Melissa Leo Movies

Having been exonerated by the federal grand jury, Kellerman (Reed Diamond) is upset that the media has stopped covering him now that he is no longer suspected of corruption. So unnerved is Kellerman by his recent traumatic experiences that he may very well mess up the homicide squad's latest effort to bring down the elusive drug kingpin Luther Mahoney (Erik Todd Dellums). Meanwhile, Bayliss (Kyle Secor) tells Pembleton (Andre Braugher) that he no longer wants him as a partner. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Pembleton (Andre Braugher) is impressed by reporter Elizabeth Wu (Joan Chen), who is covering his investigation of a drug-related cop killing. He is, however, less than impressed when the inquisitive Wu proves to be a monumental nuisance. Elsewhere, Kellerman's (Reed Diamond) wild country-boy brothers Drew (Eric Stoltz) and Greg (Tate Donovan) show up in Baltimore, insisting that he return to Miami and join them in setting up a charter-boat service. What his brothers have neglected to tell them is that they are on the lam from a pair of murderous bookies -- and that they have stolen a valuable souvenir baseball. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Another Homicide: Life on the Street regular bids goodbye to the Baltimore PD homicide division as the series enters its fifth season: Megan Russert (Isabella Hofmann) has decided to leave for Europe to pursue a romance (though she will make a handful of return visits in subsequent episodes). In its typical revolving-door fashion, the series compensates for Russert's loss by promoting a former recurring career, police videographer Brodie (Max Perlich), to full regular status. Other additions to the cast roster include Michelle Forbes as abrasive, no-nonsense chief medical examiner Julianna Cox and Toni Lewis as transplanted downtown narcotics detective Terri Stivers. Stivers, in fact, is a principal player in the fifth season's most significant story arc, involving the pursuit of elusive drug kingpin Luther Mahoney (Erik Todd Dellums). Picking up a plot strand introduced in the previous season, Detective Pembleton (Andre Braugher) tries to return to duty, even though he has not fully recovered from his stroke; before long, Pembleton and his partner, Bayliss (Kyle Secor), will come to an acrimonious parting of the ways. Elsewhere, Brodie tentatively inaugurates a romance (or so he hopes) with Det. Kay Howard (Melissa Leo); Assistant DA Danvers (Zeljko Ivanek) rethinks his opposition to the death penalty when his fiancée is murdered; and arson detective Mike Kellerman (Reed Diamond) is targeted by a federal grand jury's investigation of corruption within the arson unit. By the time the season has reached its climax, drug lord Luther Mahoney is killed under highly suspicious circumstances that will have wide-ranging and tragic ramifications in the future; and Jon Seda makes his first series appearance as Det. Paul Falsone, freshly arrived at Baltimore Homicide to investigate the reported suicide of former department member Beau Felton. ~ Rovi

In the conclusion of a two-part story, a serial sniper is still at large -- and now there's a copycat killer on the loose. While the city is in full panic mode, the men and women of the homicide department work 24-hour shifts to track down the killers. Elsewhere, Howard (Melissa Leo) recovers from her wounds; Pembleton (Andre Braugher) agonizes over the well-being of his pregnant wife; and Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) coerces the newly demoted Russert (Isabella Hoffman) to come out of her self-imposed exile. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the first episode of a two-part story, a retired Baltimore police officer named Rodzinski is found murdered near his wife's tombstone. Rodzinski's son Jake (Bruce Campbell), also a cop, begs Lewis (Clark Johnson) to conduct a personal investigation of the killing. When key evidence fails to materialize and suspected murderer Kenny Damon (Wendell Jordan) is acquitted, the embittered Jake decides to take the law into his own hands. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

An ER doctor (Mimi Kennedy) is suspected of withholding vital evidence in the mysterious shooting of a burglar. An enormous man who has gone on a rampage proves to be a major challenge for Lewis (Clark Johnson) and Kellerman (Reed Diamond) -- and also indirectly exposes a number of skeletons in the closet of Lewis' family. And Munch (Richard Belzer) is continually frustrated in his efforts to find out whom Howard (Melissa Leo) is dating. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

For his first case after returning to active duty, Pembleton (Andre Braugher) joins Bayliss (Kyle Secor) in investigating the murder of a divorced woman and her two children, with the woman's ex-husband, an Annapolis naval officer as chief suspect. In other developments Lewis (Clark Johnson) and Munch (Richard Belzer) welcome the opportunity to pin a homicide rap on slippery drug kingpin Luther Mahoney (Erik Todd Dellums) -- especially since the prime witness is Mahoney's own nephew (played by future ER regular Mekhi Phifer). And Cox (Michelle Forbes) offers moral support to Kellerman (Reed Diamond) when he is summoned before the grand jury investigating corruption in the arson unit. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This episode introduces Michelle Forbes in the role of new chief medical examiner Julianna Cox. Descending upon a murder scene being investigated by Lewis (Clark Johnson) and Bayliss (Kyle Secor), the outspoken Cox makes no secret of her contempt for the detectives' methods of investigation. Meanwhile, the FBI probe of possible corruption in the arson unit so unnerves Kellerman (Reed Diamond) -- one of the Feds' chief targets -- that he begins lashing out at everyone close to him. And on the domestic front, Brodie (Max Perlich) throws a party for Lewis and his wife, which turns out to be a disaster. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Three homicide investigations -- involving a carjacking, a rape, and a bar fight -- are unfolded in a series of flashbacks from the viewpoint of both the homicide detectives and the victims' families, the latter having formed a support group. A surprise development occurs when the group welcomes a new member -- medical examiner Julianna Cox (Michelle Forbes). Meanwhile, two of the elusive witnesses in one of the three cases compel Pembleton (Andre Braugher), still not fully recovered from his stroke, to embark upon a grueling chase. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Season five of Homicide: Life on the Street begins with the departure of Captain Megan Russert, who has abruptly moved to Europe after falling for a French diplomat, and with the ascension to full "regular" status of former recurring character J.H. Brodie (Max Perlich), the Baltimore homicide division's official crime-scene photographer. Slowly recovering from the stroke that felled him at the end of season four, Frank Pembleton (Andre Braugher) returns to duty on a limited basis -- and with the warning that both he and Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) will suffer if he can't cut the mustard. Elsewhere, Bayliss (Kyle Secor) and Munch (Richard Belzer) wonder how to extract information from the sole witness to a murder -- the victim's pet pig. And in the main plot line, a deranged gunman who has already killed twice takes hostages at a Baltimore middle school, a crisis that will be carried over into the next episode. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This episode would seem to be the precursor to producer Tom Fontana's gritty cable TV series Oz. Most of the homicide detectives are dispatched to a maximum security prison, where two inmates have been killed in a riot. Surrounded by several of the criminals whom they put away in earlier episodes, the detectives follow a lead to the possible murderer -- but it turns out to be the wrong man, and more blood ends up being shed. Left behind at the precinct station is Frank Pembleton (Andre Braugher), who insists upon hurting his chances to fully recover from his stroke by practicing on the police firing range. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

An attorney found floating in a swimming pool appears to have suffered a heart attack. Before long, however, a man confesses to killing the attorney, giving up himself and an incriminating videotape to homicide detectives Pembleton (Andre Braugher) and Bayliss (Kyle Secor). Further complicating matters is the presence of the National Security Agency, who serve up a murder suspect of their own -- resulting in a major blowup by Bayliss. Meanwhile, Kellerman (Reed Diamond) is determined to find out who has been stealing lunches from the homicide unit. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi