TNT’s forthcoming Closer spinoff, Major Crimes, has collared its first high-profile guest star: Michael Weatherly.
The NCIS vet will appear in an early Season 1 episode as Arthur “Thorn” Woodson, a charming con artist who currently works as an ”intuitive life strategist” for a group of Israeli mob wives (all of whom he is bedding). Described as a “Peter Pan with an A.D.D. problem,” Thorn previously held down jobs as a hand model, a ventriloquist and a black jack dealer. His dream is to someday land his own show on Oprah Winfrey’s fledgling cable net OWN.
“Arvin Brown is directing [the episode] — he’s done many NCIS episodes,” Weatherly tweeted of the gig.
Major Crimes is set to premiere on Monday, Aug. 13 at 10/9c immediately following the series finale of The Closer.
The news comes as Weatherly continues to negotiate a new contract to continue playing Tony on NCIS. His current deal expired at the end of the just-wrapped ninth season. (His co-stars, Pauley Perrette and Sean Murray, are also hammering out new pacts.)
Earlier this month, NCIS exec producer Gary Glasberg expressed confidence that “it will all work out.”