Girls are back in town with ‘Rizzoli & Isles’
Viewers can expect ‘a lot of estrogen’ — and action
Television viewers can pick and choose from among dozens of crime shows, but the stars and creator of Rizzoli & Isles believe their secret weapon for getting and holding fans — seasons 1 and 2 averaged more than 8 million viewers — is the feminine factor.
“There’s a lot of estrogen on this show,” says Sasha Alexander, who plays medical examiner Maura Isles, best friend and colleague of Boston detective Jane Rizzoli (Angie Harmon) on the TNT cop show inspired by the novels of Tess Gerritsen. The third season begins tonight (9 ET/PT).
“The further we move into the series, the more it reflects the fact that we do represent women in a way that’s unique,” Alexander says. “So I’m proud to be part of a show that has smart women who are professionals, who are independent, who are good people, who are supportive of and respect each other.
“All of that together is what makes things work.”
The symbiotic relationship between Rizzoli and Isles, thanks to the chemistry between Harmon and Alexander, is and has always been at the heart of this procedural, says executive producer Janet Tamaro.
“We cast Angie first, and then we had a very hard time finding somebody who could stand up to her on screen,” she says. “When we put her with Sasha, it was just instant. They were playful. They were funny. They enjoyed each other.
“Tonally, it was exactly what I was hoping for, and it continues. When you put them in a scene, it’s just magic.”
Says Harmon: “I’ve said from the first season that Maura and Jane together make a really extraordinary woman. Separately they’re amazing, together they are extraordinary.”
And it’s not just Harmon and Alexander who bring female power to the character-driven story lines. Lorraine Bracco stars as Rizzoli’s mother, Angela; Sharon Lawrence will star as Isles’ birth mother, Hope; and Jacqueline Bisset continues her role as Isles’ adoptive mother, Constance.
That’s not to say that there won’t be a measure of testosterone on the show as well. Tamaro, who developed the show for television, is bringing back Chris Vance as Casey Jones, one of Rizzoli’s old flames. Colin Egglesfield also is back as Tommy, Rizzoli’s troubled brother; Chazz Palminteri returns as Frank Rizzoli Sr., Jane’s father; and Eddie Cibrian joins the cast as Dennis Rockmond, a romantic interest for Isles.
Regular members of the ensemble include Lee Thompson Young as Rizzoli’s rookie partner, Detective Barry Frost; Bruce McGill as Detective Vince Korsak, Rizzoli’s mentor; and Jordan Bridges as Frankie, Rizzoli’s patrol-cop brother.
Newcomers to the show shouldn’t assume every episode is awash in women getting in touch with their feelings. Take last season’s cliffhanger finale: When an undercover operation goes wrong, Rizzoli has no choice but to shoot Isles’ father, the mobbed-up Paddy Doyle, who has just shot an FBI agent. The shooting creates a rift between Rizzoli and Isles as Rizzoli tries to justify the shooting and Isles lashes out.
“We’ve got some serious crimes and serious corpses in the new season, and we’ve got some great scenes coming up,” says Harmon, who reveals that she has plenty of scrapes and bruises as the result of one of the new season’s action scenes.
“Maura and I are in a car and are being shot at. I’ve got one foot up on the steering wheel and one foot on the back of the head rest, and I’m firing between my legs and pushing Maura out of the car — all those kinds of things I love doing.”