Watch Rizzoli & Isles Online - Full Episodes

The TNT television series, Rizzoli & Isles, is based on a series of Tess Gerritsen novels about a Boston Police Detective, Jane Rizzoli, and the Boston Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Maura Isles. The two women are frequently paired up to solve crimes and are also close friends. Jane Rizzoli is played by actress Angie Harmon and Maura Isles is played by Sasha Alexander.

The series also focuses on their private lives which includes Jane Rizzoli's mother played by Lorraine Braco, and her younger brothers, Frankie and Tommy, played by Jordan Bridges and Colin Egglesfield. In the first season, Chazz Palmenteri was on board as Jane Rizzoli's father but was later written out of the show, returning in the third season as a guest star. The Rizzoli family is a passionate, argumentative clan of Italian fixtures from a blue collar background. In contrast to the Rizzoli family, Maura Isles is an adopted child raised by wealthy, highly educated parents. Maura's adopted mother is played by British actress, Jaqueline Bisset and is rarely available to spend time with her daughter unless it involves a high profile art event of which she is the center of attention. In a twist at the end of the first season, actor John Doman joins the cast in a recurring role as Dr. Maura Isles' biological father, who also happens to be one of Boston's major organized crime leaders.

As a general rule, the series follows a procedural format, starting with a crime in the beginning of the show. The story then follows the investigation, which also includes two other detectives, an old, seasoned cop named Korzak, played by Bruce McGill, and the newest member of the team, Detective Barry Frost, played by Lee Thompson Young, a character that frequently has a difficult time holding back his vomit at crime scenes, making him the center of many gore-filled jokes.

On occasion, the show takes a turn and mixes the crime element with their personal lives. In the Season Two Finale, a gang related crime leads Detective Rizzoli to shoot and kill Dr. Maura Isles' biological father, setting up potential conflict in the two women's friendship. The conflict was quickly solved by the second episode of the third season which started airing in early June of 2012. A new recurring character has also been added in the form of Maura Isles' biological mother, played by actress Sharon Lawrence.