Ask Kyra Sedgwick if it is really the end of her series "The Closer" or is it just a joke?
A bad joke.
Me: Kyra, say it isn't so!
Kyra: "I'm sorry. I wish I could tell you something different, but it is so," she says. "The show is over."
The last six episodes of "The Closer" begin to air tonight at 9 p.m. EST on TNT.
"It's better to end it on our terms," says series star Sedgwick who played homicide-solving Brenda. "It's better than saying, 'Thank God that's over.'
"You always want to leave wanting more," she says. It's good life advice, and great TV advice.
As for leaving Brenda to a life in reruns, Kyra sighs during a phone interview from "The Closer" set. "Truly, madly, deeply...I love Brenda that deeply," she says. "Of course, I'm sad, but it's a happy sad."
ENDING THE SERIES
What was it like to shoot the very last episode?
"The whole day I was boo-hooing," Sedgwick says. "The last thing we shot was a private moment of her alone.
"She came in alone and went out alone," Sedgwick says. "She always had a lone wolf mentality even being around people."
She will give us a few end-of-series plot clues. She is struggling with her failure to capture Phillip Stroh who has eluded Brenda. There's also a department mole that comes out of hiding.
"This season is about love and loss," Sedgwick says. "Brenda is dealing with consequences ...good and bad."
Sedgwick welcomed that Brenda became a strong role model for women.
"It was great to see a woman who was very powerful, but didn't apologize for her power. She was also a real woman who was strong and fierce.
"But she had a fragility and vulnerability, which perfectly describes a real woman. There are so many Brendas out there."
"Hopefully, she paved the way for other strong female characters," she says.
HER BEAUTY AND FITNESS TIPS
Tell Sedgwick that she hasn't aged on screen and she just laughs.
"I see everything!" she contends. "I feel everything!"
"It's hard to age on film or TV," she says. "I look at when I first started and I feel very differently thanks to aging.
"But don't get me wrong. I'm happy to be aging. I'm happy to be able to age and feel healthy."
What are her favorite beauty tips?
"I'm really anal about my skin and I've been that way since my 20s which really helped. I get regular facials," she says. "I also eat and drink well. We all know what to do. It's just a matter of doing it."
She also likes to move.
"I don't do well sitting for long periods of time," she says. "I actually like to exercise. It keeps the demons at bay. I don't stay in my head when I'm moving or taking a spinning class, which I love. I used to spin obsessively, but now it's about moderation in all things."
"I also do Pilates and some barre method to stay in good shape," she says.
On a Sunday off, you can often find her on some canyon trail "I like to hike, but I don't run. That's too hard now."
A HAPPY HOME LIFE
Filming the show was something she had to workout with her husband Kevin Bacon and her two children.
"Kevin was so wonderful," she says. "The kids were great. It's amazing that this time has passed. Children's lives go by so quickly. I look back now and say, 'That was pretty fast.' When we started the show my kids were in their teens and now they're in their '20s."
Her son is 23 and her daughter is 20. "The good news is they want to hang out with us. They want to them to hang out with us. We are a very close family."
Sedgwick will also go back to a busy film career. "My goal is to do films," she says.
She won't rule out another series.
"Not today, but I'd love to come to TV. TV has some of the best writing, directing and acting."
In the end, Sedgwick is happy with closing out "The Closer."
"We really accomplished something amazing with this show. Words really can't describe how grateful I am," she says.
There are also a few Brenda reminders around Casa Bacon-Sedgwick. It's not a script or a DVD.
She's all about the fashion.
"I kept a dress or two from the series," she says with a laugh. "It's nice to look in the closet and remember."
