When Season 7 of TNT’s buddy dramedy Rizzoli & Isles premieres on June 6, it will mark the beginning of the end for the fan favorite, as this season will be its last. We chatted with star Angie Harmon about her memorable moments, what she’s taking from the set and what she’s really taking away from her time as Detective Jane Rizzoli.
How will this season be different from the other ones?
Angie Harmon: Well, obviously, there’s a conclusion. I think that’s going to be a fun thing for everyone to see and just sort of bring a little closure to each character, which I think is necessary. Personally, as a viewer, I want to know what’s going to happen to the characters after it’s over and done with, because you’ve lived with the characters for a long time. I think that everyone’s going to be pretty happy about all of our futures.
Do you get any input into where Jane’s character ends up?
I did, and I was very grateful for that. I think I’ve stayed pretty spot-on with who Jane is and what her character is. I received a really wonderful compliment from [author of the Rizzoli & Isles book series] Tess Gerritsen, saying [that] other than the way that I look, Jane was exactly as she had written her. And when she writes the books now, she hears my voice. That was a huge honor for me.
What are you going to miss about Jane?
Oh God, everything! I’m going to miss her sense of humor. It’s a fun time to be able to play a character like Jane, because Jane gets to say sometimes bitchy, sometimes snarky, sometimes funny, sometimes biting things, and it’s understood and funny and people get it, as opposed to being out in the real world and not knowing if anyone’s going to get your humor or understand what you mean or understand the nuance.
Can you tell us about some of the fun you’ve had behind the scenes of Rizzoli & Isles?
There’s always a time when we’re all exhausted and the giggles set in and anything is hilarious. We laugh about it all the time that Jane’s half-man, half-superwoman. It turns real inappropriate, real quick. I know I’m really doing well when my cameramen and my focus guys and everybody, they just have their heads down and you can’t see anything but their bodies shaking.
Is there anything that you’re looking forward to about the end of the series?
I don’t have the manicure that I want, and I haven’t in seven years. I don’t necessarily have the haircut that I want, and I haven’t in seven years … the only thing I’ve worn for seven years is a sensible pantsuit. I took a picture of Jane’s wardrobe the other day, and it was just 90 T-shirts — in a rainbow array. [Laughs]
What episode stands out as a favorite?
The pilot is definitely my favorite, [or] one of my favorites. Everything was so new and everything was so wonderful. Another favorite episode of mine, I think, is when Jane sort of ran around the city chasing Barry. That was a pretty important episode for us, [and] for me personally.
Are there any episodes this season that you’re especially excited about?
We’re coming up with a 100th episode, which I’m actually getting ready to direct. Jane has to go undercover in a women’s prison, which is something that we’ve never done before. I’ve got a tattoo going up my neck and down my arm and the whole nine yards, so I’m excited about that. I’m excited to be in the thick of it, but also to be watching it from the other side of the camera and directing.
Is there anything that you’ve mentally earmarked to take from the set?
There are a couple things in Maura’s house, in her kitchen, that I think I’m going to have to probably trip Sasha [Alexander] for and run in and get them real quick. I don’t know. Hopefully she’ll give up easily. I’ll probably take Jane’s belt. I’m definitely going to take my badge, because Jane’s badge number is the birthday of one of my best friends.
How are you different at the end of the series from who you were at the beginning?
When I started this show, I was in a very different place in all things. Very naive. I was a child essentially, in a lot of ways, and I’m not anymore. To have these people sort of go through that process of growing up with me and allow me to do it … I mean, my friends here, they tell me they’re super proud of the person that I’ve become and they’ve watched what I’ve gone through.
I’ve just learned to handle — let’s see, how would Jane put it? — I’ve learned to handle the bull@#$% of life a lot better.
You just deferred to Jane to answer a question. Are you taking a bit of Jane with you from the show?
Absolutely. Absolutely. I think the hardest thing for me when shows end is, it’s like all of those characters die, because you don’t ever get to see them again. You don’t ever get to play them again. You don’t get to play with the other characters and play with the other people. They’re just gone. That’s very difficult for me. I’ve lived this person for seven years. I haven’t acted; I’ve lived her. Jane has protected me in a lot of times when I really needed it. Jane has been a witty sense of humor in many times when I didn’t have one. Hopefully, in this process of becoming an adult in my 40s, I can honestly say that I truly hope that Jane Rizzoli had a lot of influence on who I am now and who I’ve become.
A lot of our readers are huge Rizzoli & Isles fans. Is there a message you’d like to share with them?
There’s such deep, heartfelt gratefulness for their support and their love, especially the ones that have stood up for us and who have fought for us and who have fought back the mean girls, so to speak.
Rizzoli & Isles > TNT > Mondays beginning June 6 at 9pm ET/8pm CT
Not at all good news that Angie had a say in the way the series ended, did Sasha????? The show should have got a strong show runner that could lead instead of being led. Angie has been far more in control that she ever was with the old show runner, and the death of Lee has nothing to do with any of it. Someone new came in who Angie could steer and manipulate, she did, now we have lots of B- character story lines and very little time spent on the friendship. I am with the person below who said they hoped she retied and was never on a screen again. I think she and Nash are the primary reasons the show was cancelled by TNT, if it had had any of the old magic, they would probably have considered it, but, no instead they green lighted Major Crimes.
The J&M chemistry changed dramatically after Lee’s death whether that was a factor or just out of touch writers. Either way,I’ve watched from EP 1 and will watch til the very last. I blame no one for the changes that were made. I will always see Jane and Maura as my TV hero’s to the end. Thank you ladies for 7 years of 2 intelligent, strong beautiful women kicking ass!!!!
How about Angie suggested they lay off the friendship, that it was already established and time to move on to other things and Nash went with it. Lee was a B character, friend of hers or not, he had little to do with their chemistry and what made it work. The show just hired a very weak new show runner.
Jan Nash no supo que hacer con el programa.
I agree that the show lost its momentum with the tragic death of Lee Thompson-Young. At the same time, Janet Tamaro left and the show got a new show runner. I refuse to speculate with others that insist Angie and Jane Nash are to blame for everything wrong with the show starting with season 5. I’ll wait and hear from those who were part of the show for 7 seasons and are willing to set the record straight in interviews/comments after the finale.
Did you read the most recent Sasha interview…Guess you got your wish…Nash for sure, still not confirmed Angie, but I think most can see she reaped the benefits, other than loosing her paycheck in a few weeks because the show got so bad.
I am probably going to miss what it was, but not what it has become. If it where like the 1st 4 seasons and the friendship/closeness was there, I would be very upset right now that it was going away, however, it is a far different show now. Seasons 5 and 6 have not been good at all, they have been an effort to watch, with a lot of boredom and fast forwarding. There is no more friendship anymore, the chemistry is gone and as others have stated, the part of Maura has diminished greatly. There are a ton of cop shows out there, what made this one so unique, for me, was the extremely wealthy, attractive ME, who was totally out of place, but, somehow became the best friend of an over the top mouthy cop. They were the 2 extremes, the heiress with more money than she could ever spend, yet, wants to work for the greater good and the blue-collar plumbers daughter wanting to do the same and then becoming so close that you actually start shipping them as a couple, because again they have this completely off the charts chemistry, But, then season 5 came along and the relationship became watered down, not the center of attention, and in the last season there was no relationship period, they just seemed like acquaintances. If a show like Major Crimes made the cut for TNT, this one sure should have had it not become such an uninteresting run of the mill 90% cop show that lost all of it’s uniqueness. I will be sad for what was ruined, but if season 7 is just another season 5 or 6 I will be glad it is over.
Sadly the show started bombing out when Lee Thompson-Young tragically died. It was never the same. Also not sure if I am the only one who noticed this, but Angie and Sasha’s relationship changed during season 5 – there was such a change in their togetherness. I will miss the show, but as always in Hollywood they will create another series that will replace it.
Will I watch the last season, of course. I do hope they please the fans with how it concludes, after all, they are the ones who have stood by and supported the cast throughout. I wish all the actors well for the future, and look forward to seeing Bruce McGill in new shows – he is an amazing actor.
All this article tells me is that Angie has ruined it, any say she had would be completely opposite of what I was hoping for as I was hoping for something more meaningful between J&M, not sure what the network would allow, but, wanted everything that would be allowed. Angie, of course, would have ruined that, and she has the show runner so fawning that we are going to get a very poor **Angie** filled finale, because in her mind it is all about Jane. I wish Sasha all the best.
I think Angie doesn’t deserve the hate of some people out there I mean come on We all want them to be friends in real life and of course in the serie. Why can’t you See them as one unit? Rizzoli and Isles is a crime show The most time Jane has to investigate cases without Maura cause she is M.E. No M.E is allowed to investigate crimes the way Jane has to I can’t hear the words less screen time anymore And I dont think the actors see this the same you all do.
Why? She went out with Jane all of the time seasons 1-4, she is brilliant, seemed to always be of help, why couldn’t the ME go out with Jane the same she did as in the earlier seasons. Castle is a writer, but he always goes out with Beckett. By removing Maura from the majority of this aspect of it, they took away everything that made this particular show unique from every other cop show out there. And once you take away what made it different or special then you just have a regular procedural show, however, this one is not well written and is on a much smaller budget, so it can no longer compete, which is why I imagine TNT thought it was time to cancel.
Fought back the mean girls? Did I miss something? I’m so confused… Anyways I will definitely miss the show 🙁
I wish season 6 had not been so bad, it makes it hard to get excited about the final season. I really miss the friendship.
When I read an Angie article like this I always get the feeling she thinks she is the show, I know the leads don’t fight as they did on Castle, but, I kind of think R&I had it’s own little Nathan present alive and well. I imagine if Sasha had wanted to leave last year that Angie would have been all for it and thought she could have carried the show. I kind of wish that had happened so she could have crashed and burned and realized people watch in spite of her, not for her, oh wait, the show kind of did. Sasha was barely used in season 6 . Oh, and what happened, it got cancelled. All of this because the new show runner couldn’t keep a leash on Angie and let her run wild and do whatever she wanted while doing whatever she suggested. What kind of show runner lets a lead character take over the show, one that doesn’t deserve a job, and shortly she won’t have one. Despite TNT moving in a different direction, I think the show could have had a different outcome had Jan Nash never been hired and the show stayed more similar to out’s original concept of “the friendship” is the key ingredient and it needs to be given attention each and every episode, and that screen time between the leads needs to be more equalized. The Rizzoli show fell flat and failed, what a shame Nash and Harmon killed R&I.
Absolutely correct imo. Rizzoli show with Nash led by the nose. One good thing is Sasha’s free!
Wow! What a tyrant you are Miss Queen of the world! Do you believe everything you read? You know what is in Angies heart and mind? Well you do not! You are wrong, she is more reserved and shy than her chatacter! She is a great actress, mother and woman!!!! If you have such issues just change the channel honey!!! I personally will be shedding tears and missing my favorite gal team!!!!! But I still have the books:) I bet some positivity might become you???
well said and truth .. Angie and her obsession with her BFF … bye I don’t blame Sasha one bit for wanting to leave.. Angie is the mean girl she mentions, but can’t see it. It’s too bad they killed a good show.. Oh well most of us saw it coming anyway. All the gay baiting is finally over and they can end it with Jane and Maura living their straight lives and I am sure Angie will happily twist that knife. As Angie rides off into the sunset with her girlfriend in real life. Spare us all.
IKR, She appears to have a girlfriend in real life, yet, is 100% against giving a very high percentage of the fans what they want, Jane and Maura as a couple. And don’t think there aren’t a ton of straight people out there shipping Jane and Maura as a couple, because there are, I am one, and I know quite a few at college that were as well. They just fit, but, Angie seems bound and determined to ruin it all, I so wish Sasha was able to guide this ship a little bit more, but the show runner has a crush on Angie and has let her completely take over the show to the detriment of it and it’s fans. Hope you go back home Angie and retire, I never want to see you on screen again.
A little harsh, but true. Both my husband and I ship J&M together (we are straight) and after surfing the net when season 6 got so bad I read a lot of articles and I got the feeling that Ms. Harmon was anything but pro J&M. This use to be a really good, very cute show, that changed season 5 to a really boring one-sided Rizzoli show and since Ms. Harmon had a say in the finale I can’t imagine it is going to get any better, unfortunately it will probably go the other way.
Angie Harmon is a typical closet case. The fans will follow Sasha to whatever project she goes to next. They will leave Angie at the door because of the way she has handled this whole thing, so whateva .. her loss. Everyone loves Jane, not so much Angie.
I’ve been watching Rizzoli and Isles since the first episode and have never missed a single episode. As a fan of the show and both Angie and Sasha I’ve watched the show steadily decline after season 4. The chemistry between Jane and Maura, Maura’s screen time, some of the characters original traits (Maura unable to lie, Jane’s scars, just to name a few), disappearing from the show. I still watch hoping that the original friendship and relationship that Jane and Maura had in seasons 1-4 will return. I also kinda wish that Jane and Maura will maybe cross that line and become something more than friends. But I know this will never happen, that’s why I’d be happy with the return of their friendship.
Eu amo a série e vou sentir saudades, especialmente do humor entre Jane e Maura e ficarei ansiosa esperando os novos trabalhos de todos! São atores e atrizes especiais e queridos dos fãs!!!
I just really hope it is better than the last season, which totally bombed, and I mean in a bad way, no closeness between Jane and Maura means a very boring show for me.
Why don’t I feel good about Angie having input into how the series ends, oh, I don’t know, because maybe it was Angie who thought they had concentrated enough on the main characters friendship in seasons 1-4 and wanted to steer away from that and grow the B characters parts. Yeah, I don’t think Angie knows at all what I am looking for in the show or what I want in the final season. I would be ecstatic if the show would just return the focus to their friendship and give Maura back the screen time they let Angie steal from Sasha.
I paused when I read that part too. I really don’t think that is going to be beneficial to the fan that watches the show for the chemistry between the leads, I think Angie’s idea of a great ending is all the cast sitting around on Korsak’s porch having a beer or all around a table eating (rolling eyes). Yeah, definitely what I watch for, the entire cast, all equal including Maura, except, of course, for Jane. Jane 80% of screen time, remaining cast all equally share the rest. Can’t say I am all that excited.
The show will be missed.
Jane and Maura will be missed and their bonding will be missed.It was an amazing show and it always made my day.
I have watched both Angie and Sasha, as they worked seperately, and thought they were very good actresses. But when they were put together they became one. I will really miss the show and all of the players. Hey there hopefully, they will have reruns.
I been watching Rizzoli and Isles since July 2010 they have become a part of me I consider them as family and when a family member leaves you miss them that,s how how I feel about Rizzoli and Isles.
I have enjoyed this show immensely and have never missed a single episode. I hope that the finale leaves room for the characters to be revisited at some point in the future. I always thought that a few movies some time in the future would be great. Cagney & Lacey made a few movies after their show ended so why not Rizzoli & Isles which is a much better show imo. I’m not holding my breath though for that because I don’t think Angie Harmon would be all that kean on that considering the amount of travelling she already does to make this show since she lives on the other side of the country.
i totally agree i will miss it terribly but hey life goes on and i will take to heart wat the show gave to me which is great acting fun laughter love united together and all together the best crime drama for me personally never mind angie and sasha if they hadnt been given the parts they have rizzoli and isles would have ended years ago.
I stumbled into this show in its fifth year. I did it because I once worked as a wire service editor in Boston – then became enamoured. Thanks to reruns, I have watched all of the shows to date and will avidly follow the final season – and probably the reruns for as long as they are around . Jane and Maura are in a class by themselves. Only show that nearly equals Rizzoli and Isles is the wonderful Australian series Miss Fisher Mysteries.