Fans of 'The Closer,' prepare to say goodbye. TNT announced today that the hit show will end next year after its seventh season.

According to TNT, the bittersweet decision to end the series in 2011 after six successful years was made by Emmy-winning star Kyra Sedgwick herself.

"I cannot fathom how difficult it will be to say goodbye to the incredible family we've created on 'The Closer,'" Sedgwick said in a statement. "I will always be grateful to James Duff for his love and friendship, as well as for creating such a rich and complex character who I have loved living with year after year. Mike, Greer, Rick and all of our outstanding cast and crew are forever in my heart."

Before you can start to recover, you'll have to survive your darkest hour. This is the first lesson of recovery, and this is the lesson on 'The Closer' (Mon., 9PM ET on TNT). As the series resumes its sixth season, a random and terrifying attack takes place. At the beginning of the show, a middle-aged man attends an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, where he studies the twelve-step method of surviving addiction. The man has been sober for over a decade -- now, he only sips on cranberry juice and soda.

While he's at the meeting, a younger man approaches him -- the boy is troubled, suffering from addiction, in search of help. The two men talk, then they part, and the older man walks back to his car. Which is when ...

... Which is when he is attacked by a stranger with a knife. It all happens so fast.

Fresh off the revelation that Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson will not be the next Los Angeles Chief of Police, TNT's 'The Closer' returns on Monday, Dec. 6, with five new episodes for the winter season.

How will Brenda respond to losing the top job? Will it be business as usual, or will there be lingering questions about her status as season 5 concludes?

TV Squad went directly to the source, interviewing Kyra Sedgwick, the Emmy-winning star of 'The Closer' who shared her thoughts about the show, her character and the thrill of winning that golden trophy just a few months back.

['The Closer' - 'Executive Order']

We've reached the mid-season finale of 'The Closer,' and if you had any question before tonight's show about the excellence of this past season, tonight's show delivered the answer: This episode was 'The Closer' at its best.

Two superb guest stars helped. Matthew Glave ('Crash') -- who's a dead ringer for Dominic West -- and Courtney B. Vance ('FlashForward'). In the case of Vance, his appearance may be the start of a recurring role because his character, Chief Tommy Delk of the Counter Terrorism Unit, turned out to be Brenda's competition for the new chief of police job.

While working a particularly tense and involved case with Delk, Brenda got to observe her competitor. Delk was more stealth-like than Brenda when it came to dealing with the Feds, and she couldn't help but admire his technique. That getting-more-with-honey approach is something she knows well. She's been known to use it herself, especially during interrogations.

Still, he was much more of a stickler to the rules than Brenda. That's probably a good thing ... for him.

['The Closer' - 'Last Woman Standing']

After last week's dramatic ending, it seemed logical that there would be some carry over in regard to Brenda's candidacy for the Chief of Police job. However, there was nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nada. In fact, we're not even sure if Brenda lost a moment's sleep over her decision ... because with this new episode came a new case that was completely separate.

Yes, there were complications related to the Chief's job, but mostly in a comic, positive way. For more on that, including Brenda's penchant for big pocketbooks, read on.

In baseball, a seasoned, veteran ball player is considered a valuable member of the team. It's not that different in television, and during the summer -- when baseball is thriving -- a lot of primetime drama series thrive thanks in no small part to the contributions of valuable assets like the following "boys of summer."

Without the experienced and knowing assists of veteran actors, the summer series listed here simply wouldn't be as entertaining.

Check out our seven "most valuable players" and tell us if we got it right ... or who we left out!

(S06E08) If you watched the Primetime Emmys last night and saw Kyra Sedgwick winning the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series award for her role on 'The Closer,' I hope you were curious enough to tune in to watch tonight's episode.

As Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson, Kyra fills the role completely ... and this particular episode was especially dynamic and dramatic. This was perfect timing, because it was proof positive that she deserved that Emmy.

For more on the episode and how the military fit into a gang drive-by shooting, read after the jump.

If I had actually put down bets on my Emmy predictions, I would have lost my shirt, and maybe even my pants. And I still would have been pretty happy about it.

Why? Because when I made those predictions, I did them with the jaundiced eye of a guy who's seen the Academy go with the safe and sane too many times. For instance, in any world that made sense, Jon Cryer wouldn't have been my supporting comedy actor pick over Neil Patrick Harris, Chris Colfer and the 'Modern Family' trio. But the Academy loves repeat winners, so I was resigned to the fact that Cryer was going to win again.

So I was pleasantly surprised when Eric Stonestreet's name was called at the Emmy Awards last night. And I continued to be surprised as the the names of newcomers and first-timers were called for many of the major categories. Yes, new names abounded at the Emmys, and hopefully, it's a harbinger of what we might see in the years to come.

(S06E07) Working together for a crime-solving husband and wife duo is never easy ... except in fictional situations like 'MacMillan and Wife' (if you're old enough to remember that Rock Hudson/Susan St. James' police drama)!

On 'The Closer,' Fritz has always maintained a comfortable distance from Brenda by sticking to the FBI side of any cases that intersect with the Los Angeles Police Department. Tonight, the distance disappeared. For more on that and Pope's moment, read on.

With the Emmy awards a week away, I'm continuing to pick who I think should and who I think will win the major awards.

On Friday, I discussed the Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy category. Now come the categories for lead actress and actor, starting with the six worthy nominees for Lead Actress in a Drama.

Nominees:
Connie Britton, 'Friday Night Lights'
Glenn Close, 'Damages'
Mariska Hargitay, 'Law & Order: SVU'
January Jones, 'Mad Men'
Julianna Margulies, 'The Good Wife'
Kyra Sedgwick, 'The Closer'

Who will win: The temptation here is to say that one of the previous winners, such as Hargitay or Close, will take the award because of the Academy's lack of creativity with their picks. But Margulies is a known quantity -- she's been nominated six times for 'ER,' both in the lead and supporting categories, winning after the show's first season -- and 'The Good Wife' was widely-watched enough to make me think that she may get the award this year. She carried the first year hit on her shoulders and did a great job playing the wounded but resilient Alicia Florrick.

(S06E06) The inevitable competition between Brenda and Will for the chief of police position finally came into focus with this episode, as a high profile murder pitted Chief Johnson's subtle style and reliance on teamwork versus Chief Pope's full-on assault with every arm of law enforcement at his disposal. The results proved the point that one works much more effectively than the other ... but will that matter when the final choice is made. We'll see.

The case unfolded in an unusual way. Gabriel took a call in which a woman said there was a crime in the making. Without any way of tracking the call, without even the name of the detective the woman was trying to reach, Major Crimes could only do so much.

(S06E05) What an excellent episode! 'The Closer' really delved into uncharted territory with the whole issue of organ transplants, the law versus justice, medical ethics and bureaucratic red tape. This is shaping up as one of the best seasons for 'The Closer' yet.

Hearts, livers, kidneys ... how's that for a weird cause for murder? The victims were killed for body parts, or were they? It wasn't exactly a Dr. Frankenstein situation.

It was a complicated case that built to a dramatic and dynamic climax ... even though the suspect was pretty obvious.

For more on the show, as well as an update on Brenda's application to be Chief of Police, read on.

(S06E04) Up until now, it didn't seem that Brenda was particularly interested in moving up the LAPD ladder. Even after last week's harrowing episode and her talk with Fritz about emotional distance, Brenda has her heart in Major Crimes. However, it only took one off-hand remark by Pope to fire Brenda's career aspirations. More on that as well as the lack of respect accorded members of the airline profession, after the jump.

To say TNT "knows drama" is an understatement. The cable network known for churning out fan-favorite crime dramas has just renewed three shows, including 'The Closer,' one of its biggest hits.

Joining 'The Closer' in renewal is 'Leverage' and the freshman drama 'Rizzoli & Isles.' 'The Closer' and 'Leverage' received a 15-episode order each, 'Rizzoli & Isles' was picked up for 13.

"TNT has enjoyed tremendous success on Sunday and Monday nights with 'Leverage,' 'The Closer' and 'Rizzoli & Isles,'" Michael Wright, executive vice president and head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies, said in a statement. "All three shows feature terrific casts, sharp writing and top-notch production teams. We look forward to continued success with new seasons in 2011."

(S06E03) 'The Closer' isn't a serial, but plot lines from one show to the other do occur, and in tonight's show there were two ongoing stories that had a lot to offer. Does Brenda want to be the next Los Angeles Chief of Police? Captain Raydor is pushing her in that direction, but after a week of contemplation, Brenda's not sure yet ... and then Fritz found out.

The other continuing tale was Julio's connection with Ruben, the abandoned son of the Latina-killer cop who was offed last week. You sort of knew that Julio wasn't going to let the boy get lost in the system, didn't you. More on Fritz's reaction, Julio's involvement and the apparent suicide of a meth-addict after the jump.