Karen Neal/TNTFarewell, Brenda Leigh Johnson! According to TNT, their network-defining drama The Closer is closing down late in 2011. By the time the series wraps, after a 15-episode seventh season, the show will have produced 100-plus episodes of the Los Angeles-based crime procedural starring Kyra Sedgwick.
So why is the network shutting down a winning series that has long had some of the best ratings of any show on cable?
Per the network, "The difficult decision to conclude the series with season seven was made by Kyra Sedgwick." Network and studio bosses then went on to praise the show's winning formula and Sedgwick's Emmy-winning portrayal of the hard-driving Southern belle. The head of Turner Networks, Steven Koonin says, "It's impossible to fully express our appreciation to Kyra Sedgwick, series creator James Duff and all of the other talented people who brought The Closer to TNT viewers."
Production on season seven begins in the spring, with the final episodes will no doubt air during the summer, when The Closer will likely be paired again with TNT's other lady-cop drama, Rizzoli & Isles, starring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander.
Will you miss Brenda when she's gone? We're guessing that Brenda and Fritz (Jon Tenney) are finally going to have a kid, just in time for the series finale, but maybe she'll continue fighting crime for the rest of her days, even if we're not there to see it? How do you think the series will end?