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The Fire Next Time
Unbelievably, The Closer returns this Monday for its fourth season and I don’t know what’s been more amazing, the actual joy of working on something you love (with people you admire), or the challenge of creating, writing and performing fresh stories that entertain our audience. Personally speaking, these are the two things I consider most every day: gratefulness and responsibility.
We believe our viewers depend on us for great performances in authentic crime stories with several twists and turns featuring a good look at the curious personal life of Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson of the LAPD; the cast, crew and writers concentrate on delivering episodes that fulfill these requirements. My partners, Michael Robin, Greer Shepherd, Andy Sacks and Kyra Sedgwick hope and pray we won’t disappoint.
This year’s series theme is all about power. Hence, we begin with the primal force of nature. Fire burns through LA’s Griffith Park, killing five people and leaving Brenda with a unique and serious problem. She can’t drag the flames into an interview room and demand to know how they started. Fire makes no exceptions for the fearless, smart, dedicated or kind; it doesn’t stop to inquire about the quality of one’s soul; it consumes everything in its path. That, to me, is power unquenchable and unfettered, nature’s id run free, with all its terrible trappings intact; the burning park in the center of L.A. metaphorically encapsulates civilization’s ongoing struggle to rule the planet on which it hopes to survive. Brenda’s desperate hunt to apprehend a malicious Prometheus, with a reporter tagging her every move, dramatizes just how vulnerable our modern culture remains to its most ancient foes.
This year, Brenda’s talents will be called upon to examine what happens to the least fortunate – those who have no power or position in our society at all – as we find a paroled resident of a half-way house run down by a car. She will test the power of immunity, facing down those who believe their positions or their relationships insulate them from the justice system. Lts. Provenza and Flynn find themselves on the wrong side of the power of the purse when an attempted murder sting goes comically wrong. Det. Sanchez discovers no matter how neatly ordered the world, there is no protection against random acts of violence. When two Tijuana police officers end up shot to death in the back of a pick-up truck, Brenda must peer through a looking glass at the power of corruption and hope not to see her own reflection. And, finally, we end up our ten episode summer season by examining the one, invisible power forcibly acknowledged by every human being in every culture in every civilization throughout the history of the world: time. The clock is seldom on our side. The game ticks down to its final hour, minute, and second with the merciless sparkle of the fuse on a bomb.
We premiere on Monday, July 14th, and we welcome back pyromaniac Bill Croelick, the possible serial killer Brenda encountered her first year on the LAPD. Played by the terrific Jason O’Mara, we discover Mr. Croelick standing opposite Griffith Park as a good portion of that famed nature preserve surrenders to wildfire. Will Brenda’s second shot at Croelick land better than her first? All I will say is that the image of fire, which slowly shrinks through the episode from an uncontrollable force of nature into the illusion of tame domesticity, should warn against ever feeling that we are in complete control of any form of nature, including our own.
And one last purely personal note. Hunt Baldwin and John Coveny started out as staff writers on The Closer our first season and worked their way up through sheer talent and tireless enterprise to become co-executive producers. They are responsible for some of our best scripts (and more than a few good laughs). They leave us in mid-season to start their own show on TNT about the manic world of modern advertising. Trust Me, which premieres sometime this winter in tandem with our last five episodes, concerns the manner in which one sells things to the world without putting one’s own soul on the auction block. I’ll remind you later, but keep an eye out for two master storytellers approaching their experienced prime.
It is my goal to be a more diligent correspondent during this summer season. And if readers will remind themselves that prose is not my primary medium of expression, I may be able to scribble a few more entries here than I have in the past. I look forward to hearing from you as we go along.
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Jul 11, 2008 5:36 PM
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Can't wait for the new season! Thanks for giving us such a good show to watch. 
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Jul 13, 2008 9:51 PM
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Thanks for the wonderful preview! I am positively giddy with excitement over the start of the new season. I can't wait!
It sounds like this season is going to be amazing! (not that I would expect anything less)
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Jul 14, 2008 8:46 AM
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WHEE!! The Closer returns in 11.5 hours!!
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Jul 14, 2008 9:33 AM
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i am so excited jason o'mara is back as croelick!! i have been waiting for the writers to bring back this amazing character, who is such a great foil to brenda!!
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Jul 14, 2008 9:47 AM
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You won't disappoint as long as you keep the team intact and make sure Fritz and Brenda stay a couple. Also, bring back Brenda's parents, they are always a hoot. I love this show and think you do a terrific job, so just keep doing what you are doing and I will stay a viewer. I don't want any of the team dying or going elsewhere, unless the actor really wants to leave the show which would be a dumb move on their part.
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Jul 14, 2008 11:30 AM
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I too love this show and have had the start date on my calendar for weeks! I wish we could see a bit more of Fritz but please keep the tension there and Brenda's fear of commitment. It would be interesting to see Kevin Bacon guest star as someone who catches Brenda's eye
(briefly!). The whole cast is great as well as the writing and I just wish there were more than 10 episodes. Welcome back Brenda and gang! Now I must fumble through my handbag for something sweet.
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Jul 14, 2008 2:13 PM
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Mr Duff I'm so excited at the return of The Closer on Monday.I'm particularly thrilled at the fact that you've hired my favorite former daytime actor Stephen Martines for a recurring role this season. I'm hoping his character will be on the show throughout the full season and perhaps return next season as well. The Closer was already one of my favorite shows and the addition of Stephen Martines to the cast is an added bonus & incentive to watch such a great show.
On behalf of Stephen Martines fans everywhere Thank Yew!!!
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Jul 14, 2008 2:32 PM
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I am so looking forward to the return of The Closer. It is absolutely one of the best dramas on TV. Intelligent writing, superb acting, high quality, it's all there. I hope this is taken as the compliment it is meant to be. There are aspects of this show that have reminded me of the series Columbo, one of my all time favorites.
This is a show that I caught and loved right away. I've purchased the DVDs and plan to get my wife hooked as soon as we have time to watch them. She's a fan of intelligent TV also. Thanks, keep it up!
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Jul 14, 2008 2:44 PM
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I love "The Closer" and it is my absolute favourite television show. The only time I was ever able to watch it on TV was after the first season has aired and TBS aired an episode - I was hooked and went out and bought the DVD the next day. Living in Canada and not having access to TNT means that I have to wait every year for the DVD to be released. And it is worth it. I have my entire family and family friends hooked on the show, so please know that you have many fans in Canada and would love for there to be a television broadcaster who could simulcast the episodes in Canada. The episodes, even if you remember exactly how the crime was committed, are delightful to watch over and over again because of the wonderful relationships that grow between the characters.
Matthew in Toronto
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Jul 14, 2008 4:58 PM
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We love The Closer, and are really looking forward to tonight's episode.
Thank you so much for taking the time for the fans; it's much appreciated.
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Jul 14, 2008 5:57 PM
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Great episode tonight! I'm looking forward to a great fourth season!
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Jul 14, 2008 10:37 PM
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First time viewer here. Great Premiere for Season 4. You summed it up perfectly in terms of what you were working at accomplishing. I am looking forward to more shows and from your blog, I must say, You have me Excited!! Love twists and turns, adding a little humor, location shots, Great Cast and their interactions, the vulnerability, realness that comes across, and Yes, The Writing is Superb. Special Note: I Especially like it that you have brought on, a favorite of mine, Stephen Martines, as the reporter, who certainly kept Chief Brenda on her toes. Bravo JOB!! All Around!!! I am too hoping that he comes back for more seasons. I must say, The diversity of this cast, nothing like it on any other shows. A++++
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Jul 15, 2008 8:00 AM
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Mr. Duff. Watched the show last night and as with your December show, lost my characters. They don't seem to be there in that same magical way. I do hope it is that they have been separated for so long and that they will get with it.
But, more worrying was the story line. It was not the genius that you have produced. I do hope the loss of the two writers is the cause of this.
I love your show and I so hope it continues in the same magical way. As you say, having this ridiculously talented cast has created this magic and we all know just how fragile that is.
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Jul 15, 2008 10:32 AM
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loved the opener... So glad The Closer is back!
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Jul 15, 2008 11:21 PM
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