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Detective Lieutenant Louie Provenza is a fictional character from TNT's television crime drama The Closer and Major Crimes. He has been featured on the show in all aired seven seasons, starting in 2005. The character was created by James Duff, and is portrayed by G. W. Bailey. Generally referred to as "Provenza", the character's first name was kept secret until his former partner, George Andrews, was heard to use it for the first time in the penultimate episode of the fifth season.^[1]

In the Closer universe [edit]

Provenza is a Lieutenant II on the Los Angeles Police Department. A veteran of the Robbery/Homicide unit, he is selected to join the Priority Homicide division. Initially, Provenza has no greater love for Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson than any of the rest of the unit, but over time he develops a paternal affection for her.

Character history [edit]

A seasoned veteran of the Robbery/Homicide unit, Provenza is selected to join the elite Priority Homicide Squad in the beginning of the series. Provenza reveals that he was married four times (twice to the same woman), and in season five he falls in love with another woman, much to his own surprise.

Provenza is injured during a shooting incident in the murder room in the second season. He and Johnson are both put on leave following the incident.

He and Lt. Andy Flynn have a close, albeit sometimes caustic, friendship. (During the first season he appears to regard Flynn in a gruff and unfriendly manner, before it emerges in later seasons that the two share a rather amiable history.) After four divorces, Provenza apparently has several children—he complains about paying a lot of child support. In "Next of Kin Part 1" he also mentions having a grandson. In the episode "Dial M For Provenza", he reveals to Assistant Chief Will Pope that the terms of his first divorce require him to split his pension with his first wife, so he therefore refuses to retire. Pope sympathizes with him, having made a similar arrangement with his own first wife.

Personality [edit]

An old-school detective, Provenza disagrees with many of Johnson's decisions, but nevertheless harbors a grudging respect for her abilities as a detective; he is instrumental in rallying the squad when she is in trouble with the ethics board. He has recently been left in her debt due to a foul-up he had with Flynn, and she forces him to pay off the squad for helping keep him and Flynn out of the fire.

He is forced into retirement after a shootout incident in the murder room, but is later reinstated when Johnson makes a deal with the CIA to secretly investigate the murder of an Arab teenager. Provenza helps Johnson greatly in this investigation.

The class clown of the team, Provenza always has a witty one-liner ready. However, Provenza has a soft side buried beneath his hard exterior. He reveals small glimpses of it as he slowly warms up to Johnson and begins to show her more respect. Their relationship further improves after the shooting incident in the murder room. He is also very polite to Johnson's mother, which irritates Johnson's father.

Chauvinistic and politically incorrect, Provenza has been forced to attend sensitivity training for his inappropriate behavior and remarks. He has been portrayed enduring a hard time accepting new or different methods for conducting interrogations and solving cases. He resists practically any type of change and initially resented being bossed around by a woman. Above all else, he absolutely hates it when anyone places an item or sits on his desk.^[2]

References [edit]

1. ^ Ep. 5.14 "Make Over"
2. ^ The Closer squad profile