RIZZOLI & ISLES: Jan Nash Teases Season 5

RIZZOLI & ISLES had a real-life tragedy to contend with during parts of the first two episodes of the season, and while Frost won’t be forgotten, there are some lighter storylines ahead.

I spoke with R&I showrunner Jan Nash about Jane’s pregnancy, Maura’s new love, and the cases to come…

Now that a couple of people know Jane is pregnant – but not everyone, yet – what can you say about how that arc will be playing out?
Jan Nash: The pregnancy story will be featured very heavily in the beginning, as it sort of reflects back on these core relationships. It’s the same show, but it’s dealing with these different issues. It’s fundamentally about these two women who have an incredible friendship, and it’s about exploring that friendship through the real things that life throws at you.

Since there might be limits to what Jane could do as a cop as she progresses through her pregnancy, will the show be jumping forward in time at all?
JN: An awesome idea, and I will defer how we are going to handle the pregnancy until later…we have a lot of time to let that story unfold in season 5 in a way that hopefully the audience will find satisfying.

Chris Vance (Casey) is currently tied up with another television series, so will Jane be getting any on-screen help from the father of her baby?
JN: One of the early episodes is titled, “It Takes a Village,” and I think one of the things Jane realizes is that having a baby is a very difficult experience, but she has a lot of people in her life to support her through it. And she will discover that, and rely on that, and move forward with that experience relying on the relationships she already has in place.

What can you say about the decision to keep Maura and Frankie in the status quo after last season’s kiss?
JN: We made a decision that was not necessarily something we wanted to spin out. We needed to honor what had happened, but we didn’t want to continue to spin that story out right now…there are some really lovely moments between the two of them, because they’re adults, and went through an experience, and they’ll talk about things differently, and maybe talk about different things.

Maura will, in fact, get a love interest about a third of the way through the season that will carry us for a number of episodes. She’ll start teaching a class, and it’s somebody at the university. Sasha [Alexander (Maura)] has played it beautifully. The actor in question, Enver Gjokaj is somebody I know from a show I had worked on previously [MADE IN JERSEY], and he’s an incredibly attractive actor with an enormous amount of charisma. He feels like somebody who could be Maura’s equal, in terms of his intellect and in terms of his quirky presence. There’s a nice story that will unfold as the season goes on about those two. And as everything on the show does, it does circle back to, “How does it impact the Jane and Maura relationship and what does it mean for the dynamic of the show going forward?” There are a lot of really nice things happening.

The show handled the loss of Frost really respectfully. Because that wound is so fresh, is there a hesitancy to bring in a new character into the precinct? Or are you moving forward with things as much as possible?
JN: As much as you can without it casting a pall on things, we’re trying to let the experience of that live in the show. We are going to be adding a character to the show about halfway through, but we’re not replacing Barry Frost; you can’t. You can’t do that. But that’s something we can talk about later in the season.

Aside from the first couple of episodes, which episodes stand out to you as ones you’re really excited for the fans to see?
JN: There are really great moments in all of them. Episode 5, which deals with the death of a wealthy woman in Boston, has some incredibly funny moments in it. Episode 4 is about doomsday preppers.

Every episode has something in it where you’re like, “That’s really cool!” The crew has been amazing, and these are great actors, so these episodes all feel really interesting and fun, and I [don’t think] the audience will show up and think, “Oh, this feels a lot like last week.” They’re different, and yet there is still kind of an arc, and we’re carrying some of those stories through, and I’m just really proud of the work everybody’s done.

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RIZZOLI & ISLES airs Tuesdays at 9 PM on TNT.

Related:

RIZZOLI & ISLES: Jan Nash on Saying Goodbye to Frost and the Heartbreaking Cameo
RIZZOLI & ISLES: Sasha Alexander Teases Season 5
RIZZOLI & ISLES: Angie Harmon Previews Jane’s Changes in Season 5

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