Was there a major difference between Sharon Raydor and Brenda Leigh Johnson?

  Warner Bros.

Everyone is aware (if you're a fan of both shows or a supporter of crime dramas in general) that Major Crimes is a spinoff of The Closer. When it was time for the next chapter in Brenda Leigh Johnson's life (Kyra Sedgwick's character), fans didn't have to wonder what was next for the Major Crimes Division, because Sharon Raydor was on her way.

Mary McDonnell's Raydor made a few appearances in The Closer, and she wasn't really the life of the party. Sharon was stern, and some might even call her a villain. Yet, that was the major difference between her and Brenda Leigh Johnson. Brenda, according to an article in the Postmedia News in 2012, was "a single-minded heroine driven by an almost fanatical zeal in pursuit of truth and justice, even if her idea of justice didn't always abide by the rule of law and order."

Her warm, Southern charm often went cold when she had to be tough, and that's what audiences loved. Meanwhile, Sharon Raydor was a "stickler for the rules" and didn't bend any of them.

Series creator James Duff described the difference between the characters and the shows. "The Closer was a seven-year examination of the justice system. We used a single character to reflect different points of view. It was a single-lead show. It was a single lead with a really good ensemble, but it was a show with a single point of view. The big difference with Major Crimes, I would say, is that we are looking at the justice system differently. It's more of a group view."

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