RIZZOLI & ISLES IS AN AMERICAN CRIME DRAMA TV SERIES STARRING ANGIE HARMON AS JANE RIZZOLI AND SASHA ALEXANDER AS MAURA ISLES. BASED ON THE SERIES OF RIZZOLI & ISLES NOVELS BY TESS GERRITSEN, THE PLOT FOLLOWS BOSTON HOMICIDE POLICE DETECTIVE JANE RIZZOLI AND CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER DR. MAURA ISLES COMBINING THEIR EXPERIENCES AND STRIKINGLY DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES TO SOLVE CASES. IT PREMIERED ON TNT ON JULY 20, 2010 AND AIRED 105 EPISODES IN 7 SEASONS, CONCLUDING ON SEPTEMBER 05, 2016.
MAIN CAST:
ANGIE HARMON AS JANE CLEMENTINE RIZZOLI, A BOSTON DETECTIVE IN THE HOMICIDE UNIT. FROM AN ITALIAN AMERICAN FAMILY, JANE IS BRASH, SARCASTIC, AND OFTEN PRICKLY BUT ALSO A CONFIDENT AND INDEPENDENT WOMAN AS WELL AS A BRILLIANT DETECTIVE. IN THE FINAL SEASON, JANE TAKES A NEW JOB AS AN INSTRUCTOR AT THE FBI ACADEMY IN QUANTICO, VIRGINIA.
SASHA ALEXANDER AS DR. MAURA DOROTHEA ISLES, THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS’ CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER. ISLES IS A FORENSIC EXPERT WORKING AT THE BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT AND JANE’S BEST FRIEND. MAURA IS SOCIALLY AWKWARD AND CANNOT LIE; IF SHE DOES, SHE BREAKS OUT IN HIVES.
BRUCE McGILL AS VINCENT “VINCE” WALTER KORSAK, RIZZOLI’S FORMER PARTNER WHO IS PROMOTED TO SERGEANT-DETECTIVE IN SEASON 2.
LEE THOMPSON YOUNG AS BAROLD “BARRY” FROST (SEASONS 1-4): RIZZOLI’S SECOND PARTNER. WHILE ADEPT WITH COMPUTERS AND TECHNOLOGY, HE IS TERRIFIED OF DEAD BODIES AND BECOMES ILL AT THE SIGHT OF BLOOD. IN THE SEASON 5 PREMIERE, BARRY IS KILLED IN A CAR ACCIDENT DUE TO YOUNG’S DEATH IN 2013.
JORDAN BRIDGES AS FRANCESCO “FRANKIE” RIZZOLI, JR.: A POLICE OFFICER AND JANE’S PROTECTIVE YOUNGER BROTHER. HE LOOKS UP TO JANE, BUT DOES NOT LIKE FEELING CAUGHT IN HER SHADOW AS HE TRIES TO MAKE HIS OWN WAY IN THE POLICE FORCE. IN SEASON 4, FRANKIE IS PROMOTED TO DETECTIVE AND BEGINS TAKING NIGHT CLASSES IN COMPUTER SCIENCE TO INCREASE HIS SKILL SET IN SEASON 5. IN SEASON 7, HE BEGINS A ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP WITH NINA AND EVENTUALLY SUCCESSFULLY PROPOSES TO HER.
BRIAN GOODMAN AS SEAN CAVANAUGH (SEASONS 3-4; RECURRING SEASONS 1-2, 5): THE LIEUTENANT OF THE BOSTON PD’S HOMICIDE UNIT. FIERCELY LOYAL TO JANE AN OLD FRIEND OF KORSAK, SEAN IS WILLING TO BEND THE RULES FROM TIME TO TIME.
IDARA VICTOR AS NINA HOLIDAY (SEASONS 6-7′ RECURRING, SEASON 5): CRIME SCENE ANALYST AND COMPUTER TECHNICIAN. FORMERLY A DETECTIVE IN CHICAGO, HOLIDAY TRANSFERRED TO BOSTON HOMICIDE TO HONE HER ANALYTICAL SKILLS IN AN OFFICE-BASED ENVIRONMENT. SHE BEGINS A ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP WITH FRANKIE RIZZOLI IN THE 7TH SEASON, AND THE TWO BECOME ENGAGED IN THE SERIES FINALE.
THE UNTITLED PROJECT WAS ON TNT’S DEVELOPMENT SLATE AS EARLY AS MARCH 2008. IN OCTOBER 2009, TNT PLACED A CAST-CONTINGENT PILOT ORDER UNDER THE ORIGINAL TITLE: RIZZOLI. ANGIE HARMON WAS THE FIRST ACTRESS CAST, TAKING THE TITLE ROLE OF POLICE DETECTIVE JANE RIZZOLI. SASHA ALEXANDER WON THE ROLE OF MEDICAL EXAMINER DR. MAURA ISLES AFTER AUDITIOING WITH HARMON. BRUCE McGILL SIGNED AS RIZZOLI’S FORMER PARTNER, SGT. VINCE KORSAK. LEE THOMPSON YOUNG WAS CAST AS HER NEW PARTNER, BARRY FROST.
IN AUGUST 2013, PRODUCTION FOR THE 4TH SEASON WAS SUSPENEDED WHEN CAST MEMBER LEE THOMPSON YOUNG WAS FOUND DEAD AT HIS LOS ANGELES APARTMENT FROM A SELF-INFLICTED GUNSHOT WOUND. IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 5TH SEASON, A NEW CHARACTER, CRIME SCENE ANALYST NINA HOLIDAY, PLAYED BY IDARA VICTOR, WAS INTRODUCED. SERIES EXECTIVE PRODUCER JAN NASH STATED TAHT NINA WOULD NOT REPLACE YOUNG’S CHARACTER, FROST, INSTEAD, THE EXISTING CHARACTERS WERE GIVEN “NEW DYNAMICS,” ACCORDONG TO NASH. FOR EXAMPLE, JANE AND KORSAK WORK MORE CASES TOGETHER, AND FRANKIE IS INVOLVED IN SOLVING CASES. THE SHOW WAS FILMED PRIMARILY IN HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES AT PARAMOUNT PICTURES STUDIOS.
