Budget cuts aside Brenda still has lots of difficult cases to deal with; The season gets off to a strong start with "Homewrecker," an episode involving the brutal murder of an entire upper middle-class family except for the teenage son, who is found high on Ecstasy and hiding in the attic. Its gruesome crime scene (as seen from the perspective of Buzz's handheld camera) and tangled web of lies make it one of the best episodes of the season.

Another standout episode titled "Rudy," has the squad investigating the disappearance of a ten-year-old girl who never returned home from school. There is evidence that she was in the van of a convicted sex offender, but no matter what Brenda and her staff do, he refuses to talk. Lt. Gabriel (Corey Reynolds) decides to beat the location of the girl out of the suspect, putting his career and close relationship with Deputy Chief Johnson at risk.

Each week The Closer manages to offer solid one hour mysteries, sprinkled with a bit of humor to break the tension. From the discovery in a landfill of the body of a street gang member murdered in the early '90s, to a case involving a serial murderer of young black girls, to a disliked (with the notable exception of Chief Pope) Department of Homeland Security auditor found partially eaten by coyotes at the bottom of a ravine, to suspicious goings on at a nursing home, Brenda Johnson and her team manage to snag the guilty. In one of the season's lighter moments, Brenda scuffles with a stuck-up young bride on the steps of a cathedral that became a crime scene moments before the wedding was to begin; when a video of the fight lands on You Tube, the L.A.P.D. experiences a barrage of publicity, prompting Chief Pope to remark, "Congratulations, Chief Johnson, you've become the most downloaded fully clothed woman on the internet."

Season three also finds Brenda dealing with a host of personal issues. She has to face her fear of commitment, as she and her boyfriend, FBI Agent Fritz Howard (Jon Tenney), search for a house spacious enough to allow them to fully integrate their lives. She also has to face a mysterious illness that pops up, mid-season. I don't usually enjoy police dramas where the characters' personal lives are a big focus of the show, but once again, the writers have used it to the show's advantage. It serves to show the stark differences in her personality--Brenda is tough and headstrong, yet sweet and vulnerable. Sedgwick and Tenney have a palpable chemistry that makes the ups and downs of their relationship seem very real.