MANHEIM STEAMROLLER

Veteran actress brings steely chief to TNT cop drama

FANS of TNT’s “Major Crimes” and its predecessor, “The Closer,” could experience déjà vu Wednesday night. Camryn Manheim (“The Practice,” “Extant”) joins the cast in the recurring role of LAPD Deputy Chief of Operations Winnie Davis, a by-the-book cop who locks horns with Major Crimes Division Captain Sharon Raydor (Mary McDonnell). It’s a table-turner for Raydor, the former internal affairs head who was originally an antagonist to Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) on “The Closer,” from whichwhich “Major Crimes” was spun off inn 2012.

With the arrival ofof Davis, viewers will be reminded of the dynamic between Johnson and Raydor.

“It was definitely an intentional parallel,” says series creator James Duff. “It’s interesting to have [Raydor] on thehe other side of that now, to have her sort of in the same situation and see how she deals with it, ass opposed to how Brenda dealt with it. The way she struggles to adapt to Winnie is great.”

Part of that struggle is the fact that both Raydor and Davis are in the running to replace Assistant Chief of Special Operations Russell Taylor (Robert Gossett), killed in a courthouse shooting earlier this season. With the victor being in a position to change the other’s career, a power play ensues. “The fierceness of their struggle is based on the future and who gets tto control it,” Duff says. For Manheim, a longtime women’s-rights advocate, much of the appeal of her new role is about feminism. “I always love playing female characters in powerful positions because it sets the tone for what women in all walks of life can do,” she says. It turns out the part was tailormade for Manheim. A longtime “The Closer” and “Major Crimes” fan, she reached out to Duff about doing a stint on the show at some point.point “Gosh, you get a message like that from Camryn, and what do you do? You write a part. You have to!” Duff says. “She brings steel and an ability to go to a serious place. Just her presence when she walks on-screen, she’s a force ofo nature. She’s unafraid to be disliked.d She’s unafraid to play tough.to She’s going to show her characterch warts and all.” One particular scene from Wednesday’sW episode gives Manheim plenty to work with. Davis pulls Raydor — who is dating Lt. Andy Flynn (Tony Denison) — from an interrogation to berate her for undermining her authority.

“I don’t think Captain Raydor gives Deputy Chief Davis the respect her rank allows. That really, really pisses her off,” Manheim says.

When Flynn appears and says Raydor is needed back in the interview room, Davis responds, with a smirk and an unflinching stare, “Go ahead — your boyfriend’s calling you.”

Viewers are left to wonder about Davis’ true intent.

“Does it mean, ‘You don’t have a full commitment to this department because you have so many other extracurricular activities’?” asks Manheim. “Or does she have a personal vendetta against a captain who’s very well-respected and actually has a personal life and somebody that cares about her? You wonder if that is just doubly-loaded with envy.”

For her part, Manheim has enjoyed exploring her role’s ambiguities as the series — which was renewed for a sixth season — heads into the final eight episodes of Season 5.

“It’s so much more exciting when I can imbue a character with many layers of conflict,” she says.