one of her detectives who was injured in the line of duty.
  • Good Is Not Nice: During The Closer, when acting as an antagonist toward the team. Mostly averted during Major Crimes, where she mostly is nice.
  • Good Is Not Soft: Definitely not. And this trope isn't averted on Major Crimes — nicer, yes, but just as strong-willed and driven to serve justice. The first time she fires her weapon in anger, killing a neo-Nazi who had just shot up a courtroom, Provenza reassures her that she had to shoot the guy. Sharon responds that her issue isn't with killing the guy; it's that she couldn't find it within her to feel bad about it.
  • Guile Heroine: Just as much so (if not nearly as manipulative) as Johnson. Demonstrated when she tells Pope and Taylor she received a private job offer, knowing Taylor would gossip about it, and when Goldman mentions it to her, she smugly informs him it never existed but he's just proven there is indeed a leak in the unit.
  • Internal Affairs: And fabulously jarring (and sometimes hindering) in most of her appearances, even though the rationale for her slavish adherence to the rules is simple: she wants everything done perfectly according to regulation so that there is no way someone can claim the rules weren't followed.
  • Mama Bear: Do not hurt Rusty Beck. Ever. He may not be her son by blood, but he is her son by heart.
    "We have passed the apology stage of our relationship with Mr. Dunn, and are now at the 'Please don't let me drive over to his house and shoot him in the head' stage."
    "My primary concern as his mother — as his guardian, is his safety."
    "I do not need your permission to seek medical attention for my son."
  • Obstructive Bureaucrat: To Brenda and Major Crimes. And given that she's Internal Affairs, she's likely seen as this by the entire LAPD. It's probably not a coincidence that her debut episode is called "Red Tape."
  • Parental Substitute: Raydor is a much-needed maternal influence in Rusty Beck's life. As Season 3 of Major Crimes shows, she is more of a mother to him than his actual mother. So much so that she actually legally adopts Rusty.
  • Promotion to Opening Titles: In season 7; and then led the Spinoff Major Crimes when The Closer ended.
  • Rank Up: She's promoted to Commander at the end of Season 5 of Major Crimes.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: To the Major Crimes division and to Rusty.
  • Rules Lawyer: It is part of her job description, after all. See Bothering by the Book.
  • Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Is very cold to suspects and even to other police officers, but is genuinely sweet past that surface. She borders on The Stoic levels during The Closer, though. Notably, in Major Crimes she actually hugged Sanchez (who'd been shot the week before) and is giddily happy to see her son Ricky. Everyone looks at her askance at that.
  • Took a Level in Badass:
    • In "Death Warrant," where she shocked Brenda's whole team by shooting a bad guy right between the eyes with a bean bag round.
    • And then there was the time she ran down eight flights of stairs (barefoot!) and broke down a door with a fire extinguisher to save Rusty from his stalker.
  • Undying Loyalty: To the police force and the people she cares about.
  • Worthy Opponent: To Brenda. Raydor is proof that you can respect someone...while disliking them immensely. Though the dislike fades over time.

     Rusty Beck 

Rusty Beck

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rustyhead.jpg
"Am I really that self-centered that the things I worry about the most when it comes to other people are actually about me?'"
A kid living on the streets after being abandoned by his mother, Rusty witnessed Phillip Stroh trying to dispose of his latest victim. He eventually becomes Sharon Raydor's legal ward, and moves in with her in the first season of Major Crimes, and is getting his life together with Sharon's help and influence.
  • The Chessmaster: Literally, in that he loves chess and is great at it, but he also tends to deal with his problems through manipulation and planning.
  • Character Development: Rusty goes from being a needy, self-centered brat to a thoughtful, responsible young man over the course of the show.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: Very much so. He never knew his dad, his mom was a junkie who let her boyfriends beat on him (so that they'd beat him into being straight!), he was abandoned at a zoo, and he had to prostitute himself to support himself. And if that wasn't enough, he ends up being a witness to a serial killer burying his victims.
  • Extremely Protective Child: Constantly makes excuses for his drug addict mother, who abused, neglected and finally abandoned him. He even gets her an electric toothbrush when she's struggling with the consequences of her drug use. Later, when he's adopted by Sharon Raydor, he becomes very protective of her as well.
  • It's All About Me: This was pretty much his behaviour throughout Season 1 of Major Crimes, though he grows out of it over the course of the show.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Mostly in Season 2.
  • Last Episode, New Character: His first appearance is in the finale of The Closer, but he's a big part of Major Crimes.
  • Straight Gay: Is gay, but doesn't act stereotypically gay.
  • Took a Level in Kindness: Very much so. Compare his behaviour in Season 3 and his behaviour in Season 1.

Characters exclusive to Major Crimes

     Amy Sykes 

Detective Amy Sykes

Played by: Kearran Giovanni
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sykeshead.jpg

An ambitious SIS detective, who transfers in to Major Crimes in the series premiere, with Raydor's permission.


  • Action Girl: Sykes is very handy with a weapon, and is usually on point with Sanchez when conducting raids.
  • Expy: Of The Closer's Detective Irene Daniels by way of being Black, female, competent, and acting as something of a foil to Sanchez when partnered with him. And dating and living with her superior fellow officer, Lt. Chuck Cooper. Unlike Daniels and Gabriel, however, they don't split up.
  • Fair Cop: Invoked by "Firearms Francine" in "Hindsight" when she sends Sykes to go see Mark Hickman after matching the bullets to an Uzi last seen 12 years ago.
    Francine: You are young and you are pretty. Mark Hickman will talk to you.
    • And again by Raydor in "Conspiracy Theory" when she assigns Sykes and Paige to interrogate the owner of a national chain of "breastaurants".
    • Crosses over with Good-Looking Privates, as she was military police in Afghanistan before joining the LAPD.
  • Fire-Forged Friends: Became this with the rest of the Major Crimes team after holding on to a suspect's gun and refusing to let go, even after repeatedly getting her head beaten in.
  • Professional Butt-Kisser: Was this at the start of the series, but as time goes on she's gotten much better.
  • Remember the New Guy?: She's the second person shown at the crime scene in the first episode, and Provenza addresses her without introduction as if he's always known who she is.
  • Shell-Shocked Veteran: Though a lesser example than most, hints have been dropped that Amy's time in the military affected her much more deeply than she has ever let on, including one episode which suggested that she might have been a victim of sexual assault.
  • Twofer Token Minority: Like Det. Daniels before her, due to being the sole Black woman on Major Crimes.

     Emma Rios 

Deputy District Attorney Emma Rios

Played by: Nadine Velazquez
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dda_rios_2.jpg

A young DDA who's assigned to the preliminary hearings for Philip Stroh's trial during season 2.


  • Establishing Character Moment: She bursts into the medical examiner's room and starts asking Raydor questions, then sees the body on the table and immediately looks like she's about to vomit.
  • Fake Guest Star: Averted. Nadine Velazquez is billed as a main cast member for all of Season 2, and in her limited appearances afterwards, she's listed among the guest stars.
  • Obstructive Bureaucrat: Often clashes with Sharon and Rusty about how best to prepare Rusty to testify. Specifically, she doesn't think Rusty should remain in Sharon's custody. She gets better.
  • Put on a Bus: Disappears after Stroh escapes in "Special Master, Part 2."
  • Running Gag: If she's at a crime scene and she sees the corpse, she's not going to react well to it.
    • She can't even deal with photos of violent crime scenes. In "Batter Up", Provenza tells her point-blank that she's going to have to grow up and learn to deal with this kind of thing if she wants to get the big cases.

     Wes Nolan 

Detective Wes Nolan

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wes_nolan_2.jpg

An SIS detective who's been undercover with the Zyklon Brotherhood white supremacist group for more than five years until the events of "Dead Zone" and "White Lies, Part 1" force him out. He ends up playing a key role in the group's demise and is transferred to Major Crimes afterwards.


  • Ascended Extra: His role seems to be over with the fall of the Zyklon Brotherhood, but Fritz transfers him to Major Crimes, since he'll be needing something to do while he gets used to being on the outside.
  • Becoming the Mask: Averted. Being embedded with white supremacists for five years hasn't had any effect on him in that respect.
  • Casanova Wannabe: He's good-looking, charming, and laid-back, but he can't close — those qualities have gotten him a lot more information about criminal cases than phone numbers. It's possible that he's just out of practice (as he tells Tao: "Five years I've lived undercover surrounded by girls with swastikas tattooed on their bodies"), and while his exploits are generally Played for Laughs, Paige seems a little bit more interested in him than she's willing to admit.
  • Fair Cop
  • Fake Guest Star: Even after Nolan's officially reassigned to Major Crimes, di Tomasso is still listed among the guest stars for the remainder of Season 5.
  • Hero of Another Story: He was undercover for five years, and Fritz estimates that he'll spend at least the next two more testifying at the trials of various Z-Brotherhood members.
  • The Infiltration: Has been on one for five years.
    • Provenza gives him a special assignment in "By Any Means" which has him gone for parts 2 and 3. He's trying to break through Rusty's security detail. He succeeds.
  • Promotion to Opening Titles: For Season 6.
  • Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: A mild case. Mostly down to him having to readjust to working with a squad and actually tell his superiors what he's doing.
  • Unwitting Pawn: Happens to him twice in Part 1 of "By Any Means":
    • He gets a photo sent to his phone from Rios's neighbor Carl, and he sends it on to the rest of the squad. It is actually malware than enables "Carl" and Philip Stroh to eavesdrop on everyone in Major Crimes.
    • He also gives Carl his card, which Stroh uses to impersonate him, get into Jim Bechtal's house and kill him.

     Leo Mason 

Commander (later Assistant Chief) Leo Mason

Played by: Leonard Roberts
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/asstchiefleomasonhead.jpg
"So if you're wondering, 'What makes this a Major Crime? I guess I do."
Head of the Criminal Intelligence division who is promoted to Assistant Chief at the end of Season 5, replacing Russell Taylor.
  • Bald of Authority
  • Dark Horse Victory: He ends up being named Assistant Chief over Raydor and Fritz, among others.
  • Promotion to Opening Titles: For Season 6.
  • Rank Up: Was a Commander leading Criminal Intelligence; is now Assistant Chief.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: He's more pragmatic and less motivated by internal politics than his predecessors were. Though he doesn't always agree with or understand Raydor's and/or Provenza's positions and plans, he's willing to listen as well as explain his own decisions, while maintaining his own authority.

     Camila Paige 

Detective Camila "Cami" Paige

Played by: Jessica Meraz
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/camilapaige_9.jpg

A rising star in Missing Persons who assists Major Crimes in the disappearance of the St. Joseph's Three. Transfers over after the case is solved. Has good instincts, but sometimes lacks tact and is still learning how to be part of a team.


  • The Baby of the Bunch: Is the youngest and least experienced member of the squad when she joins.
  • Fair Cop: It's why Raydor assigns her and Sykes to interview the owner of a chain of breastaurants in "Conspiracy Theory."
  • Intergenerational Friendship: With Provenza. He worked the case of the drunk driver that killed her parents.
  • Promotion to Parent: When she was twenty, her parents were killed by a drunk driver, leaving her to raise her five younger siblings. They have all either graduated or are attending college (the youngest is a sophomore at Stanford) and she is justifiably proud of that fact.
  • Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Her habit of interrupting people, particularly senior officers, often leaves the rest of the squad shaking their heads.

Alternative Title(s): Major Crimes

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