Cast of Major Crimes
There’s next to nothing new on cable right now, so the return of Raymond Cruz, Nadine Velazquez, and Jonathan del Arco is a welcome relief
Major Crimes, though only officially two years old, is already taken for granted. In fact, it’s a major wellspring for Latino talent, but all too often it’s overlooked for newer and flashier cop/crime shows up and down the dial.
L-r: Mary McDonnell, Nadine Velazquez, Raymond Cruz in Major Crimes
It’s not entirely surprising; as the sequel to the seven years of The Closer, it arrived with relatively little fanfare, and now–well into its second season–it continues to produce solid, smart, self-aware crime dramas on a regular basis. And certainly TNT isn’t do it (or us) any favors by slipping in new episodes at the weirdest possible times of the year…like now, a couple of days before Thanksgiving, on Monday nights at 9P.
Jonathan del Arco Major Crimes
But what’s to complain: you have Raymond Cruz as the quietly dangerous Detective Julio Sanchez, who’s been part of this show since the first days of The Closer. Now he’s joined by Nadine Velazquez, who’s proving herself to be just as tough as Deputy District Attorney Emma Rios, now entering the second half of her first season. And somewhere in between there’s the coroner, Dr. Morales, played by Jonathan del Arco, who’s recently moved from recurring character to regular. And Major Crimes, like its predecessor, has been home to a wide range of Latino guest stars over the years, as they pursue cases in a remarkably realistic Los Angeles (demographically real, anyway).
Kyra Sedgwick and J.K. Simmons may have moved along, but G.W. Bailey and Michael Paul Chen stuck around, and Mary McDonnell’s doing her best work since Battlestar Galactica. It’s well worth a view–especially at this time of year.
