Fans of TNT’s “Major Crimes” and its predecessor, “The Closer,” could experience déjà vu Wednesday night.
Camryn Manheim (“The Practice,” “Extant”) joins the cast in the recurring role of LAPD Deputy Chief of Operations Winnie Davis, a by-the-book cop who locks horns with Major Crimes Division Captain Sharon Raydor (Mary McDonnell). It’s a table-turner for Raydor, the former internal affairs head who was originally an antagonist to Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) on “The Closer,” from which “Major Crimes” was spun off in 2012.
With the arrival of Davis, viewers will be reminded of the dynamic between Johnson and Raydor.
“It was definitely an intentional parallel,” says series creator James Duff. “It’s interesting to have [Raydor] on the other side of that now, to have her sort of in the same situation and see how she deals with it, as opposed to how Brenda dealt with it. The way she struggles to adapt to Winnie is great.”
Part of that struggle is the fact that both Raydor and Davis are in the running to replace Assistant Chief of Special Operations Russell Taylor (Robert Gossett), killed in a courthouse shooting earlier this season. With the victor being in a position to change the other’s career, a power play ensues. “The fierceness of their struggle is based on the future and who gets to control it,” Duff says.
For Manheim, a longtime women’s-rights advocate, much of the appeal of her new role is about feminism.
“I always love playing female characters in powerful positions because it sets the tone for what women in all walks of life can do,” she says.
It turns out the part was tailor-made for Manheim. A longtime “The Closer” and “Major Crimes” fan, she reached out to Duff about doing a stint on the show at some point.
“Gosh, you get a message like that from Camryn, and what do you do? You write a part. You have to!” Duff says. “She brings steel and an ability to go to a serious place. Just her presence when she walks on-screen, she’s a force of nature. She’s unafraid to be disliked. She’s unafraid to play tough. She’s going to show her character warts and all.”
I don’t think Captain Raydor gives Deputy Chief Davis the respect her rank allows. That really, really pisses her off.
- Camryn Manheim
One particular scene from Wednesday’s episode gives Manheim plenty to work with. Davis pulls Raydor — who is dating Lt. Andy Flynn (Tony Denison) — from an interrogation to berate her for undermining her authority.
“I don’t think Captain Raydor gives Deputy Chief Davis the respect her rank allows. That really, really pisses her off,” Manheim says.
When Flynn appears and says Raydor is needed back in the interview room, Davis responds, with a smirk and an unflinching stare, “Go ahead — your boyfriend’s calling you.”
Viewers are left to wonder about Davis’ true intent.
“Does it mean, ‘You don’t have a full commitment to this department because you have so many other extracurricular activities’?” asks Manheim. “Or does she have a personal vendetta against a captain who’s very well-respected and actually has a personal life and somebody that cares about her? You wonder if that is just doubly-loaded with envy.”
For her part, Manheim has enjoyed exploring her role’s ambiguities as the series — which was renewed for a sixth season — heads into the final eight episodes of Season 5.
“It’s so much more exciting when I can imbue a character with many layers of conflict,” she says.
“Major Crimes” 9 p.m. Wednesday on TNT
‘Major’ news?
During his chat with The Post, series creator James Duff discussed the potential for the reappearance of two key characters from the past: Serial killer Philip Stroh (played by Billy Burke) and Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick), who first taunted each other on “The Closer.” Stroh later appeared on “Major Crimes” and was last seen escaping prison and fleeing the country in Season 3.
Here’s what Duff had to say:
A name we haven’t heard in a bit — Philip Stroh — is mentioned in Wednesday’s episode. Will we see Billy Burke before this season’s finale?
Not before the end of Season 5, but it is an issue that has not been resolved. Why he would come back — that’s a big question that we would have to take some time to run at, some big story time.
In “The Closer” finale, Brenda left the LAPD and joined the district attorney’s office. Any chance Kyra Sedgwick will pop up?
Not in the back eight [episodes] here. We have a deal — Kyra has a deal with ‘Major Crimes.’ I’ll never say never. It’s a matter of what her schedule is and what our schedule is. And it needs to be event-worthy to have Kyra step back in. And it would need to be something incredibly challenging and important. But having said that, there is an event-worthy story coming in the next season.
Can you tease it a little?
I think you already asked a question about it.
Philip Stroh?
Yes. The Philip Stroh story.
So there’s a possibility Brenda could come over alongside DA Andrea Hobbs (Kathe Mazur)?
Yes.
— Eric Hegedüs