THE CLOSER
TNT · July 14 · 9 PM · New episodes: 15
THE SCOOP Murder/homicide division deputy chief Brenda Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) returns for a season 4 that's all about power (or the lack thereof), as a massive wildfire in the premiere suggests. Solving a crime with little to go on but charred remains will be virtually impossible. After all, ''how do you drag a fire into an interview room and ask how it got so hot?'' asks series creator James Duff. ''She has to learn how to function in a world that is not in her control.'' Nothing makes her feel as powerless as dealing with the media, as Brenda learns when a reporter is assigned to shadow her in an effort to improve the department's PR. ''He's a constant irritant for her,'' says Sedgwick. ''She finds him reckless'' — reckless irritants being a secondary theme, what with Lieutenants Provenza (G.W. Bailey) and Flynn (Tony Denison) losing all the evidence from a crime scene, and protégé Gabriel (Corey Reynolds) again jeopardizing his career. ''He continues to be the puppy dog that won't sit,'' says Sedgwick. Home won't be much of a refuge either, with Brenda and fiancé Fritz (Jon Tenney) caught in the housing crunch.
FIT TO BE BRIDE On top of everything, Brenda's getting wedding-planning pressure from her parents (Frances Sternhagen and Barry Corbin, who return for four episodes). Actually, says Sedgwick, the wedding may be the one place Brenda would love to be powerless. ''My guess would be that seeing as she's sort of the man in the relationship, that's going to fall more on his plate.'' —Alynda Wheat
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