Phillip P. Keene from Major Crimes - Q&A

Phillip P. Keene, who plays fan-favorite Buzz Watson on Major Crimes and The Closer, is with us today to answer questions about the show and the webisodes he stars in with Graham Patrick Martin. The webisode series is called Identity: The Long Shadow. The show features a story about the murders of Buzz's father and uncle that weaves in and out of this season's narrative of Major Crimes but also stands alone. It's a great piece of storytelling and provides more perspective on the character of Buzz Watson. You can see the episodes that have aired to date, below. 

This season Buzz has really ramped up the search for the person who killed his father and uncle. What made him to decide to focus on this now? How have their deaths impacted his character? Is he fearful of what he might find?

This has been a long time coming.

Buzz made a promise to himself that he would one day find the men responsible for the deaths of his father and uncle. It is only after many years working for the Major Crimes Division of the LAPD that Buzz took the opportunity to become a reserve officer so that he could personally work on the 30 year old cold case of his father and uncle's murders.

Their deaths had a profound impact on Buzz. His family was torn apart and Buzz felt more than a little responsible for their murders because they stopped on their way home to get cash after having spent what they had on souvenirs for he and his sister. While Buzz has set goals for himself throughout his life his main focus has always been working toward attaining the skills necessary to achieve his main objective: bringing the murderers to justice. 

From getting his film degree to securing a job at the LAPD's SID ( Scientific Investigation Division) and eventually working with Major Crimes, Buzz has had little time for a personal life. I don’t think Buzz is fearful of what he might find, rather, he is anxious about discovering the necessary evidence to find and convict the killers.  


How is filming the Identity video log webisodes different than filming the episodes of Major Crimes? 

Filming the Identity vlogs is not that different from shooting a normal scene from Major Crimes. We are lucky to have the same crews and use our sets. Occasionally we will go out to a location and shoot. Truth be told, I do feel a bit more pressure shooting these scenes only because the creator of both The Closer and Major Crimes is directing these shoots and he’s not a person you want to disappoint! 

What is the most fun aspect about playing Buzz? What is the most challenging? 

I would have to say that the best part of playing Buzz is getting to work with a great family of actors and a great and dedicated crew of talented professionals. I have learned so much from everyone I have worked with these last twelve years. The most challenging bit has been trying to stay true to Buzz’s Boy Scout personae. Also he is much younger than I am so that presents its own set of challenges. 

If you could choose to play any other Major Crimes’ character than Buzz, who would you choose to play and why? 

If there were a male version of Deputy District Attorney Hobbs I would love to play that. I love how that character comes in and takes no prisoners. Strong focused and unapologetic.

Are you working on anything else now that you’d like to tell us about? 

Shooting the series takes up most of my time, so the opportunity to audition for other things is rare. However I am fortunate in that I do get to participate in some extracurricular activities through a few organizations. First there is The Pan Am Museum Foundation, a non profit 501(c)(3) dedicated to creating a museum in order to preserve Pan Am’s legacy. 

The Sunshine Kids, Dee Dee knows how important this particular organization is to all of the Major Crimes family and more recently I have discovered another passion: Covenant House. Their mission is to reach out to homeless youth living on the streets and offer them hope and opportunities to turn their lives around. 

What advice do you have for aspiring actors? 

If there is anything I can say to aspiring actors it is this: Ask questions. Ask them in class, ask them on set, ask them on stage, ask them in life. Don’t be afraid to let on you don’t know something. You will never learn anything if you don’t ask. The only dumb question is the one you didn’t ask. Learn to listen. 

Your character has a lot of special relationships on the show – he mentors Rusty, he is mentored by Provenza. You really sell those relationships on the screen. How do you approach those scenes?


This is an easy one. Buzz has a lot of special relationships on the show that is true. And so does Phillip. My coworkers have become part of my family. We celebrate each others successes and help each other through those moments when things are tough. We have a real affection for one another and I think that shows up on screen. I feel we all treat our workplace as a kind of home and we get to welcome our guests (guest stars) in and hopefully make them feel welcome so that they may do there best work and as a result make us look good. 


A big thank you to Phillip Keene for taking the time during a busy shooting schedule to answer our questions. 


Here are the epsiodes of Identity: The Long Shadow, that have aired so far:

You can check out our interviews with Tony Denison (Lt Andy Flynn), Kearran Giovanni (Detective Amy Sykes), CI Kendall (Ransford Doherty) and Major Crimes' costume designer, Greg LaVoi. 

Photo credit: Riker Brother Photography

Major Crimes' Costume Designer - Greg LaVoi

Greg LaVoi - photo credit Kendall Sherwood

Hollywood costume designer Greg LaVoi is here today to tell us about Emmy nominations, Barbie and how he dresses the characters on TNT's Major Crimes. Not only has Greg been with Major Crimes since the beginning, he also did the costumes for The Closer. 

How did you first know that you wanted to be a designer for television? 

I thought I'd have a career in film since I started designing low-budget Roger Corman features, but I met a producer who had an ABC Saturday morning kids show he was producing Land of the Lost ( NOT the 1970's version but a 1990's remake) I gained my first Emmy nomination for costumes on that show... I designed a bunch of movies of the week, a sitcom and then in 1999 met Mike Robin and Greer Shephard on a single camera show "Brutally Normal" and I've worked for Shephard Robin ever since!...the rest is TV history.

How do you approach the wardrobe for Major Crimes? 

What are the steps you go through from idea to shooting? My designing starts with reading the script. I design for reel people...not real people...but my success is that I make it look real. So I try and shop wherever that character might buy their clothes...Neiman Marcus to JC Penney to thrift stores.

Do you use particular designers for particular stars? Do you favor one designer for Mary McDonnell? 

Miss McDonnell wears Armani, Michael Kors and the Row beautifully. I buy most of the detectives suits at a downtown LA suit shop where real cops shop! This season Provenza's new wife Patrice is buying his clothes, so Provenza has new suits, ties and pocket squares from the sartorial men's store Carroll and Co. in Beverly Hills.

What recommendations do you have for anyone who wants to be a costume designer for television? 

Be a collaborator. Enjoy that process because all of my choices are approved in a show and tell that we started 12 years ago, that way our show-runner, producers and director can see in person what the characters will be wearing. Most t.v. Designers email pictures to the producers. With an in-person show and tell I can explain my concepts and by committee we decide what is right or wrong. For anyone wanting to design costumes, study history of dress, and look at people on the street...the best way to learn how people get dressed for their day.

Be prepared for long hours and hard work, but the reward in the end is seeing your vision on screen.

All of the characters on Major Crimes have distinct looks. Where do you get your inspiration for the different characters?  How do you keep their wardrobing unique to their character? 

Again I start with the script. Also, I have dressed these characters for 12 years, so I know what they would wear by instinct. Some of the ties are twelve years old...like real people we re-use the clothes as much as possible. And like real people on a budget I shop when I need to or when the script tells me to...or when the clothes wear out.

Are you designing for any other shows currently? How does your approach differ from your approach to Major Crimes? 

I was fortunate to design the first season of TBS's Angie Tribeca. That show was 99% designed and built. Which means I got to sketch the costume and have it made to measure. That show was all about site gags and stunts so completely different than a suit and tie show like MC.

Which character is the hardest to outfit and why? Which is the easiest and why? 

Anytime we have a stunt where multiple shirts or suits are needed it gets difficult because often times it's hard to find 6 suits the same size or shirts that stunt men can wear with their safety pads. The easiest characters are jeans and t-shirts.

Has an actor or actress ever come to you and said, my character would never wear that? 

My MC actors have embodied their characters for 12 years so,they trust me and they know their characters are completely different than who they are in real life. 

Do the actors and actresses get to take the clothes home? 

NO! Warner Brothers owns the clothes.

What is the best thing that has happened to you as a result of your work on Major Crimes? 

I had hoped to win an Emmy nomination for the real looking work I did for The Closer and still do for Major Crimes. However that probably won't happen as we are the little show that could...not some splashy costume show...truthfully I prefer it that way!

What is the project in your career that your are the most proud of? 

Probably having a steady job for the last 12 years!

You wrote and designed a called book, Barbie Loves LA: America’s Favorite Doll Sees the Sites. It depicts Barbie crusin’ through LA. What inspired you to write that book? Did you design all of Barbie’s outfits in the book? 

I grew up playing with Barbie, the dolls style and my mothers fashion sense influenced my career. I loved all of the miniature doll clothes that Mattel designed for Barbie so most of the costumes in my book are from my collection original to the 1960's. Since Barbie was "born" in LA I thought Barbie seeing the sites at iconic SoCal buildings was apropos.

What else would you like us to know? 

That I adore my job and adore the folks I get to work with every day!

You can find Greg on Twitter @GregLavoi.

Greg LaVoi with Barbie - photo credit Dee Dee Roe

Don't forget to check out our previous Major Crimes Q&As with Tony Denison (Lt. Andy Flynn), Kearran Giovanni (Detective Amy Sykes) and Ransford Doherty (CI Doherty). 

And check out the Major Crimes Facebook page tonight before the show starts for live video Q&A with Major Crimes' Co-creator and executive producer, James Duff. 

Q&A with Tony Denison from Major Crimes

Tony Denison on the set of Major Crimes

Today we have a special interview with Tony Denison who plays Lt. Andy Flynn on TNT's Major Crimes. Tony got his start playing Ray Luca on Crime Story and has had roles on shows including Melrose Place, Wiseguy, Prison Break, The Closer and so many more. Tony took a break from filming this season of Major Crimes (TNT just ordered more episodes to extend the season) to talk to us about his approach to acting, life and his role on Major Crimes. The next episode of Major Crimes airs tonight at 10pm on TNT.

How do you approach the role of Lt Andy Flynn?

I play any role to help the character understand the best course of action. I don't play for sympathy or cheers. I don't want to know what's coming down the line. Some actors like to know, but I like to find out when my character finds out. It's wonderful to play the relationships with everyone on the Major Crimes squad - Mary's character and GW's. GW and I are friends, we actually get mad at each other like Flynn and Provenza. 

Is it challenging to play a police detective? 

Sometimes in drama for a particular character, the ends justify the means. Andy goes right to the borderline of the end justifying the means, but he won't cross that line. That's the difference between playing a criminal and a cop. For a criminal, all bets are off and that's justified in the storytelling. That's not the case with Andy or Major Crimes. 

It can be hard playing a cop at the end of the day, but my life as a cop begins with the word "action" and ends with the word "cut". Real policemen are policemen as soon as they get up and the world doesn't say "cut."


One of my favorite Flynn and Provenza episodes is from The Closer. It's the one where Flynn and Provenza find a body in Provenza's garage and decide to go to a Dodger game instead of calling it in. What's your favorite episode?

That Dodger episode is a fan favorite. Everyone loved that episode. It was a lot of fun to film. We were all cracking up laughing. 

Can we look forward to another Flynn & Provenza comedic episode this season? 

The fourth episode (airing July 11th) GW Bailey (Provenza) and I get in scrape. It involves thinking about buying a house. 


When did you know that Sharon and Andy were going to be in a relationship?

James Duff (executive producer) had constructed it so Andy and Sharon banged heads a lot in The Closer when she was in the Internal Affairs Department. But when Captain Raydor came over to us in Major Crimes, Andy was one of the first guys to say she's doing the best she can. So our characters bonded. I don't know when it happened but suddenly there were a couple of subtle smiles between us. Fans went crazy. But with something like this, Andy and Sharon would move very carefully. 

What advice do you have for aspiring actors who want to get into the business?

1) Have passion 
2) Persevere by doing what you can do
3) Go to a store that sells patience

If you do these three things I believe you'll be successful. I have been in recovery for 23 years so far it seems to be working. 

There was an actress who was the queen of commercials and making commercials are really good pay days, but all of the sudden the calls stopped. She sold her house and utilized the proceeds to flip houses. She took some of the money from that and started producing. She made do with what she actually had. There's a saying, that if you want to make God laugh, you tell him your plans. 

I went through a dry spell before Major Crimes. I realized that is was more important for me to be happy with who I am. During the dry spell, when I was slowly going broke, I managed to endure, then things came along, like The Closer and Major Crimes. All as a result of me being happy with who I am. 

I used to kick the can down the road. Alcoholics haven't cornered the market on fear. Fear running out of time leads to a look at motion - you say, "I'm not moving fast enough." But everything will come when you are happy. Jesus said, if you have faith the size of the mustard seed you can move mountains.

Tony from the set of Major Crimes

Thank you Tony Denison for stopping by Mystery Playground! You can find him on Facebook and Twitter @RealTonyDenision.

Don't forget to go to the Major Crimes Facebook page tonight at 9:30pm EST/6:30 pm PST where Major Crimes Executive Producer James Duff will answer fans questions via video with Mary McDonnell who plays Captain Sharon Raydor on the show.

You can read our interviews with Kearran Giovanni and Ransford Doherty of Major Crimes. 

Kearran Giovanni of Major Crimes

Kearran Giovani 

Major Crimes returns tonight at 10pm to TNT for a ten episode summer season. Actor/Director/Singer Kearran Giovanni, who plays Detective Amy Sykes, took time out of her busy shooting schedule to answer a few questions for us about her role and the show. 

You may remember Kearran as Dr. Vivian Wright from the long running soap opera One Life to Live. Or from one of her many roles on Broadway, including staring alongside Hugh Jackman in Hugh Jackman: Back on Broadway.

1) How did you get the role of Amy Sykes?

Well, I was in NY at the time doing Anything Goes on Broadway. I remember getting the breakdown and the sides from my agents and thinking "this is it. I am Amy Sykes" I auditioned there and asked my husband if he would be willing to relocate for my job. The answer was Yes! And here we are.

2) This show has a female boss in Sharon Raydor, played by Mary McDonnell, but the squad is predominately male. How does it feel to be the only other woman in the squad room?

You know, we try to keep everything so authentic on the show. One thing you can't create is chemistry. We have such a great dynamic. The boys are all like my older brothers. They take care of me and are proud of me when I score. Also, having Mary is the best. With woman...all you need is one. We can just look at each other and know what the other is thinking.

2) What is the best thing that has happened to you as a result of Major Crimes?

Moving to LA and supporting my family through acting. When you start in this business you learn it has so many ups and downs. Knowing that the "job"(it never feels like work) of acting has brought so much to family is so fulfilling. 

3) What are looking forward to most this season? 

I know we find out some of Amy's likes and dislikes. Hoping to share more of who she is and round out her personal life.

4) What do you want your fans to know?

• That I pinch myself every day.
• That we care and are thrilled when anyone acknowledges their love of the show.
• That my other career choice was OBGYN.
• That I am a neat freak except in my car..it looks like I'm hiding dead bodies in there.

A big thank you to Kearran Giovanni for taking the time to answer my questions. Don't forget to tune into the Major Crimes Facebook page tonight to chat with Major Crimes show Co-Creator and Executive Producer, James Duff and the ENTIRE cast of Major Crimes. The chat starts at 9pm EST/6pm PST and the show starts at 10pm. 

You can find Kearran on Twitter @KearranGiovanni. 

Don't forget to come back next week for another Major Crimes surprise interview. 

Major Crimes Returns Tonight

Major Crimes returns to TNT tonight to start a five episode mini-season ending March 14th. In this five series encapsulated story, we'll see a potential gang war exposing a corrupt past. Jason Gedrick joins the cast playing Lt. Tao's estranged police partner, a guy who was fired from the force because he perjured himself. That's about as far away from LT. Tao as you can get. 

This mini-season will also see the return of lawyer Peter Goldman (Curtis Armstrong) who you may remember prosecuted Brenda Leigh Johnson in The Closer when she took a gang member back to his house and he was killed shortly after he arrived. 

During the show hiatus, Ilona Arcari got a great story out of Greg LaVoi, costumer designer for The Closer and Major Crimes. It's all about the dress Kyra Sedgewick is wearing in the photo above. 

Greg LaVoi That red dress! Now there's a story!

Ilona Arcari I remember that this dress made it appearance in season 1. Would you share the red dress story with us Greg?

Greg LaVoi The red dress did make an appearance in Season 1...it was a very expensive dress and Warner Bros. own all the clothes bought for their shows. Having no idea that it would become an iconic dress for an iconic television character, when we wrapped Season 1 it was taken to WB as an asset. James Duff wrote the red dress into a scene ( how many seasons later Stacey K. Black) and since it was an iconic dress I rushed out to WB to find THE RED DRESS...no where to be found! Another show had rented it and not returned it...most likely. So I had to find the exact fabric and have my tailor re-create the dress in less than a week from continuity photos taken on set season 1. The color and white bands weren't exact, but, it's the effort that truly counted. From now on I keep every iconic piece till the show has shot its final episode...and Major Crimes is going strong!

Finally, James Duff will be on the Major Crimes Facebook page tonight at 9ET and 6PT to answer fans questions. 

You can find our past coverage of Major Crimes here. 

Set Those DVRs

Wondering when you favorite mystery show will return this fall? Here is the list to help you manage that DVR:

- Gotham, Fox, 9/21, 8pm,7c
- NCIS: Los Angeles, CBS, 9/21, 10pm,9c
- Castle, ABC - 9/21, 10pm,9c 

- NCIS, CBS, 9/22, 8pm,7c
- NCIS: New Orleans, CBS, 9/22, 9pm,8c
- Mysteries of Laura, NBC, 9/23, 8pm,7c
- Law & Order: SVU, NBC, 9/23, 9pm,8c
- Scandal, ABC, 9/24, 9pm,8c
- The Blacklist, NBC, 9/24, 9pm,8c
- Blue Bloods, CBS, 9/25, 10pm,9c
- Hawaii 5-0, CBS, 9/25, 9pm,8c
- Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Fox, 9/27, 8:30pm, 7:30c
- How to Get Away with Murder, ABC, 7/24, 10pm,9c
- Criminal Minds, CBS, 9/30, 9pm,8c
- Chicago PD, NBC, 9/30, 10pm,9c
- Bones, Fox, 10/1, 
- American Horror Story, FX, 10/7

- Fargo, FX, 10/12, 10pm,9c
- Major Crimes, TNT, 11/2, 9pm,8c
- X-Files, Fox, 1/24


If I missed one of your favorite shows, put it in the comments and we'll add it in...

Major Crimes Facebook Chat with James Duff & GW Bailey

Major Crimes returned tonight in the first of a ten episode summer season (they'll be back for another eight this winter). 

The cast and crew of Major Crimes has been hard at work promoting the new season. James Duff Executive Producer was on Reddit earlier today doing an AMA (Ask Me Anything session). The biggest thing that we learned is that there will be short webisode called, Identity with Rusty Beck, after each episode of Major Crimes. It's presented as Rusty's informal video log (or vlog). Here's the premiere episode:

Here's a few outtakes from the AMA session with James Duff:

[–]ilonarcari 

Hello James, Thank you for doing this with us. I have few questions :P For now we had only hints of Sharon and Andy relationship, mostly told by others character like Provenza or Rusty but never really acted on by Sharon and Andy. Are we going to "see" it or their relationship will be told by others characters with only hints like in season 3

• [–]James_Duff[S]      
• I don't want to give away the whole of season 4. But the short answer is: no. You will see Sharon and Andy directly engage in a conversation about their relationship. And you will see that tonight at the very end of the episode.

[–]ilonarcari 

Are we going to find out ever what is Dr. Morales name?

• [–]James_Duff[S] Yes. You will find out what Dr. Morales' name is, if you watch Rusty's blog, which will air as an epilogue after every episode on the TNT website, on the MAJOR CRIMES Facebook page, and on YouTube.

–]astreamofstars

Do you feel that the various squad members have changed since Sharon took over from Brenda, in terms of the way they work or the way they relate to each other? In what ways?

• [–]James_Duff[S] Definitely the different characters have changed since Sharon took over. And it shows in the way they step up to their responsibilities. Brenda was very much a control freak, in many ways. And she had a very clear idea of what she wanted at all times. Sharon has more trust in her division. And they have more autonomy in pursuing different aspects of an investigation.

         This allows various characters to pop up in the narrative, and take over the role of 

         leading man or leading woman in the course of an episode, without displacing Sharon          at the center.

You can see the whole Reddit AMA here. 

James Duff 

As usual, I've removed any references to this specific episode that may be construed as a spoiler. Because of the volume of questions, only James Duff's answers are included. He restates the questions in his answers so you can track all of the action. 

To read a pre-season interviews with James Duff and crew, click here, here and here. To see the recap from the finale, click here. 

Come back next week for the recap of next week's chat. 

Major Crimes Chat: Special Double Season Finale Edition

The Major Crimes double episode season finale is tonight on TNT. Show co-creator and executive producer, James Duff,  answered fan questions on Reddit and then went over to Facebook where he was joined by Tony Denison (Flynn), Phillip Keene (Buzz), Kearran Giovanni (Detective Amy Sykes) and Graham Patrick Martin (Rusty). Most of the cast was also on Twitter. 

As usual, I've removed any references to this specific episode that may be construed as a spoiler. Because of the volume of questions, only James Duff's answers are included. He restates the questions in his answers so you can track all of the action. 

• James Duff I'm here with Tony Denison (LT. Flynn), Kearran Giovanni (Det. Amy Sykes) Graham Patrick Martin (Rusty Beck) and Phillip P. Keene (Buzz Watson).  And we're celebrating our third season finale with all of you. Thank you for joining us.

• James Duff Ilona Arcari asks if Graham is happy about how Rusty has grown. Graham says he's really thrilled to portray a kid who was thrown away, and show that, sometime, kids just need love and attention to thrive.Major Crimes has tried to push the issues of homeless children into public awareness.
• 
  James Duff Tony says Flynn isn't in denial about his feelings about Sharon. He's confused.So he's a little like Tony in real life. He may be in love with Sharon, but, as Tony says, no one has told him.
  

• James Duff People asking if we are coming back for a new season, YES!!!!! We are already breaking episodes for season four. And we are excited to bring it to you but I don't have air dates yet.
  
• 
  
• James Duff Kathi C asks if Graham has ever watched G.W. Bailey's episodes in MASH.
• 
  James Duff Graham asks, "What is MASH?"
  
  James Duff Hahahahahahahahahaha.
• James Duff Graham is too young to know about MASH, really.
  

• James Duff The network, the studio and us have always agreed that it is better to run all our episodes together - in a row- that to constantly take them on and off the air, so that you never know when you are going to get a repeat. Also, it takes a lot of time to write, cast, produce and post these episodes. We could probably do twenty-two. But I think nineteen is good.
• 
  
• James Duff Susan P asks why our seasons are so short and why we don't have more Jon Tenney. The answer is we had our season shortened by one week this year, but we did do nineteen episodes, ten in the summer and nine in the winter.

• James Duff Brenda KB asks if I watched J.K. Simmons win the Golden Globe last night! Yes! AND IT WAS SO DESERVED! Please, if you haven't seen it, and you don't mind some tough language, Whiplash is a genius film, and J.K. is terrific in it
• 
  
• James Duff Lorraine B asks if Amy will have a long term relationship with Malcom-Jamal's character, Lt. Cooper? Amy says she certainly wants to.
  

      James Duff @Jan C notes that we all seem like a happy    family and wonders if it's like that on set. I have four of the actors in my office right now because we get together so often! Yes, we are very much like a family and we look after each other that way, too. Everyone has their strengths; everyone has their flaws; we love each other for both.

      James Duff Several of you have asked for Buzz to have his own episode and Ilona notes that his relationship with GW. Yes, he will have his own episode next season, and Phillip says that G.W. has a great time with G W because he always learns a lot during those scenes, and feels he comes out of them as a better actor. I know something about G W as a teacher! Tony Denison remembers this crime scene as being incredibly gruesome.

• James Duff Maayan LS asks if Sharon's children will still stay in touch with their father now that he's drinking again, and if Jack will stay sober. I think Jack is going to try to grab some sobriety. His children already know he's drinking. I think they just want to talk to him occasionally.
• 
  James Duff Ralph Gifford, who was one of the writer's of this episode, just stepped in. To see what we were watching.
  
  James Duff For those of you confused about our seasons, we have two parts to each season. Our first part of season three was in the summer. Our second part is in the winter. This is the second part of our third season.

       James Duff @Sara Stokes says she would like to know   

       how Rusty felt about coming out. He was glad to add to 

       the authentic portrayal of homeless youth in America,  

       many of whom lose their homes because of their sexual   

       identity.

       James Duff @Joanne D asks if Sanchez is married. And  notes he wears a wedding band. Sanchez was married,   but his wife died a long time ago. He never takes off the ring.

James Duff @Amy W. asks if G.W. ever makes public appearances. Absolutely. He is always raising money for the Sunshine Kids. And he was Bacchus in Mardi Gras a couple of years ago.

     James Duff Mic B asks if any of the cast has been in law enforcement. Funnily, only Phillip P. Keene, who plays Buzz, the civilian tech, has had any law enforcement training. He went to the LAPD Academy for four days. Tony and I have both been arrested a few times.

James Duff Pangastuti G asks if Rusty is going to college and move into a dorm or stay on living with Sharon. Eventually, of course, he will move off and have a life of his own. But Rusty will have to stay with her for a while! The deal Stroh wants is doable. California puts their prisoners all over the state.

James Duff Billy Burke Fanpage thanks us for binging back Phillip Stroh. Honestly, it's our good fortune. Billy is one of the best actors we've ever had on the show. And we love having him. I think we have an amazing ending for him.

• James Duff By the way, the scene where the prostitutes hang out is on a street lots of the cast take to get to work in the morning.Only they are used to seeing it at five in the morning!
• 
  
• James Duff @Jeffry K. points out that he likes how Sharon has become compassionate but is still tough on the criminals. I think her job required her to be distant when she was Internal Affairs (Professional Standards) but that her new occupation allows her to be more open with her co-workers.
  

• James Duff @Rachel J. blames the shorter seasons on the writer's strike. That's not at all true. We only ever did fifteen episodes of The Closer until our last season. And we do nineteen of Major Crimes. The writer's strike was about not establishing minimums for internet streaming, which is a significant means of distribution these days. The studios were attempting to run our work on the internet without paying us. For services like Netflix and Hulu. Now we have a contract for all of that, and we had to go on strike to get it. The length of our season has absolutely nothing to do with a strike.

• James Duff @Diane K compliments the cast and wonders what they are doing in the off-season. Tony says he's mostly interested in looking for a house, but might be doing a movie, Kearran just signed with new managers today, so she could be working (and headed to a film festival) Graham went to Louisiana and New York and now he's back in town for a while! And Phillip P. Keen is taking some voice classes and working on his collection of Pan Am memorabilia, which is so extensive, it's been featured at Modernism Week in Palm Springs. Phillip also just got new agents, so he is open to work before we restart.

     James Duff This season has been about hope, and this episode revolves around the theme of hoping we can gain control of our own destiny. Mary is trying to put Stroh away for good. And Stroh is struggling to somewhat change his fate.

James Duff Crystal M-R asks when Dr. Morales is going to get a first name. He already has one! Of course! It's just not been used. Maybe you will find out next year.

James Duff I don't know what our air dates will be for next year. But we usually come back fairly early in the summer.

James Duff We had to shoot all of Billy's work out of order because he was only available for three days, and they were all before we started filming the finale. So we wrote and shot all of his stuff and then went back and finished our work after he was gone.

     James Duff  the record, there is absolutely no product placement on this episode. or the last episode. We have actually only had three product placements in our whole season.

James Duff  Giovanni is taking photos of us and Mike Robin, my partner for the last eleven years in doing both shows, has stepped in to watch our next actions sequence.

     James Duff Annie Potts was amazing to work with! We loved her. She was such a terrific professional.

     James Duff GW Bailey and Graham love their scenes together.

      James Duff Louise CG says Stroh reminds her of Hannibal Lecter. We're flattered by the comparison.

      James Duff So I will tell you a secret about the show tonight. Not a spoiler. Just a hint. At the end, there is an unexpected violent turn, and destiny changes one of our characters forever.

• 
  James Duff @Duppy Demitrius is with us tonight. Duppy wrote a lot of our best scripts! Including the one in which Sharon adopted Rusty.
  
  James Duff @Madison K. asks if the actors take their roles home with them sometimes. They do, a little! Phillip finds himself making faces at people, even though he shouldn't be. Maybe he's always done that. Kearran often finds herself, when she's out, acting more like a cop than she used to. And she sometimes wants to arrest people for their bad behavior. G.W. is often trying to help Graham figure out what he should do.
• 
  James Duff Buzz probably has to take Tao out for a drink when all of this is over.
  
  James Duff Hampton Fluker and Brock Harris are fantastic as the SWAT guys. Wish we could have used them more in this episode. Laurie Holden returns as Cmmdr. Ann McGinnis.
  
  James Duff One of you is unhappy with Stroh's deal. It's not signed yet. And he has to tell the truth or it won't be in effect. But he may have bigger issues...

James Duff Brock won't be dating Graham! Graham just has another crush on the wrong person.

James Duff @Casmere K's grandma asks if Sharon could possibly get back with her ex-husband. I don't know! I can't tell you!

• 
  James Duff Mary McDonnell does a particularly terrific job in this episode.
  
  James Duff All right, everyone. I hate to leave you for the rest of winter and most of the spring, but I know we won't be running any new episodes before June.
  
  James Duff Thank you for joining me here each week to watch the show!
• 
  James Duff It's a lot of fun to interact with as many of you as I can. We hope to do it again through season four.
  
  

To see notes from the AMA with James Duff from earlier today, click here. 

To read a pre-season interviews with James Duff and crew, click here, here and here. To see the recap from last week, click here. 

Follow Mystery Playground on Twitter @mysteryplaygnd and on Facebook.

Major Crimes will be back next summer...