Fabulous recurring guest star Mary McDonnell (pictured below at left) returns to reprise her role as tough Captain Sharon Raydor on The Closer’s December 21 Season Five finale called “Dead Man’s Hand.”

And as hard as it is to believe, when Raydor shows up, she’s going to need a big favor from her nemesis Brenda’s team.

Acting veteran Beau Bridges (My Name Is Earl, Stargate Sg-1) guest stars on the brand-new December 14 episode of The Closer called “Make Over.”

Bridges plays Lieutenant Provenza’s former partner Detective Andrews, and TNT promises his role will be “surprising.”

The December 7 fifth-midseason premiere of The Closer is rapidly approaching, and TNT has a brand-new sneak peek at the episode called “The Life.”

The main case revolves around the murder of a 12-year-old boy in the unfortunate position of having had both a father and brother involved with gangs.

As previously mentioned, Season Five of The Closer finally resumes with three fresh winter episodes at 9pm ET on Monday, December 7.

But before “The Life,” Wild Card,” and Dead Man’s Hand” air, viewers might need a refresher to remember what happened during the twelve episodes in the earlier part of the season. Continue reading to get just that in both summary and video format. The TNT Report aims to please.

Hit cop drama The Closer doesn’t return until December 7, but fans can spend some time with co-creator James Duff right now, courtesy of TNT’s extensive online video library.

Also an executive producer, writer, and occasional director on the network’s most high-profile show, Duff provides a unique and interesting behind-the-scenes look at the Kyra Sedgwick series in a trio of clips.

Brenda gets locked and loaded during “Maternal Instincts,” the new August 17 episode of The Closer.

When the Major Crimes boss isn’t preoccupied with determining how to deal with her troublesome visiting niece Charlie (Kyra Sedgwick’s real-life daughter Sosie Bacon) after the last episode’s funny “magic” brownies incident…

The Closer is about to air one of its eeriest episodes ever. During August 10’s “Smells Like Murder,” Team Brenda investigates a mysterious corpse stuffed inside a box.

That’s not the biggest twist, however. Follow the jump to learn what is.

Actress Cynthia Watros drops by The Closer for the brand-new August 3 episode “Identity Theft.”

Also joining Watros on the guest-star list are acting veteran Bruce Davison (Knight Rider, Close to Home, X2); relative newcomer Michael Arden (Kings, Bride Wars); and lovely Frances Sternhagen, who plays Brenda’s mother Willie Ray Johnson, of course.

Am I excited for the July 27 episode of The Closer or what?! The reason why is because the installment, “Elysian Fields,” features Emmy-winning guest star Tom Skerritt, whom fans like me remember from the intriguing long-ago series Picket Fences.

Details follow the jump…

Things are looking exceptional on the July 20 episode of The Closer called “Strike Three,” thanks to returning guest star Mary McDonnell (Battlestar Galactica, Dances with Wolves).

Will McDonnell’s character Captain Sharon Raydor finally bond with Kyra Sedgwick’s Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson, or will the two police women continue to go at it in their special not so passive-aggressive way? I’m hoping for the second since it keeps the plots interesting.