The Closer solves a murder most weeks, and most of those cases stand alone. Underneath runs Brenda’s own story: the squad she has to win over, Fritz, her family, her history with Pope, and the cases that follow her. This path keeps those and lets most standalone cases go. Season 7 runs one long story to the end, so most of it stays.
For a first-time viewer who wants Brenda’s story, and the setup for Major Crimes, without every case of the week. Flagged episodes are light keeps; skip them if you’re short on time.
The Closer, seasons 1–7 (TNT, 2005–2012): 109 episodes. Season 7 has 21, aired in three runs from July 2011 to August 2012.
Major Crimes, seasons 1–6 (TNT, 2012–2018): 105 episodes. It premiered straight after The Closer’s finale and carries on with the same squad.
Most weeks, Brenda Leigh Johnson closes a case in the interview room, and most of those cases stand alone. The Essentials path above keeps 55 of the 109 episodes: the ones that change the squad, Brenda’s life with Fritz and her family, the cases that come back later, every season finale, a handful of fan favourites and most of season 7, which runs one long story to the end.
Major Crimes is the continuation. It has the same creator, James Duff, the same LAPD division and most of the squad, now led by Captain Sharon Raydor, whom this show introduces in season 5. It premiered on TNT the night The Closer ended, August 13, 2012. Kyra Sedgwick doesn’t continue: ending The Closer was her decision, announced in December 2010, not TNT’s answer to the ratings.
Finish The Closer before you start Major Crimes. Its first episode opens soon after The Closer’s finale and gives much of it away. The last six episodes of season 7 (S7E16–21) aired in summer 2012 and were added to lead into the new show.
Our watch-order guide covers both shows and why each one ended, with spoilers folded shut. Season 7 has an explainer of its own, for when you get there.
In October 2026, all seven seasons streamed on Netflix in the US, there since December 22, 2025 and included on the plan with ads. They could also be bought on Amazon, Apple TV and Fandango At Home. The Netflix deal is US only; in the UK and Canada, JustWatch listed The Closer as purchase-only.
Research sources — linked pages may contain spoilers
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The path
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Season 14 in the path
🔒S01E01Pilot
Where it all starts: Brenda Leigh Johnson arrives from Atlanta to run an LAPD squad that never asked for her.
1 skipped
🔒S01E03The Big Picture
Context retained — see the note when revealed.
A lighter keep you can skip if short on time. Pope and the FBI both complicate Brenda’s case, which makes things tricky with Fritz.
8 skipped
🔒S01E12Fatal Retraction
A conviction Flynn once secured is suddenly in doubt, and Brenda is stuck in the middle. A season-one fan favourite.
🔒S01E13Standards and Practices
Season one’s finale. Taylor’s grudge against Brenda goes on the record, and the squad has to decide where it stands.
Season 26 in the path
1 skipped
S02E02Mom Duty
Context retained — see the note when revealed.
A light one, skippable when time is short. It’s here because Brenda’s mother pays her first visit.
2 skipped
S02E05To Protect and to Serve
Context retained — see the note when revealed.
No arc, so this lighter keep is safe to skip when time is short. It’s here for Flynn and Provenza at their funniest.
6 skipped
S02E12No Good Deed (a.k.a. Assumption High)
Keep this one for Brenda and Pope; the school case is just the frame. What happens here follows her for a while.
S02E13Overkill
Summer finale. Brenda and the FBI collide over a federal case, with Fritz on both sides. The next two follow on.
S02E14Serving the King (1)
Months have passed since the summer finale, and Brenda is stuck on the sidelines. Part one of two; watch them together.
S02E15Serving the King (2)
Part two, and season two’s finale. The squad’s future is on the line, and so is Brenda’s place at the head of it.
Season 38 in the path
3 skipped
🔒S03E04Ruby
A missing child, and an hour that belongs to Sergeant Gabriel. Keep it, and watch where Brenda draws her lines.
3 skipped
S03E08Manhunt
A serial-killer hunt along the coast highway, and one of Brenda’s defining cases. What it leaves behind carries into the next episode.
S03E09Blindsided
In the wake of the coast-highway case, Pope wants Brenda cleared before she works again, and her parents are on their way.
S03E10Culture Shock
Context retained — see the note when revealed.
A lighter keep, here for the family; skip it if short on time. Brenda’s parents are still in town, and Fritz gets babysitting duty.
1 skipped
S03E12Til Death Do Us Part (1)
Part one of two, and a rare case that goes to trial. Keep both halves for Brenda and Fritz, not the courtroom.
S03E13Til Death Do Us Part (2)
Part two. The trial goes on, and so does what part one started at home between Brenda and Fritz.
S03E14Next of Kin (1)
Context retained — see the note when revealed.
A lighter holiday two-parter, kept for the family; skip both if short on time. A suspect leads Brenda home to Atlanta for Christmas.
S03E15Next of Kin (2)
Context retained — see the note when revealed.
Part two, still light; skip if time is short. Kept for the family, plus Flynn and Provenza, on the long road back to LA.
Season 49 in the path
🔒S04E01Controlled Burn
Season four opens on a wildfire murder. Note the reporter tagging along; he matters.
1 skipped
🔒S04E03Cherry Bomb
Context retained — see the note when revealed.
A lighter keep you can drop when time is tight. Taylor needs Brenda’s help, of all people, and fans rank it highly.
S04E04Live Wire
Context retained — see the note when revealed.
A lighter keep; skip it if pressed. A case puts Brenda on the opposite side from Fritz’s FBI, and things get awkward in the squad room.
2 skipped
🔒S04E07Sudden Death
Context retained — see the note when revealed.
A lighter keep and Sanchez’s hour: a case that hits him personally. Skip it when time is short; watch it if he’s your favourite.
1 skipped
S04E09Tijuana Brass
The squad’s future is in doubt again, with that reporter in the thick of it. A turning point for the unit; don’t skip it.
🔒S04E10Time Bomb
Summer finale, and the squad’s first case under its new name: a bomb that puts the whole team on edge. A fan favourite.
S04E11Good Faith
Context retained — see the note when revealed.
A lighter keep, skippable if you’re pressed for time. It picks up after the summer finale, and Brenda’s parents arrive to plan the wedding.
1 skipped
S04E13Power of Attorney
A serial-rape case puts Brenda up against a defence attorney named Stroh. Fans rank it among the show’s very best.
1 skipped
S04E15Double Blind
Season four’s finale. The wedding is close, neither Brenda nor Fritz can leave work alone, and the squad room has its own drama.
Season 56 in the path
2 skipped
S05E03Red Tape
Meet Captain Sharon Raydor of Force Investigation, the LAPD’s internal investigators. Brenda has met her match.
4 skipped
🔒S05E08Elysian Fields
Context retained — see the note when revealed.
A lighter keep with a standalone case; skip it if short on time. It’s here because Stroh is still on Brenda’s mind.
2 skipped
S05E11Maternal Instincts
Context retained — see the note when revealed.
A lighter keep for the Charlie story; skip if short on time. Brenda’s niece is staying with her; a school case gets too close.
S05E12Waivers of Extradition
Context retained — see the note when revealed.
Light, and skippable when time is tight. Kept for the Charlie story and a fan-favourite case; Kevin Bacon directs, and his daughter plays Charlie.
1 skipped
S05E14Make Over
Context retained — see the note when revealed.
Light, with no arc; skip it when pressed for time. It’s here for Provenza and Beau Bridges’ Emmy-nominated guest turn.
S05E15Dead Man's Hand
Season five’s finale. A quiet favour for Pope sets Brenda against Raydor again, and Fritz is weighing something big.
Season 67 in the path
1 skipped
S06E02Help Wanted
Season six’s long thread, the race for chief of police, is under way now that the chief is stepping down. Raydor is back, too.
4 skipped
S06E07Jump the Gun
Brenda has applied for chief, Pope wants the job too, and the strain shows. Here the race narrows to a shortlist; keep it for them and for Fritz, not the bank robbery.
S06E08War Zone
Keep this one whatever else you skip: three soldiers are dead, the Army wants answers fast, and Brenda is under pressure to deliver them.
S06E09Last Woman Standing
Context retained — see the note when revealed.
A lighter keep, fine to skip if pressed for time. It’s here for Brenda’s nerves as the chief race nears its end.
S06E10Executive Order
The summer finale, and the chief race comes to a head, with Brenda sharing a case with a rival candidate.
1 skipped
S06E12High Crimes
Context retained — see the note when revealed.
A light keep; skip it when time is short. It’s here for the new chief’s first moves and where Brenda’s loyalty to Pope stands.
2 skipped
S06E15An Ugly Game
Season six’s finale, a skid-row case. Keep it for Fritz and Gabriel, who each have something to say to Brenda.
Season 715 in the path
S07E01Unknown Trouble
The final season opens, and the Baylor case follows Brenda into it. The new chief has plans for her squad, too.
S07E02Repeat Offender
Follows on from the last episode’s final scene. Keep it for the story upstairs; the house-sitter case is secondary.
2 skipped
S07E05Forgive Us Our Trespasses
The lawsuit moves out of Brenda’s office and into the whole squad room. Keep it for the team, not the case.
1 skipped
S07E07A Family Affair
Context retained — see the note when revealed.
Lighter, so it can go if time is short. It’s here because Raydor’s audit takes a turn the next few episodes build on.
S07E08Death Warrant
Context retained — see the note when revealed.
A light keep, skippable if pressed for time. It’s here because Brenda’s lawyer starts hunting for the leak.
1 skipped
S07E10Fresh Pursuit
The summer finale, and a big day in court for the Baylor lawsuit. Stay with it to the final scene.
S07E11Necessary Evil
The winter return. Keep it for the lawsuit and the story upstairs; the school case is just the frame.
1 skipped
S07E13Relative Matters
Context retained — see the note when revealed.
Short on time? This lighter keep can go. Brenda’s parents visit for the holidays, starting a family story the final episodes return to.
🔒S07E14Road Block
Context retained — see the note when revealed.
A lighter keep with no arc: cut it first if time is short. One fan ranking puts it in the show’s top five.
S07E15Silent Partner
The winter finale. A new murder leads back to Baylor’s death, and the lawsuit story turns here.
S07E16Hostile Witness
The last run of six episodes begins with a rape case. Keep it whatever else you skip.
1 skipped
🔒S07E18Drug Fiend
Keep it for Brenda’s father, now in treatment, and for Brenda and Pope. The medical case is the frame.
S07E19Last Rites
Brenda’s parents are staying with her while her father is treated, and a priest’s murder strains things with Pope.
🔒S07E20Armed Response
Brenda is back at work sooner than anyone expects. The leak story is front and centre; don’t skip this one.
S07E21The Last Word
The series finale. Major Crimes, the spin-off, began straight after it on the same night; watch this one first.
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