By Curt Schleier

For me, the success of a mystery or detective series has less to do with the crime or the criminal than with the cop. From Sherlock Holmes to “Harry” (Hieronymus) Bosch (the author Michael Connelly’s brilliant LAPD detective), it’s all about creating a character quirky enough be different from the hundreds of other crime-solvers who clog the television airways and bookstore aisles.

LAPD Deputy Chief (and head of the Priority Homicide Squad) Brenda Johnson more than makes the cut. She’s played by Kyra Sedgwick. Sedgwick is not a conventional beauty — one of those all-too-perfect Hollywoodites who physically show no resemblance to mortals. Her mouth is too big and her face is a little off-kilter. Her body is … well, she and hubby Kevin Bacon have a couple of kids — enough said? But, at the same time, and at the risk of sounding like a pig, she is hot.

She is hot because she’s smart, and smart is sexy. In fact, for the kind of guys Kyra and Brenda are likely to hang out with, smart is the new big boobs. She’s far from perfect — constantly fighting the urge to consume a candy bar she keeps in her desk. She can’t fully commit to the relationship she has with FBI Agent Fritz Howard (Jon Tenney). But, she is single-minded when it comes to the pursuit of the bad guy. She walks a high wire hoisted between being a tough bitch and a pushover — and she does it without a net.

Johnson is a transfer from the Atlanta PD. She’s brought to L.A. by Asst. Police Chief Will Pope (J.K. Simmons), creating significant levels of resentment —  because she was promoted over the heads of LAPD veterans — and the lingering suspicion that it had something to do with the affair she had back in Atlanta with then-married Pope.

But, Johnson is so pure of heart, she wins over even the most recalcitrant detectives (well, almost all). It’s fun watching her order cops to do what they don’t want to and punctuating the command with a big smile and a Southern-tinged “Thenk ewe.”

In the season premiere, Johnson and the squad are called to the home where a couple and one of their two children are found brutally murdered. The chief suspect is the surviving son, who is found hiding in the attic. But, other suspects soon come out of the woodwork, until Johnson makes a very surprising discovery.

As always, the crime-solving part is more than satisfactory. The real joy is watching Johnson finesse the world around her. Howard wants her to buy a bigger house with him, because now he’s keeping all his stuff in her garage. Pope insists that she has to fire someone on her squad because of budget cuts. He knows his chances of getting her to do what he wants hover somewhere between nil and zero, so he begs her, “Consider for a moment a world in which you work for me.”

This is one of the best written shows on TV. The dialogue is crisp. The main characters are all multi-faceted and believable. And, then there’s Kyra.